Hunter Biden, the son of current US President Joe Biden, was convicted on Tuesday June 11 of illegal possession of a firearm, a possession which would be illegal because he was a drug user. That’s what the jury in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, the Biden family’s home state, decided. The verdict was announced in the middle of the American president’s campaign for his re-election.
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The Biden family was present throughout the trial: Hunter Biden left the court hand in hand with his wife Melissa and his mother Jill Biden. Witnesses present in the courtroom saw the president’s son listen to the verdict without particular emotion, before thanking his lawyers.
Hunter Biden is therefore recognized guilty of three counts. He is notably guilty of having lied twice, by claiming not to be addicted to drugs in a form necessary for the purchase of the weapon in 2018. During the trial, his use of narcotics, and in particular crack, was detailed by those close to him, by his ex-wife and his ex-girlfriend. He was also found guilty of the weapons possession itself.
Hunter Biden did not testify during this trial but he never denied his well-known addiction problems. He walked out of court free. Moreover, Hunter Biden was found guilty on Tuesday of illegal possession of a firearm not because of his addiction to drugs and alcohol when purchasing the revolver, but for his “illegal choices”, a said special prosecutor David Weiss. “ This case concerns the illegal choices that the defendant made while he was in the grip of addictions, his choice to lie on a government form when he purchased the weapon and then his choice to possess this weapon. “, declared Mr. Weiss, who investigated the case, during a brief press briefing.
The judge is expected to pronounce his sentence in a few weeks. Hunter Biden theoretically faces up to 25 years in prison, but it is unlikely that the sentence would be that heavy, given that he only had the gun for 11 days, it was not used to commit a crime, and it is his first criminal conviction. An alternative sentence could also be decided.
A pebble in the shoe of Joe Biden’s campaign?
It is also the first criminal conviction of the son of a sitting president. Joe Biden immediately reacted with a press release, repeating that he “ would accept the conclusion of this matter » and that he “ would respect the legal procedure “. This as Hunter plans to appeal, he writes.
“ I am the president, but I am also a father. (First Lady) Jill (Biden) and I love our son and are so proud of the man he is today », Wrote the 81-year-old Democratic leader, who is preparing to face his Republican rival Donald Trump on November 5. Joe Biden had already testified to his son at the start of the trial of his “ endless Love » while committing not to pardon him if he was convicted.
No question of presidential and paternal amnesty therefore, as he had already said, while the political consequences on his campaign are difficult to assess.
This verdict comes precisely on the day when Joe Biden is due to give a speech on limiting the proliferation of firearmsa scourge in the United States.
Hunter Biden, a 54-year-old lawyer and businessman turned artist, has been appearing since June 3 in this stronghold of the Biden clan for having lied about his drug use when he bought a Colt Cobra-type revolver in a gun store. . He ” knew he was a crack user or (it was) addicted “, insisted prosecutor Leo Wise.
Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, had instead assured the jurors that “ he no longer used drugs » when he bought the weapon, which “ has never, ever been charged, worn or used during the 11 days it has been in his possession “.
The Republicans denounce the “ Biden’s corrupting influence »
The Republican Party, under the orders of presidential candidate and ex-president Donald Trump, has long sought to tarnish Joe Biden through his son’s setbacks. The Conservatives went as far as open an investigation into the impeachment of the head of state. At issue: Hunter’s businesses in Ukraine and China. So far, no compromising evidence has been provided.
The Republican chairman of an investigative committee of the House of Representatives James Comer welcomed Tuesday June 11 in a press release “ a step towards responsibility “. But according to him, she must go “ until the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved around (…) Biden’s corrupting influence “.
In September, Hunter Biden must also appear in California for tax evasion. His affairs, which are the focus of conservative media, risk parasitizing his father’s attempts to mark the contrast with Donald Trump. Particularly because the latter was convicted May 30 in criminal trial of hidden payments to porn stara historic first against a former president of the United States.