Hunter Biden convicted of 3 felonies in federal gun trial

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday of the three related felony charges to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 whenprosecutors argued, the president's son lied on a mandatory gun purchase form saying he was not an illegal drug user or addict.

Jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false statement on the application that he was not a drug user and illegally possessing the gun for 11 days. The jury in Wilmington, Delaware, deliberated for about three hours over two days.

Hunter Biden started straight and showed little emotion when the verdict was read. After the verdict, he hugged his two lawyers and smiled weakly. He kissed his wife, Melissa, and they left the room together. First lady Jill Biden arrived at the courthouse minutes after the jury delivered its verdict and was not in the courtroom when it was read.

Hunter Biden left the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife. They did not speak to reporters, stood in waiting SUVs and left.

After the jury's decision was announced, President Joe Biden said he would accept the outcome of the case and would “continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”

“Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will change that,” the president said in a statement.

Her son faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced by Judge Maryellen Noreika, though first-time offenders don't come close to the maximum, and it's unclear if she would give him any time behind bars. The judge did not set a sentencing date.

Now Hunter Biden and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumpthe president's main political rival, both have been convicted by US juries in an election year that has been as much about the courtroom as it has been about campaign events and rallies.

Joe Biden has stayed away from the Delaware federal courtroom where his son was tried and said little about the case, wary of creating the impression of interfering in a criminal case brought by his own Justice Department. But the Democrat's allies have worried about the toll the trial — and now the conviction — will take on the 81-year-old, who has long worried about the health and sustained sobriety of his only living son.

Hunter Biden and Trump have argued that they were victims of the politics of the moment. But while Trump has continued to falsely claim that the verdict was “rigged”, Joe Biden has said he would accept the results of the verdict and would not seek to pardon his son.

The verdict came shortly before the president was scheduled to deliver a speech on his administration's efforts to limit gun violence at a conference hosted by the Everytown Gun Safety Action Fund in Washington.

Hunter Biden's legal troubles aren't over. He will face trial in September in California charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes, and congressional Republicans have indicated they will continue to pursue him in their stalled effort to impeach the president. The president has not been accused or charged with any crime by prosecutors investigating his son.

The prosecution devoted much of the trial to highlighting the seriousness of Hunter Biden's drug problem, through very personal testimony and embarrassing evidence.

Jurors heard Hunter Biden's ex-wife and former girlfriend testify about his regular crack use and her failed efforts to help him get clean. Jurors saw images of the president's son bare-chested and disheveled in a dirty room, and half-naked holding crack pipes. Jurors also saw video of her weighing crack cocaine on a scale.

Hunter Biden did not testify, but jurors heard his voice when prosecutors played audio excerpts from his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” in which he talks about hitting rock bottom after the death of his brother, Beau , in 2015, and his descent into drugs. before finally achieving sobriety.

Prosecutors said the evidence was needed to show Hunter, 54, was in a state of addiction when he bought the gun and therefore lied when he marked “no” on the form asking if he was “an illegal user of, or addicted to” drugs.

Hunter Biden's lawyers had argued that he did not consider himself an “addict” when he bought the gun. They sought to show that he was trying to turn his life around at the time, having completed a rehabilitation program in late August 2018. The defense called three witnesses, including Naomi, daughter of Hunterwho told jurors he appeared to be improving in the weeks before he bought the gun.

The trial was played in the president's home statewhere Hunter Biden grew up and where the family is deeply rooted. Joe Biden spent 36 years as a senator in Delaware, he went to Washington daily, and Beau Biden was the state's attorney general.

Hunter Biden had hoped last year to settle a long-running federal investigation under a deal with prosecutors that would avoid the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Under the deal, he would have pleaded guilty to lesser tax offenses and avoided prosecution in the gun case if he had stayed out of trouble for two years.

But the deal fell apart after Noreika, who was appointed by Trump, questioned unusual aspects of the proposed settlement and lawyers were unable to resolve the matter.

Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed lead investigator David Weiss, U.S. Attorney for Delaware, as a special adviser last Augustand a month later Hunter Biden was indicted.

Hunter Biden has said he was impeached because the Justice Department caved to pressure from Republicans who argued the Democratic president's son was getting special treatment.

The reason law enforcement raised questions about the revolver is because Hallie Biden, Beau's widow, found it unloaded in Hunter's truck on October 23, 2018, panicked and threw it away to a grocery store trash can, where a man inadvertently fished. out of the trash. She testified about the episode in court.

Hallie Biden, who was romantically involved with Hunter after Beau's death, eventually called the police. Officers recovered the gun from the man who inadvertently took the gun along with other recyclables from the trash. The case was eventually closed due to a lack of cooperation from Hunter Biden, who was considered the victim.

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Richer and Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Mike Catalini in Wilmington contributed to this report.