The president’s son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty on all three felony counts pertaining to the purchase of a handgun in 2018. Prosecutors claimed that Biden had lied on required paperwork claiming he was not addicted to narcotics or using drugs unlawfully.
Hunter, 54, lied when he ticked “no” on the form asking if he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” narcotics, according to the prosecution, who considered that the evidence was essential to show that he was in the grip of addiction at the time he purchased the pistol.
The younger Biden did not view himself as an “addict” at the time he purchased the firearm, according to his attorneys. Having finished a rehabilitation program at the end of August 2018, they aimed to demonstrate that he was making an effort to change his life at the moment. Hunter’s daughter Naomi, one of the three witnesses presented by the defense, told the jury that her father appeared to be getting better in the weeks leading up to his purchase of the pistol.
Hunter Biden was found guilty by the jury of lying to a federally registered gun dealer, faking his drug use on the application, and possessing the pistol unlawfully for 11 days. Over the course of two days, the jury in Wilmington, Delaware, deliberated for almost three hours.
President Joe Biden declared that he would accept the verdict of the jury and that he “will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal” upon the announcement of the jury’s decision.
The Bidens will “always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support,” the president added.
Judge Maryellen Noreika could sentence the president’s son to up to 25 years in jail; however, first-time offenders typically receive sentences far less than that, so it’s uncertain if she would actually sentence him to that much time behind bars. A sentencing date was not specified by the judge.
Both Trump and Hunter Biden have said that they were victims of the current political climate.
Hunter Biden is still facing legal issues. On suspicion of not paying $1.4 million in taxes, he will go on trial in September in California.
Throughout a large portion of the trial, the prosecution used intimate testimony and unflattering evidence to underscore how serious Hunter Biden’s drug use was.
Jurors heard testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and ex-girlfriend regarding his regular crack use and their ineffective attempts to assist him in quitting. Images of the president’s son half-naked and clutching crack pipes in a dirty room as well as bare-chested and untidy were shown to the jury. Additionally, the jury saw a video of him weighing crack cocaine on a scale.
Hunter Biden did not testify, but his voice was heard by jurors during audio clips from his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” in which he discusses his drug use and how he hit rock bottom following the death of his brother Beau in 2015.
