Hunter Biden Convicted of Lying About Drug Use to Buy Gun

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury of lying about his drug use to illegally buy a gun, a verdict Democrats may seize upon to counter Donald Trump’s claim of a justice system weaponized against him.

A jury in Wilmington, Delaware, federal court found him guilty on all three counts against him, making Hunter Biden the first child of a sitting U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.

A verdict of the 12-member jury must be unanimous on each count.

The trial followed the May 30 criminal conviction of Trump, the first former U.S. president to be found guilty of a felony and the Republican challenger to Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 election.

Congressional Democrats have pointed to cases including the Hunter Biden prosecution as evidence that Joe Biden is not using the justice system for political or personal ends, having said last week he would not pardon his son if convicted.

The sentencing guidelines for the gun-related charges against Biden are 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say defendants in similar cases often get shorter sentences and are less likely to be incarcerated if they abide by the terms of their pretrial release.

Hunter Biden looked straight ahead at the jury and nodded slightly as three guilty verdicts were read, eight days after the trial began and after only about three hours of jurors deliberating.

First lady Jill Biden entered the courtroom after the verdict was announced, as did his aunt, Valerie Biden Owens.

Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, was in the room when the verdict was read out.

The verdict came after a trial that included testimony from his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, Hallie Biden, who is the widow of his brother Beau Biden, and a third romantic ex-partner of Hunter’s.