President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden was found guilty on Tuesday on all three felony gun charges in a Wilmington, Del., court.
The first son was accused of lying about his drug use on a federal form when he purchased a handgun in 2018. Prosecutors called witnesses, including three of Hunter Biden's exes, to testify last week about his use of crack cocaine.
Hunter Biden's conviction on gun charges came hours before his father was scheduled to speak about gun-control policy at a conference hosted by gun-control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The defense for Hunter Biden argued during the trial that his drug use had tapered off by the time he purchased the handgun and that he did not consider himself an addict or user at the time he signed the form. Jurors, however, were shown text messages between Hunter Biden and his ex-lover Hallie Biden days after the gun purchase in which the first son discussed smoking crack.
"The evidence has established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance when he bought the gun ... and for more than six months after," prosecutor Leo Wise said in his closing arguments.
The Washington Free Beacon reported last year on the whirlwind 48 hours that preceded Biden's gun purchase, in which he withdrew $800 from an ATM and arranged an apparent drug deal.
On Oct. 10, 2018, a review of the data on Biden's abandoned laptop shows, Biden texted a man he met days earlier at a 7-Eleven, who identified himself as "Q."
"Can you meet me @ 7/11 now," Biden texted Q, who responded asking Biden if he wanted to purchase "the same" thing.
The pair never met that day, but Q texted Biden on Oct. 11 to say his phone was stolen and gave him the number of an individual named Jon Jon whom he could meet instead. On Oct. 12, Biden purchased the Colt Cobra revolver and signed a form affirming that he was not a drug user.
A plea deal Biden reached with the Justice Department that would have given him broad immunity from tax crimes and the gun charges fell apart in July 2023 after Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to accept the terms of the agreement. Joe Biden "plunged into sadness and frustration" after the collapse of the deal, the New York Times reported.
Hunter Biden, a first-time offender, could face up to 25 years in prison on the gun charges, though the judge in the case could also give him no time behind bars.
The first son faces a second trial on tax charges in California that's scheduled to begin in September.