Hunter Biden Found Guilty on All Counts in Felony Gun Case, Could Face Prison
Mr. Biden now faces a second trial, for federal tax evasion, which is expected to start in September.
![Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.nysun.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FGettyImages-2157140417.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Hunter Biden was found guilty on Tuesday of three felony firearms charges by a 12-person jury, meaning President Biden’s only surviving son could face prison.
The verdict came after several hours of deliberation over two days by a jury at Wilmington, Delaware.
Special Counsel David Weiss had charged Biden with multiple felony counts for lying about his drug use to buy a gun in 2018.
During the trial, prosecutors painted a damning portrait of Mr. Biden around the time he bought the gun as heavy drug user smoking crack cocaine several times an hour, according to the testimony of a stripper ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan.
Biden’s lawyers claimed there was “reasonable doubt” that Biden was using drugs at the time he bought the gun. They pointed out that he had just attended rehab and claimed the defense had created “an accordion” with its narrative, conflating lurid testimony and documentary evidence to over several years to make it sound, without verification, that the drug use was occuring in 2018.
During over the course of the the seven day trial, Biden was supported by a large contingent of family members from the Biden clan. His stepmother, the first lady, Jill Biden, attended every day but one, when she was in Normandy for D-Day commemorations. She arrived at the courthouse on Tuesday shortly after the verdict was read.
Also attending the trial was Biden’s half-sister, Ashley Biden, who regularly wept during testimony about his drug use. The president’s sister, Valerie Biden, also attended her nephew’s trial, as did the president’s younger brother, James, who along with Hunter Biden has been accused of “influence peddling” by Congressional Republicans.
Also in attendance at the trial was Kevin Morris, the wealthy entertainment lawyer who has been subsidizing Biden’s Malibu, California lifestyle and paying his debts for years.
And Biden was accompanied to court every day by his second and current wife, Melissa Cohen.
Biden’s eldest daughter, Naomi, 30, testified but none of his other four children were in attendance.
Biden could face years in prison for the conviction, although these kind of charges are rarely brought against ordinary defendants unless they’re involved in other, more serious crimes. But Biden is not an ordinary defendant.
Mr. Weiss has also charged Biden with felony tax evasion and that trial is expected to start in September.