A Delaware jury convicted Hunter Biden on three felony gun charges Tuesday.
Special counsel David Weiss charged Hunter Biden in September on three counts relating to his purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018, alleging he knowingly possessed the gun while addicted to drugs and made false statements on the purchase form. The jury found him guilty on all counts.
Hunter Biden was indicted on separate tax charges in December.
Last July, a deal that would have had Hunter Biden plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion agreement for a felony gun charge fell apart under questioning by District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who voiced concerns about an immunity provision included in the diversion agreement. The diversion agreement stated Hunter Biden would not be criminally prosecuted for any crimes encompassed by the statement of facts in his plea deal, which listed the millions of dollars he received through foreign business dealings in China, Ukraine and Romania.
The payments, along with President Joe Biden’s involvement in his son’s business dealings, have been the subject of investigations by the House Oversight Committee.
Prosecutor Leo Wise admitted to Noreika at the time that he was not aware of precedent for an agreement not to prosecute crimes “that have nothing to do with the case or the charges being diverted.”
During the trial, prosecutors called a total of 10 witnesses and rested their case on Friday. Witnesses included multiple women who were romantically involved with Hunter Biden, such as his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, his ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan and Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau Biden.
To show Hunter Biden was addicted to drugs at the time of his gun purchase, prosecutors cited portions of his memoir, Beautiful Things, where he elaborates on his drug use in 2018, as well as text messages he sent relating to his drug use. (RELATED: Hunter Biden Possessed Crack Rock The Size Of A Ping Pong Ball, Hallie Biden Testifies In Trial)
“I was sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th street and Rodney,” Hunter Biden wrote in a text from October 14, 2018.
Some evidence was obtained from the laptop he abandoned at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019. Special Counsel David Weiss shot down the defense’s challenge to the laptop’s authenticity, calling their argument in court filings “a conspiracy theory with no supporting evidence.”
FBI agent Erika Jensen, a witness for prosecutors, confirmed on the stand that she had not seen any evidence of tampering with the data. (RELATED: FBI Witness Goes Against Hunter Biden Legal Team’s Laptop Narrative)
“The evidence was personal, it was ugly, it was overwhelming,” Wise said during closing arguments, according to NBC News. “It was also absolutely necessary.”
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE – JUNE 06: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, arrive to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 06, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware.
The defense argued that Hunter Biden did not believe he was an addict at the time of the purchase. Naomi Biden, Hunter’s daughter, testified in his defense, speaking about two meetings with her father during 2018, one at a Los Angeles rehab facility during the summer and another in New York City during the fall.
Naomi Biden recalled that her father seemed during that summer “the clearest” she had seen him in the three years since her uncle’s death, The New York Times reported. On cross-examination, prosecutors presented text messages from Hunter Biden’s visit to New York City in October 2018, where she was living at the time.
“I just want to hang out with you,” she wrote in one message, according to Politico. He apologized for being so “unreachable.”
Defense attorneys opted not to call President Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, as a witness. Hunter Biden also did not testify in his own defense.
Many Biden family members attended the trial, including First Lady Jill Biden.
Hunter Biden’s California trail on federal tax charges is scheduled to take place in September.
https://dailycaller.com/2024/06/11/hunter-biden-convicted/
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