A week's trial, an indisputable case and barely three hours of deliberation: The trial of Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, didn't drag on. On Tuesday, June 11, the 54-year-old defendant was found guilty on all counts by the 12 jurors of the Delaware federal court. Hunter Biden was accused of lying about his frequent drug use when acquiring a firearm in 2018, which he kept illegally for 11 days. In September, he faces another trial in Los Angeles, this time for tax fraud.
The successive hearings of witnesses, some of whom are closely linked to Hunter, such as his own daughter Naomi, have painted the picture of a man dominated by his demons. At the time of the events, he was a regular crack user, especially after the tragic death of his brother Beau. Destined for a public career, the family prodigy died of brain cancer in 2015. His widow, Hallie Biden, then began a romantic relationship with Hunter, which lasted between 2016 and 2019. It was she who, one day in 2018, discovered a gun in his pickup truck. She then impulsively decided to get rid of it by throwing it in the trash outside a convenience store.
Juror number 10 was interviewed anonymously by CNN and the Washington Post. According to him, the jurors were divided, six to six, on Monday night during an initial vote on Hunter Biden's guilt. This jury stated that politics and his father's identity never weighed on their decision. The reading of excerpts from his autobiography during the trial, entitled Beautiful Things: A Memoir (Gallery Books, 2021), did, however, have a strong impact on the jurors. In it, Hunter detailed the torments of drug addiction and his sordid sexual escapades.
'No one is above the law'
"Ultimately, this case was not just about addiction, a disease that haunts families across the United States, including Hunter Biden's family," explained David Weiss, the special counsel behind the charges. According to Weiss, "It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous." Weiss paid tribute to the team of lawyers and judges who assisted him, in a striking mirror effect with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's statement following Donald Trump's conviction. The words were almost identical. "No one in this country is above the law," stated Weiss. "Hunter Biden should be no more accountable than any other citizens convicted of this same conduct."
The comparison ends there, for the contrast is huge between the two camps in their approach to justice. Hunter said he was "disappointed" by Tuesday's verdict, which was handed down so quickly that First Lady Jill Biden didn't have time to enter the courtroom. He also pledged his commitment to sobriety. "Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time," he said in a statement, adding that he hadn't used drugs since mid-2019.
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