By In a significant development, a jury in Wilmington, Delaware, Federal Court found Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, guilty on all three counts related to lying about his drug use to illegally purchase a gun. The unanimous verdict by the 12-member jury marks the first time a child of a sitting U.S. president has been convicted of a crime.
The trial, which concluded on Tuesday, followed the May 30 criminal conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal. Trump, the Republican challenger to Joe Biden in the upcoming Nov. 5 election, has accused Democrats of weaponizing the justice system against him to prevent his return to power.
However, congressional Democrats have pointed to cases like the Hunter Biden prosecution as evidence that President Biden is not using the justice system for political or personal gain. The case against Hunter Biden was brought by U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee.
During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, former girlfriend, and sister-in-law, who provided firsthand accounts of his spiraling addiction in the weeks surrounding his gun purchase in October 2018. Text messages, photos, and bank records were also shown to demonstrate that Biden was deeply entrenched in addiction when he bought the gun and knowingly broke the law by answering “no” to being a drug user on a government screening form.
The defense, on the other hand, attempted to prove that Hunter Biden was not using drugs at the time of the gun purchase and did not intend to deceive, as he did not consider himself a drug user when completing the form. They called Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, to testify that her father appeared to be doing well when she saw him shortly before and after the gun purchase.
In addition to the Delaware trial, Hunter Biden faces three felony and six misdemeanor tax offenses in California, with prosecutors alleging he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions on drugs, escorts, exotic cars, and other high-ticket items. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges, with a trial scheduled for Sept. 5 in Los Angeles.
Although the sentencing guidelines for the gun-related charges against Biden range from 15 to 21 months, legal experts suggest that defendants in similar cases often receive shorter sentences and are less likely to be incarcerated if they comply with the terms of their pretrial release.
The conviction of Hunter Biden is expected to have political implications, with Democrats potentially using the case to counter Trump’s claims of a biased justice system. The outcome also underscores the challenges faced by the Biden family as the president navigates his re-election campaign.
Credit: Reuters
