HUNTER Biden has been found guilty on all counts in his federal gun trial as the president races home to be with his son, who now faces 25 years in prison.
The turbulent life of Hunter was thrown into the spotlight as a federal courtroom heard shocking testimony about his drug addiction, which spiraled out of control after the death of his brother, Beau Biden, in 2015.
A 12-panel jury in Wilmington, Delaware, convicted Hunter, who chose not to testify in his defense, on all charges on Tuesday after deliberating for about three hours.
Hunter stared straight ahead and showed no emotion as the verdict was read.
The First Son shook hands with some of his associates seated in the gallery behind the defense table and hugged his attorneys, Abbe Lowell and David Kolansky, before kissing his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
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First Lady Jill Biden, who attended most of Hunter's trial, missed the reading of the verdict, NBC News reported.
Hunter left the courtroom holding the hands of his stepmom and his wife.
The family did not speak to reporters as they were escorted into a black SUV and drove off.
Judge Maryellen Noreika did not schedule a sentencing date.
The White House canceled its daily press briefing on Tuesday afternoon as President Joe Biden departed Washington DC and jetted to Wilmington to be with his son following his conviction.
A photo showed Biden and Hunter embracing with a hug upon the president's arrival at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle.
President Biden, who previously said he would not use his presidential power to pardon his son, released a statement after the verdict but didn't acknowledge it in his speech at a gun violence event later in the day.
He was heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters during his fiery remarks about the need for gun safety but no mention was made of Hunter.
PRESIDENT BIDEN'S STATEMENT
"As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad," he said in a statement hours before his speech.
"Jill and I love our son, and we are proud of the man he is today.
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"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.
"As I said last week, 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. Nothing will ever change that."
Hunter is the first child of a United States president to be convicted of a crime.
The president's son, 54, broke his silence on the verdict, saying he's more grateful for his family's support than the outcome.
"I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome," Hunter said in a statement.
"Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time."
Hunter will face a separate trial in Los Angeles in September on charges of failing to pay more than $1.4 million in taxes over several years.
The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called Hunter's trial a distraction and said President Biden's "crooked" reign will end on November 5.
"This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine," the Trump campaign said.
"Crooked Joe Biden's reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5th, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit."
'NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW'
Prosecutors hammered the narrative that Hunter Biden knowingly lied on a firearm form about using drugs when he bought a gun nearly six years ago.
Federal prosecutors said that on October 12, 2018, Hunter walked into the StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply store in Wilmington and purchased a .38 Colt Cobra revolver.
The government said the president's son answered "No" to a question on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form that asked if he was using or was addicted to drugs or a controlled substance.
"The defendant knew he used crack and was addicted to crack at the relevant time period," prosecutor Leo Wise said during closing arguments.
"There is no evidence that anyone else possessed the gun from October 12 to October 23, other than the defendant," Wise added of the gun Hunter owned for 11 days.
Jurors heard punishing testimony from those closest to Hunter about his years of drug addiction.
Prosecutors even played audio excerpts from Hunter's 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, in the courtroom, which described in the defendant's own words his trouble with drugs and his sobriety.
The evidence was personal; it was ugly and overwhelming.
Prosecutor Leo Wise
Gordon Cleveland, the sales representative at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply who sold Hunter the firearm, testified how he saw the president's son fill out the ATF form.
Cleveland said the pair discussed the different types of ammunition and how Hunter opted for the hollow point bullets.
Several family members, including First Lady Jill Biden and Hunter's wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, were seated in the courtroom for much of the trial.
Wise told jurors that "people sitting in the gallery" are not evidence.
"You may recognize them from the news, but respectfully, none of that matters," the prosecutor said.
"No one is above the law. Your decision can only be made on evidence.
"The evidence was personal; it was ugly and overwhelming.
"He knew he was using drugs; that’s what the evidence shows."
HUNTER'S DRUG ADDICTION IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Federal prosecutors called three of Hunter's exes as witnesses. All testified at great lengths about his crack cocaine addiction.
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter's ex-wife, told the courtroom how she found a crack pipe in their home and drug paraphernalia in his pickup truck.
Buhle told jurors that her ex-husband acknowledged smoking crack.
Hunter's ex-lover and former sex worker, Zoe Kestan, shockingly testified how the First Son would smoke crack up to every 20 minutes from the moment he woke up.
Meanwhile, Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, briefly described her romance with Hunter and how he introduced her to crack.
"It was a terrible experience that I went through, and I'm embarrassed, and I'm ashamed of that period of my life," a remorseful Hallie, 50, said.
Hallie told jurors that she found the firearm inside Hunter's pickup truck a few days after he purchased it.
The mother-of-two said she disposed of it out of fear for himself and her children.
"I didn't want him to hurt himself or my kids to find it and hurt themselves," Hallie said on the stand.
"I was afraid to, kind of, touch it. I was just flustered from the whole thing. I realize it was a stupid idea, but I was just panicking," she said about the moment she disposed of the revolver in a trash can.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell argued there was no evidence to support that Hunter ever took the gun out of the locked box it came in before Hallie found it and threw it in the trash.
"On October 23rd, Hallie did something incredibly stupid," Lowell said during closing arguments.
"She may have done it for love or perhaps out of anger in suspecting that Hunter had been with another woman."
Lowell also stressed the issue with wording on the ATF gun form, saying the question about drug use asks the potential buyer, "are you" a drug user, as opposed to "have you" ever used drugs.
The defense attorney stressed that the form distinguishes between past and present tense when listing some of the other criteria that could disqualify someone from buying a gun.
"So, Hunter Biden, who just returned from and was engaging with his family in a way he wouldn't while using drugs, 'What would he see?'" Lowell said.
"Not a question in the past tense. In the present tense. And, knowing he was working on his sobriety, Hunter Biden answered, 'No.'"
Instead, Lowell shifted the blame to the gun store salesman, who he previously described to jurors as a "pushy" sales representative.
