Newsman: President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden has been found guilty on three felony counts Tuesday, after a weeklong trial that focused on his history of drug addiction. Biden was charged in federal court in Wilmington with three felony counts tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics; he had pleaded not guilty. The son of a sitting president had never before faced a criminal trial.
The jury started its deliberations Monday afternoon and deliberated for about three hours before it returned the historic verdict.
Two of the counts carry maximum prison sentences of 10 years, while the third has a maximum of five years. Under federal sentencing guideline recommendations, Biden could be sentenced to over a year in prison, but the judge could sentence him to more or less time. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
No sentencing date has been set. Judge Maryellen Noreika said before court ended that she would schedule a sentencing date in the next 120 days. Legal experts believe he will not serve time as a first-time and nonviolent offender.
In a statement, the president said, “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
The president said he accepted the outcome of the 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.”
President Biden has the power to pardon his son, but he told ABC News in an interview Thursday that he would not do so.
The trial involving the son of a sitting president, came as the president faces a re-election fight against former President Donald Trump in November.
As the son of a president, Hunter Biden gets Secret Service protection but can opt out of that protection if he wants.
As of now, he continues to have USSS protection and, for as long as his father is president, that would continue, even in prison, unless he waives the privilege.
First lady Jill Biden was not in the courtroom as the verdict was read and arrived minutes later. She immediately went into a holding room where Hunter Biden went after the verdict.
The case was brought by special counsel David Weiss, the Trump-nominated U.S. attorney for Delaware, who was kept on by the Biden-led Justice Department to continue his investigation into the president’s son.
“This case was not just about addiction,” Weiss said after the verdict. “This case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction.”
Biden’s conviction comes less than two weeks after Trump was found guilty in New York state court of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to a porn star in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election. He has been scheduled to be sentenced July 11.
