One of the 12 jurors who found Hunter Biden guilty on federal gun charges said in an interview Tuesday that he doesn’t think the president’s son should be arrested.
The unidentified juror, who spoke to CNN by phone in an interview on “Inside Politics,” said that during deliberations over the verdict, “we weren’t thinking about the sentence.”
“And I really don’t think Hunter should be sent to prison,” said the juror, identified only as Juror No. 10, when asked whether Hunter Biden should be sentenced to prison.
The individual spoke less than two hours after the jury announced its verdict, convicting Hunter Biden of two counts of making false statements about the use of illicit drugs when purchasing a gun in 2018 and another count of illegal possession of the firearm by 11 days.
The trial, which lasted just over a week, highlighted Hunter Biden’s 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.
Juror #10 first pointed out how the charges were bought, when explaining his opinion that Hunter Biden does not “belong” in prison.
In testimony last week before the jury, Hallie Biden, who is the widow of President Biden’s son Beau and who later had a romantic relationship with Hunter Biden, said she “panicked” when she discovered a gun in Hunter’s truck. Biden in 2018 and ruled it out.
Hallie Biden told the jury she stuffed the gun in a shopping bag and threw it in a dumpster outside a nearby supermarket in Delaware.
“If you look at this case, you realize that when Hallie threw the gun in the trash can and it was recovered, and Hunter Biden didn’t want to press charges — because he was the victim of a firearm theft — he didn’t. I want to bring any charges against Hallie,” Juror #10 told CNN.
The juror added that Hunter Biden could have removed his gun, which the juror said “may have been what led to his downfall.”
“If he had taken possession of that gun, I don’t know if we would have had a trial because, you know, he could have sold the gun, gotten rid of the gun, sold it back to the gun store, whatever,” the juror said. “I believe that means it was in evidence and someone picked it up and said, ‘Hey, let’s check this out a little more and see exactly how he got that gun.’”
Elsewhere in the interview, the juror said he thought the trial was a good use of taxpayer money, noting that it focused squarely on whether Hunter Biden purchased a gun while addicted to cocaine.
Hunter Biden faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines, although first-time offenders rarely receive the maximum sentence.
President Biden recently said he would not pardon his son if he were convicted of the federal charges.
Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the defense team would “vigorously pursue legal challenges” after the conviction.
The president’s son, in a dual statement with his lawyer, said he was grateful for the love and support he received from his wife, Melissa, and his community, but was disappointed with the outcome.
“Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience this gift one day at a time,” said Hunter Biden.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
