Hunter Biden, first lady leave court after conviction on gun charges
The "Outnumbered" panel discusses the guilty verdict in the Hunter Biden gun trial, including more details from Fox News' David Spunt and analysis from constitutional law attorney Jonathan Turley.
WILMINGTON, Del. — First son Hunter Biden was found guilty on all charges Tuesday in his historic criminal case focused on his purchase of a handgun in 2018.
The jury deliberated for a total of three hours between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
Hunter Biden was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
"I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome. Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time," Hunter Biden said in a statement following the verdict.
Hunter Biden leaves federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Hunter Biden's trial this month lasted about six and a half days and included emotional testimony from members of his family, including daughter Naomi Biden, ex-wife Kathleen Buhle and sister-in-law-turned-girlfriend Hallie Biden.
Prosecutors worked to prove that Hunter Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018 when he ticked a box labeled "No" when asked if he is an unlawful user of a firearm or addicted to controlled substances. Hunter Biden purchased the gun from a store called StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington.
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He pleaded not guilty in the case.
A court sketch shows Hunter Biden during his federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 11, 2024. (William Hennessy Jr.)
Hunter Biden was still as the verdict was read. He appeared motionless, looking ahead with wide eyes as the guilty verdict was announced. Ahead of the verdict, he appeared more upbeat than he did amid trial proceedings during the first week of the trial. He flashed a big smile at his defense team early Tuesday morning.
Hunter Biden also examined the jurors as they walked into court at 9 a.m. Monday. The jury appeared relaxed Monday morning ahead of final deliberations, with some slightly smiling as they poured into the jury box.
Later Monday, once all the counts were read, he turned around and hugged a member of his legal team. He then stood up, smiled widely at his attorney, Abbe Lowell, and the two hugged.
Hunter Biden kissed his wife, Melissa Cohen, and they left the courtroom.
His uncle, James Biden, appeared to look angry or upset.
There was a long security line getting back into the courthouse once there was news of a verdict, so several of Hunter Biden's friends and family were not in the room at the time the verdict was called, including President Biden's sister, Valerie Biden.
Special Counsel David Weiss, who brought the charges against the first son, was not sitting in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
First lady Jill Biden also was not in the courtroom for the verdict.
First lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, leave the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 11, 2024. A jury convicted Hunter Biden on all three federal felony gun charges he faced. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"We are naturally disappointed by today’s verdict," Lowell said in a statement after the verdict. "We respect the jury process, and as we have done throughout this case, we will continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available to Hunter. Through all he has been through in his recovery, including this trial, Hunter has felt grateful for and blessed by the love and support of his family."
Hunter Biden faces a total maximum prison time of 25 years for the three charges. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Hunter Biden, however, is a first-time offender, making it unlikely he will face maximum penalties when he is sentenced at a later date.
Weiss addressed the media after the verdict on Tuesday afternoon and said the trial revolved around Hunter Biden's "illegal choices," not just the first son's drug addiction.
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"Ultimately, this case was not just about addiction, a disease that haunts families across the United States, including Hunter Biden's family. This case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction. His choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun and the choice to then possess that gun, it was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous," he said.
Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, arrive at federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
"No one in this country is above the law," Weiss added, a comment his prosecutors repeated in their opening statement and their closing argument. "Everyone must be accountable for their actions, even this defendant. However, Hunter Biden, should be no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of this same conduct. The prosecution has been and will continue to be committed to this principle and to the principles of federal prosecution in carrying out its responsibilities."
Hunter Biden was spotted at a food hall in Wilmington with his wife and young son after the verdict, and he appeared relaxed and took photos with locals.
Hunter Biden has a well-documented history of drug abuse, which was most notably documented in his 2021 memoir, "Beautiful Things," which walks readers through his previous need to smoke crack cocaine every 20 minutes, how his addiction was so prolific that he referred to himself as a "crack daddy" to drug dealers, and anecdotes revolving around drug deals, such as a Washington, D.C., crack dealer Biden nicknamed "Bicycles."
