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.
Latest headlines:
Judge rules annotated form can't be used as evidence
On the eve of trial, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika threw a wrench in one of the key arguments attorneys for Hunter Biden were planning to advance, ruling that an annotated copy of the federal form Hunter Biden is accused of lying on would be excluded from evidence.
The original document, called an ATF Form 4473, was created in 2018 when Hunter Biden purchased the firearm. But in 2021, gun store employees made a copy that included some handwritten notes. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell contended that employees had "tampered with" the document, and that it raised questions about "who wrote what on the form, and when."
Lowell hoped his argument would undermine the credibility of some key government witnesses -- the people who sold Biden the gun -- and potentially create a reasonable doubt that Hunter Biden was the one who actually checked that box.
Attorneys for special counsel David Weiss' office have said the gun shop employees merely "annotated" the form and urged Noreika to prevent Lowell from introducing it into evidence.
Late Sunday, Noreika sided with Weiss.
Jury selection set to get underway
Jury selection is scheduled to get underway today in the federal gun trial of Hunter Biden, who authorities say broke the law when he purchased a Colt revolver in 2018.
President Joe Biden's son faces two counts of making false statements while purchasing the firearm and a third count of illegally obtaining it while addicted to drugs.
Although the charges together carry a possible sentence of up to 25 years, legal experts say that, as a first-time and nonviolent offender, Hunter Biden would not likely serve time if convicted.
The trial, in Delaware federal court, is expected to last two to three weeks.
Prosecution set to rest its case
The government is expected to rest its case against Hunter Biden this morning after calling its final witnesses.
After that, it will be the defense's turn. Attorneys for Hunter Biden indicated earlier this week that they intend to call Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi to the stand, and also suggested that James Biden, the uncle of Hunter Biden and the brother of President Joe Biden, would testify.
Whether Hunter Biden takes the stand in his own defense remains an open question.
If he does not, defense attorney Abbe Lowell said he would likely rest his case on Monday, meaning jurors could be deliberating as soon as Tuesday.