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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Trial followed dramatic unraveling of plea deal
In July 2023, a plea deal struck between Hunter Biden and prosecutors that could have precluded this week's trial dramatically fell apart amid the judge's concerns over the terms of the agreement.
For the better part of three hours, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika scrutinized nearly every facet of the plea deal. Noreika acknowledged that her probing threw "a little bit of a curveball" into the proceeding.
Hunter Biden had originally agreed to a pretrial diversion on the gun charges, with the charges being dropped if he adhered to certain terms. He had also agreed to acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. In exchange, prosecutors would have recommended probation on those charges.
Democrats had hailed the deal as a sign of accountability while Republicans panned the details as a "sweetheart deal."
Hunter Biden leaves court with wife, first lady
Hunter Biden appeared stunned when the verdict was read, showing absolutely no reaction when the first "guilty" was announced.
Then, he nodded "yes" as the word guilty was read for a second time. He nodded once more when the third one was read.
Hunter Biden then immediately he turned to those around him. He patted his attorney Abbe Lowell on the back and hugged one of his paralegals, and when the jury left, he smiled as he hugged his lawyer again.
He then turned to his family, moving into the gallery where he hugged his wife and gave her a kiss.
After the reading of the verdict, Hunter Biden left court holding hands with his stepmother, first lady Jill Biden, and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
His aunt and uncle, Valerie Biden and James Biden, were also at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Hunter Biden unlikely to serve time, expert says
Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison, though legal experts believe he would not serve time as a first-time and nonviolent offender.
ABC News chief legal affairs anchor Dan Abrams said that while it's unlikely he will serve time, "the judge will have a lot of discretion."
"This is technically a very serious crime with a very serious potential sentence," Abrams said.
President Joe Biden told ABC News last week that he would not pardon his son. But the president also has the option to commute the sentence, Abrams noted.
In September 2023, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a commutation of any sentence.
President Biden said he wouldn't pardon son
President Joe Biden said he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden during an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor David Muir last week.
Muir asked President Biden on Thursday if he would accept the outcome of his son's trial, to which the president said, "Yes."
The president also said "yes" when asked by Muir if he would rule out a pardon for Hunter Biden.
Prosecutors introduce infamous laptop as evidence
Prosecutors have introduced Hunter Biden's infamous laptop as evidence while questioning FBI agent Erika Jensen, their first witness.
Prosecutors asked Jensen about email messages found on the laptop and in Hunter Biden's iCloud account that appear to be about his drug use in 2018.
The government had said in pretrial court filings that it was planning to introduce materials on the laptop as evidence in the case.
The laptop has become a symbol of the legal and political controversy surrounding the president's son in recent years. Attorneys for Hunter Biden had previously attempted to preclude the laptop as evidence in the trial, arguing that they have "numerous reasons to believe the data had been altered and compromised before investigators obtained the electronic material."
But special counsel David Weiss argued in court filings that attorneys for Hunter Biden had not "provided any evidence or information that shows that his laptop contains false information," and the judge agreed to admit it as evidence.
Data from the laptop was purportedly obtained and later disseminated in 2019 by a Wilmington, Delaware, computer repairman after the laptop had been dropped off at his shop for repair.
With that context in mind, prosecutors did not rely on the laptop on its own; investigators said they cross-referenced every email, WhatsApp message, iMessage, and text message with Apple Inc. to establish the credibility of the data.
"Ultimately, in examining that laptop, were investigators able to confirm that it was Hunter Biden's laptop?" prosecutor Derek Hines asked Jensen.
"Yes," Jensen said.
"How?" Hines asked.
"Among other things, there was a serial number that's on the back of this laptop that matches the Apple subpoena records that they obtained in 2019, so it matches the registration of this particular device to the iCloud account at a particular date," Jensen said.
"So from the data from the laptop and the hard drive, did you -- what did you do next, or what did the FBI do next when assessing the addiction evidence?" Hines asked.
"So from the data that was extracted from both the iCloud back ups and this -- the laptop, investigators were able to go through largely WhatsApp messages, iMessages, and text messages, and found evidence of addiction within the messages," Jensen said.
Prosecutors also showed jurors an invoice for $85 from the computer repair shop where Hunter Biden dropped off the laptop for repair, which had been sent to an email address belonging to Hunter Biden.
"You said Apple Inc. provided that ... from the iCloud?" Hines asked.
"Yes," Jensen said.