Hunter Biden gun trial: 'Politics never came into play,' juror says after guilty verdict
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.
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Jury reaches verdict
The jury in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial has reached a verdict after several hours of deliberation.
The parties are being summoned to the courtroom for the reading of the verdict on the three counts Hunter Biden faces.
The president's son faces two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm at the center of the case, and a third count of illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs.
Jury resumes deliberations
The jury has resumed its deliberations in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial.
Before sending them back to deliberate, Judge Maryellen Noreika asked jurors if they had discussed the case with anyone.
They all promised that they had not.
Hunter Biden arrives in court
Hunter Biden entered the Wilmington, Delaware, courthouse as jurors prepared to resume deliberations in his federal gun trial.
He was accompanied, as he has been each day of the trial, by his wife Melissa Cohen Biden.
Jury to resume deliberations
The 12 jury members who for the past week heard vivid and personal details about President Joe Biden's family are set to continue their deliberations this morning in the federal gun trial of his son, Hunter Biden.
In their closing arguments yesterday, prosecutors argued that Hunter Biden lied on a federal gun-purchase form when he said he was not a drug addict, telling jurors "if this evidence did not establish that Hunter Biden was a crack addict and an unlawful user, then no one is a crack addict or an unlawful user."
But defense attorney Abbe Lowell urged the jury to acquit his client, telling them, "We have had Hunter's life in our hands. And now we have to give it to you."
If convicted, Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison -- though legal experts believe he would not serve time due to his being a first-time, nonviolent offender.
Deliberations are scheduled to resume today at 9 a.m. ET.
Hunter Biden's ex-wife says he could function while on drugs
Taking the stand as a prosecution witness, Hunter Biden's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle described how, after 25 years, their marriage deteriorated under the weight of his drug and alcohol addiction.
Buhle said she first learned of Hunter Biden's crack addiction when she discovered an empty crack pipe in an ash tray on their side porch the day after their anniversary in 2015. Hunter Biden was kicked out of the Navy in 2014 for testing positive for cocaine, and Buhle said ever since then she was "worried, scared" he would abuse drugs again.
When he was on crack, Buhle testified, "He was not himself … angry, short-tempered, acting in ways he wouldn't when he was sober."
She said she would find drug "remnants in little bags" and drug paraphernalia like "a broken crack pipe" -- often enough that she would search his car before allowing her daughters to use it.
In what could be a blow to one of Abbe Lowell's lines of defense, Buhle said Hunter Biden frequently interacted with friends and family, worked, and socialized while under the influence of crack cocaine -- and would often try to hide it from those close to him.
"Did you see him, for lack of a better word, function?" prosecutor Leo Wise asked.
"Yes," Buhle confirmed.