Hunter Biden found guilty in gun trial

WILMINGTON, Del. - Hunter Biden has been convicted of all three felony charges in a federal gun trial.

Jurors found President Joe Biden's oldest son guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

Hunter Biden reportedly stared straight ahead and showed little emotion as the verdict was read. 

The verdict was reached after about three hours of deliberation and was read Tuesday inside a federal courthouse, where cameras are not allowed. 

After the verdict, he hugged both of his attorneys and smiled wanly. He kissed his wife, Melissa, and they left the courtroom together.

Hunter Biden left the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife. They did not speak to reporters, got into waiting SUVs and drove off.

Later on Tuesday, Hunter Biden released a statement saying he was grateful for support from his family and friends but "disappointed" by the conviction. 

He added, "Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time."

His attorney said they will "continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available."

President Biden also issued a statement to say he loved his son and was proud of the man he is today, and that he will accept the outcome and "respect the judicial process."

READ MORE: Biden reacts to son Hunter's guilty verdict in gun trial

Hunter Biden sentencing

Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, but it's unclear how long of a sentence he'll get. That's up to Judge Maryellen Noreika, who will consider that Hunter Biden is a first-time offender.

Judge Noreika noted that sentencing typically is 120 days out, but no sentencing date was set after the verdict was read Tuesday.

What was Hunter Biden charged with?

Hunter Biden was charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase of the gun he had for about 11 days in 2018. Prosecutors say he lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

Biden’s lawyers rested their case Monday in the federal criminal trial in Wilmington, Delaware without calling Biden to the witness stand. According to the Associated Press, defendants are not required to testify and are often advised by lawyers not to do so because it opens them up to questioning by prosecutors on cross-examination.

Prosecutors argued the evidence was clear that Biden was struggling with addiction when he checked "no" on the form at the gun shop that asked whether he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to" drugs, the Associated Press reported. 

Defense lawyers argued that prosecutors failed to prove Biden was using drugs in the 11 days that he possessed the gun. Biden has accused the Justice Department of bending to political pressure from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans to bring the gun case and separate tax charges after a deal with prosecutors fell apart last year. 

RELATED: Who is Melissa Cohen Biden? The outspoken wife of Hunter Biden

Biden is the first child of a sitting president to be the subject of a criminal trial. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. The president said last week that he would accept the jury’s verdict and had ruled out a pardon for his son. 

Who testified at the trial?

Kathleen Buhle, ex-wife

One of the prosecutors' first witnesses was Hunter Biden's ex-wife, who filed for divorce in 2016 after more than 20 years of marriage. They have three children together. In divorce proceedings, she accused him of squandering their money on drugs, alcohol, strip clubs and prostitutes.

On the witness stand, Buhle described learning about Hunter Biden's drug use when she found a pipe used to smoke crack cocaine in an ashtray on their porch in July 2015, weeks after Hunter's brother Beau died from brain cancer.

When she confronted Hunter, he "acknowledged smoking crack," she told jurors.

Hallie Biden, Beau Biden’s widow

Another key witness for prosecutors was Beau's widow, who had a romantic relationship with Hunter Biden after his brother's death.

Hallie Biden testified last Thursday about the moment she searched Hunter Biden's truck and found the revolver at the center of his criminal case.

She described how she put the gun into a leather pouch, stuffed it into a shopping bag and tossed it in a trash can outside a market near her home. She considered hiding the gun but thought her kids might find it, so she decided to throw it away.

"I realize it was a stupid idea now, but I was panicking," she told jurors.

Zoe Kestan, dancer

Zoe Kestan, another former romantic partner, described meeting Hunter in December 2017 at a strip club in New York where she was working. During a private session with her and another girl, he pulled out a pipe and began smoking what she assumed was crack, she testified.

"He was incredibly charming and charismatic and friendly, and I felt really safe around him," she said. "I remember after he had smoked it, nothing had changed. He was the same charming person."

Naomi Biden, daughter

Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testified for the defense on Friday that her father seemed to be improving in the weeks before he bought the revolver in 2018. Naomi Biden told prosecutor Leo Wise that she was aware of her father’s drug use when she went to visit him in California in August 2018.

"I knew that he was struggling with addiction," she said.

Naomi said she couldn’t recall when she first became aware of her father’s drug use, but that it was sometime after her uncle Beau Biden died in 2015.

Gordon Cleveland, gun store clerk

Gordon Cleveland sold Hunter Biden the .38 caliber revolver at a Wilmington gun shop in 2018.

Testifying for prosecutors, the former gun store clerk told jurors he stood next to Hunter Biden when he began to answer a series of questions on the federal form every person has to fill out when they buy a gun. Hunter checked a box saying he was purchasing the gun for himself, Cleveland said.

Another question asked whether the buyer was "an unlawful user of or addicted to" marijuana, stimulants, narcotics or any other controlled substance. Hunter Biden wrote "no," Cleveland said.

RELATED: Who is Melissa Cohen Biden? The outspoken wife of Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden tax trial

Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. 

Like the gun trial, that case would have been resolved through a deal with prosecutors last July that ultimately collapsed. 

Possible cases on his alleged foreign business dealings are also pending. 

This story was reported from Los Angeles. Randall Chase, Michael Kunzelman, Claudia Lauer, and Alanna Durkin Richer with The Associated Press contributed.

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