The president's son was convicted of unlawfully purchasing a firearm.
President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been found guilty on three felony counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs.
The younger Biden, who pleaded not guilty last October after being indicted by special counsel David Weiss, denied the charges. The son of a sitting president had never before faced a criminal trial.
The trial came on the heels of former President Donald Trump's conviction on felony charges related to a hush money payment made to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
The jury of 12 jurors and 4 alternates has been seated in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial.
The panel was picked from 250 prospective jurors who arrived at the courthouse this morning for the voir dire process.
Judge Maryellen Noreika has so far quizzed more than 50 Delaware residents about their fitness to serve as jurors in the first trial of a sitting president's son. And being Delaware -- a small state that Joe Biden represented in the Senate for more than three decades -- nearly all of them had some level of familiarity with Hunter Biden's legal travails.
"I live in Delaware," one prospective juror said. "You can't swing a cat without hearing something."
"Delaware is a small place," another said. "So you hear stuff."
Several jurors said they had heard or read about this trial specifically. Most had only a cursory understanding of the case, but others expressed a detailed accounting of the charges. A few jurors mentioned the ill-fated plea deal that Hunter Biden initially struck with prosecutors last summer.
"At one time there was a deal, and then there wasn't," one man said.
One woman had even read Hunter Biden's memoir, "Beautiful Things," which prosecutors plan to use to help prove their case. She was excused by the judge.
President Joe Biden has emerged repeatedly in questioning, with prospective jurors expressing both positive and negative feelings on his presidency. One woman said she believed that Hunter Biden was facing charges largely because his father is the president.
"I think it was a very strong factor," she said.
Several others have been dismissed for harboring negative views toward the Bidens. Asked for his opinion about the president, one man said, "Not a good one." Another man said, "Negative toward the defendant." Both were excused.
The jury questionnaire also includes several questions about drug and alcohol addiction -- an affliction that many prospective jurors said has personally affected them.
One woman held back tears as she described how her best friend had died of a heroine overdose. Another man said his daughter is a recovering addict.
"Everybody needs a second chance," he said.
Judge Noreika has been pressing ahead, intent on getting a jury seated as soon as possible -- perhaps even by the end of the day.
In addition first lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden's wife Melissa, his half-sister Ashley Biden attended court during the morning session, and his confidant and financier Kevin Morris is also in attendance.
President Joe Biden said in a statement issued this morning that he has "boundless love" for his son.
"I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. Hunter's resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us," Biden said in the statement as jury selection got underway.
"A lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean," the president said.
"As the President, I don't and won't comment on pending federal cases, but as a Dad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength," he said. "Our family has been through a lot together, and Jill and I are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support."
After filling out the jury questionnaire, the first panel of prospective jurors are being brought into the court room one-by-one to face individual questioning from the judge and both parties. As of about 9:45 a.m. ET, the court had made it through the questioning of just six jurors.
The prospective jurors so far have include a woman who worked with the Secret Service for over two decades and whose husband was a uniformed officer in Washington, D.C., at locations including the White House.
One prospective juror who volunteered for Hilary Clinton's 2008 campaign prompted the first mention of President Joe Biden -- though not by name.
Judge Norieka asked that prospective juror if her work volunteering and donating to Democratic campaigns would prevent her from being fair in a case that involved "the son of the Democratic president of the United States."
She said it would not.
The exchange occurred as first lady Jill Biden sat in the front row of the gallery, watching intently as each juror answered their questions. The first lady is sitting next to Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa.
Earlier, a prospective juror was struck for cause because of his firm views on guns, after he told the judge he thought gun ownership was a "God-given right." He said he would not be able to be impartial in a case where someone was prevented from buying a gun due to federal law.