His defense team, led by Lowell, did not dispute Hunter Biden's long history with substance abuse, which also includes an addiction to alcohol. The defense instead argued that on the day Hunter Biden bought the Cobra Colt .38, he did not consider himself an active drug addict, and they cited the first son's stint in rehab ahead of the October 2018 purchase.
A court sketch depicts Naomi Biden’s testimony during Hunter Biden’s federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 7, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Prosecutors, however, argued Hunter Biden was addicted to crack cocaine before, during and after he bought the handgun. Just one day after the gun purchase, prosecutors showed the court that Hunter Biden texted Hallie Biden to say he was "waiting for a dealer named Mookie." A day after that text, he texted that he was "sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney" in Wilmington.
Following the verdict, Fox News briefly interviewed a juror in the case, who described the trial as heart-wrenching. The juror pointed to the prosecution's rebuttal case on Monday, when FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen testified about text messages and geolocation data found on Hunter Biden's phone in October 2018.
Specifically, the juror cited testimony about the first son sending text messages to Hallie Biden about meeting a person at 7-Eleven. The person who Hunter Biden planned to meet was likely a drug dealer, based on other texts in which he explicitly stated he had met dealers at the convenience store. The juror, a 68-year-old man from Sussex County, said he believed the October 2018 text about a 7-Eleven trip indicated he was buying drugs, not purchasing a doughnut or a cup of coffee, which Lowell had argued before the jury on Monday.
A court sketch depicts the verdict being read during Hunter Biden’s federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 11, 2024. Biden was found guilty on all three counts in his federal gun trial. (William Hennessy Jr.)
The verdict marks an end to the whirlwind and at times emotional trial. Last week, Hunter Biden's defense team called his daughter, Naomi Biden, to the witness stand, with the first son appearing to dab his eyes when his daughter first walked into the courtroom.
The first granddaughter, who told the court she was "nervous" amid the testimony, told the court that she was aware of her father's addiction to drugs but had never witnessed him using them, namely crack cocaine.
Naomi Biden walked the court through a California trip she took in August 2018 to visit her father amid his stint at a rehab facility. She said she met with Hunter Biden and his sober coach alongside her then-boyfriend and eventual husband, Peter Neal, for lunch at a coffee shop, noting she was proud of her father for his work on getting sober.
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A court sketch depicts Naomi Biden’s testimony during Hunter Biden’s federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 7, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
The trial also included testimony from Hallie Biden, widow of Hunter's brother, Beau Biden, who began a romantic relationship with her brother-in-law, Hunter Biden, in 2015. Hallie Biden, who testified under immunity, described for the jury the rise and fall of their relationship, including when she first found crack at her home and had to google what the substance was because she had never seen it before. Biden first introduced her to crack, which she also smoked before becoming sober in August 2018, she told the court.
"It was a terrible experience I went through, and I was embarrassed and ashamed. … I regret that period of my life," Hallie Biden told the court on Thursday about her use of crack cocaine.
The widowed mother of two was joined in court by her husband, John Hopkins Anning, who she married the weekend prior to testifying.
Biden's ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, delivered short testimony early in the trial. She told the court that she first discovered her then-husband's crack cocaine addiction in 2015 after she found a crack pipe on the side porch of their home in Washington, D.C. The couple was married for more than 20 years – divorcing in 2017 – and share three adult daughters.
Hunter Biden's ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, leaves the federal courthouse after taking the stand in Hunter Biden's trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
The first son was joined in court by family, friends and Biden family allies each day in court, most notably by his stepmother, first lady Jill Biden, as well as Biden's sister, Ashley Biden, and President Biden's sister, Valerie Biden. Hunter Biden was also joined by his second wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, to whom he was drawn like a magnet when court broke for lunch or other pauses, often taking her hand as they left court.
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Hunter Biden arrives with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, at federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Jill Biden skipped one day of the trial to fly to Normandy, France, to join President Biden for events commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and she notably missed former daughter-in-law Kathleen Buhle's testimony earlier in the week.
