The 12 jurors in the trial against Hunter Biden for illegal possession of a firearm in 2018 found him guilty this Tuesday of the three crimes that were against him at the federal level for this issue, in a historic ruling that marks the first trial of a son of a sitting US president.
In its verdict, the court of the city of Wilmington, belonging to the state of Delaware, condemned the son of Joe Biden for the three charges against him: two for lying in the documentation to acquire the weapon, a 38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver, and one more for its illegal possession after the purchase.
Two of the charges could carry a maximum of 10 years behind bars each and the third five years. In turn, he must pay a fine of up to $750,000 for each of them. However, Being the first time he has been convicted and having no prior record, it is most likely that Hunter Biden will not receive any prison sentenceaccording to experts.
District Judge Maryellen Noreika has not yet set a date for the sentencing hearing. Before dismissing the parties, she told them that sentencing is typically set for 120 days after the verdict, meaning it will likely occur before presidential election day next November.
“No one in this country is above the law”
At a news conference after the verdict, special prosecutor David Weiss He said that no one is above the law. “No one in this country is above the law. “Everyone should be held accountable for his actions, including this defendant,” he noted. “However, Hunter Biden should be no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of this same conduct. The prosecution was and will continue to be committed to this principle,” he clarified.
“Ultimately, this case was not just about addiction, an affliction that torments families across America, including Hunter Biden’s family. This case was about the illegal decisions the defendant made while in the midst of addiction,” Weiss explained. “His choice to lie on a government form when he purchased a gun and his choice to later possess that gun. It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous,” he stressed. .
Meanwhile, a member of the jury said in an interview with the television network cnn that The jury was evenly split on all three charges after a quick hand vote Monday night., just after the deliberations began. But on Tuesday, as the group reviewed the evidence, those who favored acquittal changed their minds relatively quickly, said the juror, a 68-year-old man who declined to give his name out of concern for his safety and who He identified himself as juror number 10.
The jury also said politics did not come into play during deliberations. Although he did not say whether he was a supporter of President Joe Biden, he said he had sympathy for Hunter Biden’s family’s struggle with addiction and that he does not believe he should be in jail. Three other jurors who spoke with cnn Following the guilty verdict, they indicated they believed they had no choice but to find Biden’s son guilty.
The reaction of the Biden family
The presidential family was silent when the guilty verdict was pronounced. Jimmy Biden, President Biden’s brother, was in the courtroom. He was also Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden, and some family friends. The US president’s son stared straight ahead and showed little emotion as the verdict was read, reported Los Angeles Times. He then left the courthouse with a smile, holding hands with first lady Jill Biden, his stepmother, and his wife, who had serious expressions on their faces.
“Today I am more grateful for the love and support I experienced last week from Melissa, my family, my friends and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome. Recovery is possible by the grace of God and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time,” said Hunter Biden in a written statement released to the media after he was found guilty.
Meanwhile, Abbe Lowell, one of his attorneys, stated: “Naturally, we are disappointed by today’s verdict. “We respect the jury process and, as we have done throughout this case, we will continue to vigorously pursue all legal challenges available to Hunter.”
Before Judge Maryellen Noreika called jurors to deliberate, Lowell summarized his closing argument by insisting that there is no direct evidence that his client was using drugs in the days surrounding the date he purchased the gun. “Hunter did not ask anyone to apologize or forgive him for his mistakes,” she noted.
The process
The process began last week. The North American president was not present at any time, while Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle; an ex-girlfriend; and her daughter, Naomi Biden, testified. The latter’s testimony focused on two moments in which she saw her father in 2018, on dates close to the purchase of the weapon.
The first visit was in the summer, at the Los Angeles rehabilitation center where Hunter was admitted. “It was the cleanest I had seen it since my uncle died,” noted the president’s granddaughter, referring to her late uncle, Beau Biden. The president’s son died in 2015 from a brain tumor, an event that plunged Hunter Biden into a deep depression and uncontrollable substance abuse. Naomi Biden saw her father again in New York in October, the month she bought the gun, and at the time he seemed hopeful, she said, in a statement in which she was able to see her father. wiping away tears.
Kathleen Buhle, who was married to Biden for nearly 25 years and with whom she had three daughters, recalled the shocking moment she discovered a used crack pipe in an ashtray in July 2015 and her then-husband’s admission to being an addict. . Also detailed that he searched Hunter Biden’s vehicle for crack cocaine before allowing his daughters to use it to make sure they weren’t in a car with drugs.
Zoe Kestan, ex-girlfriend of Joe Biden’s son, told the jury that Hunter was a charming spendthrift who liked the good life and parties in New York. Hunter Biden met Kestan at a men’s club in 2018 in New York and, according to her, they connected immediately.
When questioned by the Prosecutor’s Office, Kestan assured that he tried to help him sober many times, and even saw him smoke crack repeatedly, tearing small crystals from a huge rock of crack that was the size of a ping-pong ball. The defense of Biden’s son tried to undermine the credibility of the witness by pointing out that although he encouraged him to stay clean, on other occasions he introduced him to drug dealers and allowed him to do so.
The charges against Hunter Biden are the result of an investigation that was opened in 2018 during the Donald Trump Administration and that the former president himself, a future Republican candidate for next November’s elections, used to attack his Democratic opponent. Now, with the recent verdict, the president’s son’s legal problems did not end: He still has to face another trial in California in which he is accused of having evaded the payment of 1.4 million dollars in taxes.
