The gun case against Hunter Biden is in the hands of the jury. Here are some takeaways from today
The jury in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial began deliberations on Monday after the defendant declined to testify in his own defense and both sides presented closing arguments in the historic case against the president’s son.
If convicted, Biden could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000, though first-time offenders like him rarely receive the maximum penalty. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
Here are some takeaways from the sixth day of the historic trial:
- “No one is above the law,” prosecutors say: In the first seconds of prosecutor Leo Wise’s closing arguments, he referenced members of the Biden family who have been in the courtroom, often including first lady Jill Biden. “The people sitting in the gallery are not evidence,” Wise said. As he continued, he returned to a theme that his colleague raised in opening statements: “No one is above the law.” Jurors, he said, shouldn’t treat this case differently “because of who the defendant is.”
- Evidence was “overwhelming,” prosecutors say: Wise went on to explain to the jury why the prosecution went into so many excruciating details about the defendant’s spiral into crack cocaine abuse. “The evidence was personal, it was ugly, and it was overwhelming. It was also absolutely necessary,” Wise said. “There is no other way to prove the use of drugs or addiction to drugs than through the kind of evidence that you saw.” He noted, accurately, that the judge’s instructions don’t require the Justice Department to prove that Biden used drugs on a specific day, but only that he was “actively engaged” in drugs around that time.
- “It’s time to end this case,” defense says: During his nearly 90-minute closing argument, defense attorney Abbe Lowell forcefully made the case that prosecutors hadn’t met the high burden to prove Biden’s guilt. Lowell repeatedly said that prosecutors showed no direct evidence that Biden was using illegal drugs during October 2018 when he bought the firearm. In order to reach a guilty verdict, prosecutors need to prove that Biden was “conscious and aware” of the law and how he was violating it, Lowell argued.