Hunter Biden, the first child of a sitting president to face a federal prosecution and be found guilty in his gun trial on June 11. The trial focused on a Colt Cobra revolver that Biden purchased on October 12, 2018, from a gun shop when he was allegedly suffering from a crack cocaine addiction. Authorities charged Biden with lying to the federally licensed gun dealer by falsely declaring on his application that he did not use drugs at the time of purchase and then using the pistol illegally for 11 days.
The jury reconvened the next morning after deliberating for one hour in the late afternoon of June 10. They deliberated the matter for a total of three hours. The gun store owner, clerk who sold the gun to Biden, the man who found the gun in the trash, sister-in-law and ex-partner Hallie Biden, daughter Naomi Biden, and expert witnesses all testified during the week-long trial that resulted in the verdict.
The prosecution said that Biden was "knowingly" an active drug user based on evidence from his former love partners, text messages, and passages from his biography. However, the defense said that Biden did not "knowingly" mislead on the gun application form when he ticked "no" when asked whether he was a drug addict since he did not think of himself as an addict at the time he bought the firearm.
Prosecutor Leo Wise centered his closing arguments on Mr. Biden's memoir's self-admissions of drug addiction and texts he wrote to Hallie Biden around the time of the gun purchase, in which he said he was either waiting for a drug dealer or was consuming crack cocaine. The defense tried to present Mr. Biden as a guy who was battling but ultimately triumphant over a difficult time that started in 2015 when his brother Beau passed away from brain cancer.
The trial is taking place five months before the 2024 election, pitting Mr. Biden's father against former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty in his criminal trial in Manhattan a few weeks before. If found guilty in the federal firearms case, Mr. Biden could spend up to 25 years in jail. Sentencing will likely take place within 120 days of the verdict, although the court has not set a date yet.
The jury reconvened the next morning after deliberating for one hour in the late afternoon of June 10. They deliberated the matter for a total of three hours. The gun store owner, clerk who sold the gun to Biden, the man who found the gun in the trash, sister-in-law and ex-partner Hallie Biden, daughter Naomi Biden, and expert witnesses all testified during the week-long trial that resulted in the verdict.
The prosecution said that Biden was "knowingly" an active drug user based on evidence from his former love partners, text messages, and passages from his biography. However, the defense said that Biden did not "knowingly" mislead on the gun application form when he ticked "no" when asked whether he was a drug addict since he did not think of himself as an addict at the time he bought the firearm.
Prosecutor Leo Wise centered his closing arguments on Mr. Biden's memoir's self-admissions of drug addiction and texts he wrote to Hallie Biden around the time of the gun purchase, in which he said he was either waiting for a drug dealer or was consuming crack cocaine. The defense tried to present Mr. Biden as a guy who was battling but ultimately triumphant over a difficult time that started in 2015 when his brother Beau passed away from brain cancer.
The trial is taking place five months before the 2024 election, pitting Mr. Biden's father against former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty in his criminal trial in Manhattan a few weeks before. If found guilty in the federal firearms case, Mr. Biden could spend up to 25 years in jail. Sentencing will likely take place within 120 days of the verdict, although the court has not set a date yet.
