Hunter Biden found guilty of federal gun charges

WILMINGTON, Del. — Jurors convicted Hunter Biden, the president’s son, of three felony gun charges on Tuesday, years after he bought a firearm while addicted to crack cocaine in 2018.

The verdict was reached just after 11 a.m. Tuesday, about two hours after the jury began deliberations for the day, CNN reported. Jurors spent about an hour deliberating Monday afternoon after hearing closing arguments in the case, according to The Associated Press.

Biden was found guilty of lying on a federal form about his addiction, making false representations to a firearms dealer and illegally having a Colt Cobra 38 special revolver in his possession for 11 days in October 2018.

Biden said in a statement that he was “disappointed by the outcome” of his trial but that he is “more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community,” CBS News reported.

“Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time,” he said.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika did not immediately set a date for sentencing after the verdict was read in court, according to NBC News reported. She told attorneys that sentencing is typically set for 120 days following a verdict, likely putting Biden’s in mid-October, CNN reported.

Biden faces a maximum sentence of 25 years — 10 years each for two of the counts and five years for the third — although it was not immediately clear whether he would be sentenced to prison time.

Biden had denied wrongdoing, with his attorney emphasizing that no one testified to seeing him using drugs in the month of the purchase, according to the AP.

Prosecutor Leo Wise said in his closing argument Monday that Biden “knew he used crack” around the time he bought the gun and told jurors they could “consider the defendant’s pattern of use” in determining his guilt or innocence, CNN reported. Biden talked about his struggle with addiction around the time of the gun purchase in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things.”

Special counsel David Weiss, whose office prosecuted the case against Biden, said in a news conference that the case “ultimately ... was not just about addiction, a disease that haunts families across the United States, including Hunter Biden’s family.”

“This case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction — his choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun and his choice to then possess that gun,” Weiss said. “It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous.”

He added, “No one in this country is above the law. Everyone must be accountable for his actions, even this defendant.”

In a statement obtained by CNN, officials with former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign said the trial “has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family,” accusing the family, without evidence, of “(selling) government access for personal profit.”

President Joe Biden has said that he would not pardon his son if convicted of charges. In a statement obtained by The Washington Post, the president said he and his wife, Jill, “love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”

“So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery,” he said. Reiterating an earlier statement, he added, “I will accept the outcome of this case and will 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.”

Hunter Biden is also facing charges in California, where he is accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

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