Jurors have reached their verdict in the criminal trial against President Joe Biden's son Hunter over a gun he bought in 2018 when prosecutors say he was deep in the midst of a crack cocaine addiction — he was found guilty of all three felony charges.
Jurors have been deliberating over whether Hunter Biden is guilty of three felonies in the case which pits him against his father's Justice Department in the middle of the incumbent Democrat's re-election campaign. During the trial, they heard testimony from Hunter Biden's ex-wife and former girlfriends, and were shown photos of him with drug paraphernalia and other salacious evidence to make the case that he had lied when he checked "no" on the form at a gun shop asking whether he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to" drugs.
"He knew he was using drugs," prosecutor Leo Wise told jurors in his closing argument on Monday. "That's what the evidence shows. And he knew he was addicted to drugs. That's what the evidence shows."
It's not yet clear if Hunter will be sentenced to any jail time, though he faces up to 25 years between all the counts. It's likely he won't get the maximum amount, however, given that this is his first offense.
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Hunter Biden has been joined by his wife Melissa Cohen Biden in court (Getty Images)Hunter Biden spiralled into a fight with substance abuse issues following the death of his brother, Beau, in 2015, something that is well documented, including in his own autobiography. However, his defence team argued he did not consider himself an "addict" when he bought the gun.
His lawyers have attempted to prove that he was trying to turn his life around at the time, having just finished a rehabilitation programme at the end of August 2018. His defence team called three witnesses, including his daughter Naomi, who told jurors he seemed to be improving in the weeks leading up to the gun purchase.
The defence went on to tell jurors that nobody witnessed Hunter Biden using drugs during the 11 days he had the gun before Beau's widow, Hallie, found it in Hunter's truck and threw it in a bin. Defence attorney Abbe Lowell suggested prosecutors were presenting circumstantial evidence like a magician might present a card trick, trying to get jurors to focus on one hand and ignore the other.
First Lady Jill Biden has regularly appeared in court during her stepson's trial (Getty Images)“With my last breath in this case, I ask for the only verdict that will hold the prosecutors to what the law requires of them” — a verdict of not guilty, Lowell said in his final pitch to jurors. First lady Jill Biden, the president’s brother James and other family members watched from the first row of the courtroom as the defence rested its case on Monday without calling Hunter Biden to the witness stand. The first lady has been in court almost every day since the trial began last week.
Before the case went to the jury, the prosecutor urged jurors to focus on the “overwhelming” evidence against Hunter Biden and pay no mind to members of the president’s family sitting in the courtroom. “All of this is not evidence,” Wise said, extending his hand and directing the jury to look at the gallery. “People sitting in the gallery are not evidence.”
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