Author: Jack Quinn and Tom Hals
(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden on Monday chose not to testify in a criminal trial over charges that he concealed from the government a 2018 drug-induced illegal purchase of a gun, and his legal team shelved the case.
Prosecutors then called witnesses to review the briefs and rebut defense evidence. Subsequently, both sides made closing arguments, the judge directed the jury, and the jury began deliberations.
The federal case is the first criminal trial of a U.S. president’s child, and last week provided insight into the younger Biden’s years-long battle with alcohol and cocaine, which prosecutors said legally prevented him from buying a gun. .
Hunter Biden, 54, has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges, including lying about his drug addiction when filling out government screening documents for a Colt Cobra revolver and illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days.
The trial in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., follows another historic first – the May 30 criminal conviction of Donald Trump, the first person ever to be convicted of a crime. Felonious President of the United States. Trump is the Republican challenger to Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Trump and some of his Republican allies in Congress have alleged that this case and three other criminal indictments are politically motivated in an attempt to prevent him from returning to power.
Congressional Democrats cited the Hunter Biden prosecution as evidence that Joe Biden did not use the justice system to achieve political or personal ends.
Last week, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, ex-girlfriend and sister-in-law testified for prosecutors about his drug use, telling jurors they often found drugs and paraphernalia on him and were at times concerned about his growing addiction.
Hunter Biden told the judge overseeing the case during a 2023 hearing that he had been sober since 2019.
Biden’s attorney, Abbey Lowell, told jurors in opening statements that his client did not intend to deceive because he was clean when he bought the gun and did not consider himself a drug addict.
The defense called three witnesses on Friday, including the gun store owner and an employee, as well as Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi. He seems to be doing well.
Sentencing guidelines for the charges against Biden are 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say defendants in cases similar to his typically receive shorter sentences and the possibility of incarceration if they comply with the terms of pretrial release Also smaller.
