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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No sentencing date set
Hunter Biden sat expressionless as a court officer read the jury’s verdict form aloud to the court. After the third "guilty" rang over the courtroom speakers, he turned and hugged a member of his legal team and remained seated until jurors stood to leave.
Prosecutors Leo Wise and Derek Hines sat equally motionless throughout the short proceeding.
After Judge Maryellen Noreika excused jurors, she said she would get back in touch with the parties to schedule a sentencing date in the next 120 days. 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.
Hunter Biden found guilty on all 3 counts
President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been found guilty on all three counts in his federal gun case.
He stands convicted of two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm at the center of the case, for saying on a federal gun-purchase form that he was not addicted to drugs at the time of the purchase, and a third count of illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs.
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.
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.