The jury in the case of Hunter Biden, the son of the US president, will resume deliberations on Tuesday. He is accused of lying about his drug problem in order to unlawfully purchase a pistol in 2018.
Jurors discussed for one hour on Monday and were scheduled to resume talks at 9 a.m. ET (1300 GMT).
Prosecutors delivered their closing argument to the 12-member jury on Monday, reminding them that no one is above the law, which prohibits false claims on a background check for a handgun transaction.
“When he opted to lie and purchase a firearm, he broke the law. “We ask you to return the only verdict supported by the evidence: guilty,” said government prosecutor Derek Hines.
Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s 54-year-old son, is the first sitting president’s child to face a criminal trial.
He has pleaded not guilty to felony charges that include (1) lying about his addiction on a government screening form for a Colt Cobra revolver and (2) illegally having the firearm for 11 days.
During Monday’s closing remarks, defense attorney Abbe Lowell compared the government’s evidence to that of a magician who focuses attention on drug usage from months or years prior to creating the illusion of drug use when the gun was acquired.
“They blurred all those years before he walked into StarQuest Shooters and all those years after,” Lowell told jurors, referring to the store from which his client purchased the rifle.
Hunter Biden informed the judge monitoring the case at a 2023 hearing that he has been sober since 2019.
The trial in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, follows another historic first: Donald Trump’s criminal conviction on May 30, making him the first U.S. president to be found guilty of a felony. Trump is the Republican challenger to Democrat Joe Biden in the November 5 presidential election.
Trump and some of his Republican congressional allies claim the lawsuit, along with three other criminal prosecutions, are politically motivated attempts to prevent him from reclaiming power.
Congressional Democrats point to the Hunter Biden prosecution as proof that Joe Biden does not use the judicial system for political or personal gain.
The sentencing guidelines for Biden’s charges range from 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say prisoners in similar situations typically receive lower sentences and are less likely to be detained if they follow the terms of their pretrial release.
