The jury deliberated for three hours before finding Hunter Biden guilty on all three counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018. The charges included making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Hunter Biden was found guilty on Tuesday on all three counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018. The jury deliberated for about three hours before reaching a verdict.
Biden was charged with making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
The charges stemmed from an incident in October 2018, when Biden purchased a handgun from a sporting goods store in Wilmington, Delaware. On the ATF Form 4473, which is required to be filled out when purchasing a firearm, Biden falsely answered "no" to the question of whether he was an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Biden had been using crack cocaine and other drugs at the time of the purchase. They also called witnesses who testified that Biden had lied about his drug use on the ATF Form 4473.
Biden's defense team argued that he was not an unlawful user of drugs at the time of the purchase and that he had made a mistake on the ATF Form 4473. They also called witnesses who testified that Biden was a responsible gun owner.
The jury ultimately found Biden guilty on all three counts. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, although he is likely to receive a much shorter sentence as a first-time offender.
Biden's conviction is a significant victory for the prosecution, which had argued that he lied on the ATF Form 4473 in order to obtain a gun that he was not legally allowed to possess. It is also a setback for Biden, who has denied any wrongdoing and has said that he will appeal the verdict.
The trial was closely watched by the media and the public, and it is likely to continue to be a topic of discussion in the coming weeks and months.
