US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty on all three counts related to illegal gun possession on Tuesday. Hunter Biden is the first child of a sitting US President to be convicted of a crime.
He faces up to 10 years in prison on the first count, five years on the second count and another 10 years on the third count when he is sentenced.
The 12-member jury had begun deliberations on Monday in the Hunter Biden case. The federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, convicted Hunter Biden on Tuesday.
The judge did not set a date for Hunter Biden’s sentencing, but added the timeline is usually within 120 days. This means that the sentencing would take place before the November 5 US presidential elections.
President Biden’s reaction
After Hunter’s conviction, President Biden said he’ll accept the outcome and continue to respect the judicial process as his son considers an appeal. He and his wife Jill love their son, and they’re proud of the man he is today, he added.
However, President Biden later said at a pro-gun control conference that families who leave guns unlocked should be held ‘responsible’. It’s time we establish universal background checks and require the safe storage of firearms, he said. He demanded that families who leave guns unlocked be punished.
Hunter Biden had pleaded not guilty to three felony charges accusing him of failing to disclose his use of illegal drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra .38-caliber revolver and of illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days in October 2018.
However, the Delaware trial included prosecution testimony by Hunter’s ex-wife, former girlfriend and sister-in-law, who gave first-hand accounts of his spiralling addiction in the weeks before and after he bought the gun in October 2018.
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