Hunter Biden is guilty of all three felony gun charges

A jury panel of 12 Delaware residents on Tuesday found Hunter Biden guilty of three federal gun charges, marking the first criminal conviction of the son of a sitting president.

President Biden’s son was convicted after about three hours of deliberation on three felony charges alleging he lied about using illicit drugs when obtaining a gun in 2018 and then possessed the gun illegally for 11 days.

Hunter Biden’s trial, which lasted just over a week, highlighted his crack cocaine addiction at the time he marked “no” on a federal gun purchase form asking whether he illegally used or was addicted to narcotics or other drugs.

Several of Hunter Biden’s past and present women — including his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle; his late brother’s widow, Hallie Biden, with whom he had a brief relationship; and an ex-girlfriend – took the stand to testify about his drug use.

Hallie Biden, who was married to Hunter Biden’s brother, Beau, before his death from brain cancer in 2015, testified that crack left Hunter Biden “agitated or tense, but at other times, functioning as well.”

She also described being “panicked” after discovering the firearm in question in Hunter Biden’s truck, then deciding to throw it out of a supermarket in Wilmington, Delaware – a choice that precipitated the case against her brother-in-law.

In the defense case, Hunter Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, testified that she knew her father was “struggling with addiction” months before the illegal gun purchase, but that he “still seemed fine” in October when the transaction was made. done. she showed a message she wrote to her father at the time: “I’m sorry dad, I can’t take this.”

During closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors argued that Hunter Biden’s drug use began “years before” the gun purchase and “continued for months afterward,” according to CNN.

“He had lost control,” said prosecutor Leo Wise.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers emphasized that no one witnessed “actual drug use” in the month the president’s son bought the gun, seeking to undermine the testimony of the three former lovers who testified in the government’s case.

The defense also argued that Hunter Biden, who had just completed a stint in rehab at the time he purchased the gun, did not believe he was lying when he answered “no” to the question on the federal gun purchase form asking whether he was currently a drugged. of the user. The president’s son did not testify.

Hunter Biden faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines, however, first-time offenders rarely receive the maximum sentence. His father, the president, recently said he would not pardon his son if he were convicted.

In California, Hunter Biden faces separate charges for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes and filing false returns, which could go to trial in September.

The Associated Press contributed.  

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story