First lady Jill Biden arrives ahead of Hunter Biden's trial in federal court on June 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Biden was attentive and engaged throughout his trial, taking notes, examining evidence presented in court and surveying jurors throughout the day, most notably when they walked in and out of court for breaks.
The trial focused on Biden's Oct. 12, 2018, purchase of the gun at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply, where prosecutors argued that Biden lied on a federal form when he indicated he was not using or addicted to drugs. The gun remained in his possession for 11 days before Hallie Biden found it in the console of his Ford pickup truck and threw it away in a public trash can outside a grocery market in Wilmington. Hallie Biden testified that she regretted tossing the gun and did so when she was in a "panicked" state and worried that Biden would use the gun to hurt himself or others.
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In addition to family members, the court heard from the man who found the gun in the trash can as well as experts from the FBI and DEA who testified about bank statements that showed Biden withdrawing thousands of dollars in cash, how trace amounts of cocaine were discovered on a pouch containing the gun when Hallie Biden tossed it away, the meaning behind drug slang, and even how crack cocaine is cooked.
Zoe Kestan, Hunter Biden's ex-girlfriend, leaves federal court after testifying in Hunter Biden’s trial on June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Amid the trial, the jury also heard extensive testimony from Biden's ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, who met the president's son at a gentleman's club in New York City when she was just three years out of college and he was 48 years old.
"He would want to smoke the second he woke up," Kestan testified last Wednesday.
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Kestan, who also testified under immunity, described Hunter Biden as "charming and charismatic" when they first met in 2017 after he booked a private room at the strip club for 30 minutes. Noting that after they sparked a relationship, she didn't notice a drastic change in his behavior when he smoked crack cocaine.
An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows Hunter Biden on April 11, 2018. (U.S. Government Exhibit)
"I didn’t notice it. Sometimes I think that’s because I was catching feelings for him," she told the court.
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Kestan said their whirlwind relationship was a "distraction" for Biden as he allegedly smoked less when they were hidden away, sometimes for days at a time, in ritzy hotel rooms such as New York City’s Four Seasons or in a bungalow at Los Angeles’ Chateau Marmont.
An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows Hunter Biden posing with Zoe Kestan on March 26, 2018. (U.S. Government Exhibit)
Accompanying Kestan’s testimony were photos of crack pipes in hotel rooms often sitting next to bottles of liquor or beer, a photo of a bare-chested Hunter Biden in a bubble bath with Kestan, and a screenshot of a FaceTime video showing Biden’s back tattoo that resembled claw marks. The jurors were told amid Kestan’s remarks that Biden learned how to cook crack cocaine, and they were shown a photo of baking soda in one hotel room used to cook cocaine into crack.
Witness testimony at times got tense, including when former gun shop employee Jason Turner took the stand. Turner was working the day Hunter Biden bought the gun, and Turner ran his background check. Turner delivered blunt answers to the defense team on Friday, appearing annoyed and defensive as Lowell peppered him with questions about the sequence of events surrounding when Hunter Biden picked out the gun on Oct. 12.
An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows the gun that Hunter Biden purchased. (U.S. Government Exhibit)
"You're not understanding how gun shop life is," Turner told Lowell at one point, referring to how people who frequent gun shops often spend time talking sports or just visiting with employees.
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Lowell and Turner often spoke over each other, with presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika jumping in to tell Turner to let Lowell finish his questions before answering. Noreika joked that, otherwise, the court's stenographer gets "mad" at her for the inability to record both parties' comments.
Hunter Biden and wife Melissa Cohen Biden arrive at the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 6, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"Be mad at me," Turner quipped to the court stenographer, eliciting a few chuckles in court.
"He's been mad at me the whole trial," Lowell lightheartedly said in response.
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The case marks the first in the nation's history that a sitting president's child was put on trial.
President Biden (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)
President Biden said last week that he would not pardon his son if convicted. The president released a statement after his son was found guilty on all counts, saying that while he is the nation's commander in chief, he's "also a Dad."
"As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today," Biden wrote after the verdict. "So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery."
"Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support," Biden said. "Nothing will ever change that."
Fox News' Aubrie Spady, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
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