Hunter Biden was found guilty of all three counts of federal firearm charges Tuesday, concluding a six-year investigation into whether the first son had lied on a federal form for a background check and illegally possessed a firearm while under the influence of illicit drugs.
Hunter was struggling with an addiction to crack cocaine in 2018 and had at least one stay in a rehab facility during the summer. However, as multiple witnesses testified during the trial, he had quickly relapsed by October 2018, the month that he purchased a gun. His ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, painted a picture of a deeply troubled man whose constant drug abuse led to the dissolution of their marriage.
Hallie Biden, Hunter’s sister-in-law turned paramour, told the story of how she repeatedly searched Hunter’s car to make sure it was safe for her kids to be inside, only to find the gun and drug paraphernalia. Hallie took the gun and the pouch it was kept in, which tested positive for cocaine residue, and tossed it in a grocery store dumpster. Prosecutors also revealed a series of texts in the days surrounding the gun purchase that showed Hunter making plans to meet up with his crack dealer and using veiled references to various illicit substances.
The defense hoped to make Hunter look more sympathetic by calling his daughter Naomi to the stand. But as Naomi testified that she had seen her father in October and that he seemed “great” and “hopeful,” text messages in the days following the gun purchase revealed Hunter was quite erratic and often unreachable. As Axios put it, “probing questions and old text messages presented by the prosecution Friday made the president’s son look more like an erratic dad than a good father who was getting sober in the week after he bought the gun.”
The defense pulled a witness, presumably Hunter’s uncle James, in the aftermath of Naomi’s disastrous testimony.
The jury started deliberations on Monday and returned the guilty verdict late Tuesday morning. Hunter faces up to twenty-five years in prison and a $750,000 fine.
“As I said last week, I am the president, but I am also a dad,” said President Biden in a statement. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. 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 also 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.”
“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,” said Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit.”
Politically, the verdict all but nullifies the Democratic Party and Biden campaign’s strategy to repeatedly remind Americans that his opponent, Donald Trump, is a convicted felon. President Biden has said in interviews that he has ruled out pardoning his son if found guilty.
