Hunter Biden found guilty in gun trial after explosive testimony about his drug use from his ex-wife and sister-in-law
HUNTER Biden has been found guilty on all counts in his gun trial and now faces 25 years in prison.
The turbulent life of Hunter, 54, was thrown into the spotlight as a federal courtroom heard shocking testimony about his drug addiction, which spiraled out of control after the death of his brother, Beau, in 2015.
A 12-panel jury in Wilmington, Delaware, convicted Hunter, who chose not to testify in his defense, on all charges on Tuesday after deliberating for about three hours.
Hunter stared straight ahead and showed no emotion as the verdict was read.
The First Son shook hands with some of his associates seated in the gallery behind the defense table and hugged his attorneys, Abbe Lowell and David Kolansky, before kissing his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
First Lady Jill Biden, who attended the majority of Hunter’s trial, missed the reading of the verdict, NBC News reported.
Hunter left the courtroom holding the hands of his stepmom and his wife.
The family did not speak to reporters as they were escorted into a black SVU and drove off.
Judge Maryellen Noreika did not schedule a sentencing date.
Prosecutors hammered the narrative that the president’s son knowingly lied on a firearm form about using drugs when he bought a gun nearly six years ago.
Federal prosecutors said that on October 12, 2018, Hunter walked into the StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply store in Wilmington and purchased a .38 Colt Cobra revolver.
The government said Hunter answered “No” to a question on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form that asked if he was using or was addicted to drugs or a controlled substance.
“The defendant knew he used crack and was addicted to crack at the relevant time period,” prosecutor Leo Wise said during closing arguments.
“There is no evidence that anyone else possessed the gun from October 12 to October 23, other than the defendant,” Wise added of the gun Hunter owned for 11 days.
Jurors heard punishing testimony from those closest to Hunter about his years of drug addiction.
Prosecutors even played audio excerpts from Hunter’s 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, in the courtroom, which described in the defendant’s own words his trouble with drugs and his sobriety.
The evidence was personal; it was ugly and overwhelming.
Prosecutor Leo Wise
Gordon Cleveland, the sales representative at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply who sold Hunter the firearm, testified how he saw the president’s son fill out the ATF form.
Cleveland said the pair discussed the different types of ammunition and how Hunter opted for the hollow point bullets.
Several family members, including First Lady Jill Biden and Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, were seated in the courtroom for much of the trial.
Wise told jurors that “people sitting in the gallery” are not evidence.
“You may recognize them from the news, but respectfully, none of that matters,” the prosecutor said.
“No one is above the law. Your decision can only be made on evidence.
“The evidence was personal; it was ugly and overwhelming.
“He knew he was using drugs; that’s what the evidence shows.”
What are the charges against Hunter Biden?
In September 2023, Hunter Biden was indicted on three felony gun charges after a plea agreement with federal prosecutors unraveled. Prosecutors claim that on October 12, 2018, Hunter purchased a .38 Colt Cobra revolver from a Delaware gun store and lied on the ATF firearm form when he said he was not abusing drugs.
- Count 1: Hunter is charged with ‘knowingly making a false and fictitious written statement’ on a form used for firearms purchases.
- Count 2: Hunter allegedly knowingly made false statements and representations to the Wilmington gun store.
- When a person buys a gun, they must fill out a form with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and confirm that they are legally allowed to buy the weapon.
- The purchaser must affirm that they have not been convicted of a felony, are not a fugitive, are in the United States legally, and are not addicted or using illegal drugs.
- Count 3: Hunter is accused of illegally possessing a gun while abusing drugs. He owned the gun for 11 days in 2018.
- Counts one and two carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, while the third count has a maximum of five years.
Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison. However, first-time offenders hardly ever receive the maximum penalty. It’s unclear if Judge Maryellen Noreika will impose a jail sentence.
HUNTER’S DRUG ADDICTION IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Federal prosecutors called three of Hunter’s exes as witnesses. All testified at great lengths about his crack cocaine addiction.
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter’s ex-wife, told the courtroom how she found a crack pipe in their home and drug paraphernalia in his pickup truck.
Buhle told jurors that her ex-husband “acknowledged” smoking crack.
Hunter’s ex-lover and former sex worker, Zoe Kestan, shockingly testified how the First Son would smoke crack up to every 20 minutes from the moment he woke up.
Meanwhile, Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, briefly described her romance with Hunter and how he introduced her to crack.
“It was a terrible experience that I went through, and I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed of that period of my life,” a remorseful Hallie, 50, said.
Hallie told jurors that she found the firearm inside Hunter’s pickup truck a few days after he purchased it.
The mother-of-two said she disposed of it out of fear for himself and her children.
“I didn’t want him to hurt himself or my kids to find it and hurt themselves,” Hallie said on the stand.
“I was afraid to, kind of, touch it. I was just flustered from the whole thing. I realize it was a stupid idea, but I was just panicking,” she said about the moment she disposed of the revolver in a trash can.
However, defense attorney Abbe Lowell argued there was no evidence to support that Hunter ever took the gun out of the locked box it came in before Hallie found it and threw it in the trash.
“On October 23rd, Hallie did something incredibly stupid,” Lowell said during closing arguments.
“She may have done it for love or perhaps out of anger in suspecting that Hunter had been with another woman.”
Lowell also stressed the issue with wording on the ATF gun form, saying the question about drug use asks the potential buyer, “are you” a drug user, as opposed to “have you” ever used drugs.
The defense attorney stressed that the form distinguishes between past and present tense when listing some of the criteria that could disqualify someone from buying a gun.
“So, Hunter Biden, who just returned from and was engaging with his family in a way he wouldn’t while using drugs, ‘What would he see?'” Lowell said.
“Not a question in the past tense. In the present tense. And, knowing he was working on his sobriety, Hunter Biden answered ‘No.'”
Instead, Lowell shifted the blame to the gun store salesman, who he previously described to jurors as a “pushy” sales representative.
Could Hunter Biden go to jail?
Will Trachman, general counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation, told The U.S. Sun it's hard to tell if Biden will be jailed for his gun charge conviction.
The trial took place in Delaware, where the Biden name “goes a long way,” said Trachman.
Judge Maryellen Noreika is known to be fair-minded, said Trachman, so given Hunter’s age and status as a first-time offender, he believes he would receive a light sentence.
However, due to the seriousness of the alleged crimes, Trachman also believes that Biden could serve jail time.
Hunter faces up to 25 years prison time after being convicted on all charges in the 7-day trial.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos
Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @TheUSSun