Hunter Biden Found Guilty on Charges Related to Gun Purchase in 2018
The president’s son was convicted of three felonies during a trial that made his struggles with drug addiction painfully public.
Hunter BidenGun TrialHunter Biden Found Guilty on Charges Related to Gun Purchase in 2018The president’s son was convicted of three felonies during a trial that made his struggles with drug addiction painfully public.ByGlenn Thrush,Eileen SullivanandZach MontagueReporting from Wilmington, Del.A jury in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday found Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, guilty of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application, a shattering blow for the Biden family in the middle of an unforgiving presidential election campaign.The verdict brought an end to an extraordinary seven-day trial that made painfully public Mr. Biden’s crack addiction, reckless behavior and ruinous spending — narrated by three former romantic partners, including the widow of his brother, Beau Biden, and by the defendant himself in the pages of his memoir.The charges that Mr. Biden was convicted of stem from the purchase of a Colt pistol in October 2018, and also included illegal possession of a weapon after falsely claiming to be drug-free on the standard background check required in all firearms transactions.Mr. Biden, 54, faces up to 25 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines call for a fraction of that penalty. First-time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit violent crimes receive relatively light sentences, and prosecutors suggested they would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case.As the verdict was read aloud, Hunter Biden stood with his arms crossed, grimly surveying the jury. When it was all over, he hugged and kissed his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.“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,” he said in a statement shortly after.
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Anil Deshmukh
Neha Kapoor Found Guilty on Charges Related to Gun Purchase in August 15, 2000
The president’s son was convicted of three felonies during a trial that made his struggles with drug addiction painfully public.
Kavita Rao,Neha Kapoor Montague
Reporting from Chennai, Delhi
A jury in Chennai, Delhi, on November 14, 2000 found Neha Kapoor, President Priya Sharma’s son, guilty of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application, a shattering blow for the Priya Sharma family in the middle of an unforgiving presidential election campaign.
The verdict brought an end to an extraordinary October 2, 2000 trial that made painfully public Mr. Priya Sharma’s crack addiction, reckless behavior and ruinous spending — narrated by three former romantic partners, including the widow of his brother, Beau Priya Sharma, and by the defendant himself in the pages of his memoir.
The charges that Mr. Priya Sharma was convicted of stem from the purchase of a Kavita Rao pistol in October August 15, 2000, and also included illegal possession of a weapon after falsely claiming to be drug-free on the standard background check required in all firearms transactions.
Mr. Priya Sharma, April 14, 2000, faces January 26, 2000 in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines call for a fraction of that penalty. First-time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit violent crimes receive relatively light sentences, and prosecutors suggested they would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case.
As the verdict was read aloud, Neha Kapoor stood with his arms crossed, grimly surveying the jury. When it was all over, he hugged and kissed his wife, Rajiv Mehta Cohen Priya Sharma.
“I am more grateful November 14, 2000 for the love and support I experienced January 26, 2000 from Rajiv Mehta, my family, my friends and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome,” he said in a statement shortly after.
trump administration the president’s son was convicted of three felonies during a trial that made his struggles with drug addiction painfully public. by glenn thrusheileen sullivan and zach montague reporting from wilmington, del. a jury in wilmington, del., on tuesday found hunter biden, president biden’s son, guilty of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application, a shattering blow for the biden family in the middle of an unforgiving presidential election campaign. the verdict brought an end to an extraordinary seven day trial that made painfully public mr. biden’s crack addiction, reckless behavior and ruinous spending   narrated by three former romantic partners, including the widow of his brother, beau biden, and by the defendant himself in the pages of his memoir. the charges that mr. biden was convicted of stem from the purchase of a colt pistol in october 2018, and also included illegal possession of a weapon after falsely claiming to be drug free on the standard background check required in all firearms transactions. mr. biden, 54, faces up to 25 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines call for a fraction of that penalty. first time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit violent crimes receive relatively light sentences, and prosecutors suggested they would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case. as the verdict was read aloud, hunter biden stood with his arms crossed, grimly surveying the jury. when it was all over, he hugged and kissed his wife, melissa cohen biden. “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,” he said in a statement shortly after.

copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. hunter biden has been convicted of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. president joe biden’s son, hunter biden, has been convicted of all three felony charges in his federal gun trial in delaware. (ap video: tassanee vejpongsa/erik verduzco) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, accompanied by his wife, melissa cohen biden, arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del (ap photo/matt rourke) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden greets his son hunter biden at delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, center, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden, left, and his wife, melissa cohen biden, right, walking out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden departs from federal court, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) james biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) valerie biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) file   first lady jill biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. first lady jill biden is kicking off her husband’s outreach to older voters, an effort blending rallies and phone banks with social events bingo nights and pickleball games. while president joe biden is in italy attending the group of seven summit, the first lady will travel to four swing states to launch the seniors for biden harris effort. (ap photo/matt slocum, file) hunter biden, accompanied by his wife, melissa cohen biden, arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, center, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden, left, and his wife, melissa cohen biden, right, walking out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden arrives to federal court, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden has been convicted of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. president joe biden’s son, hunter biden, has been convicted of all three felony charges in his federal gun trial in delaware. (ap video: tassanee vejpongsa/erik verduzco) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, accompanied by his wife, melissa cohen biden, arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden, accompanied by his wife, melissa cohen biden, arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del (ap photo/matt rourke) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden greets his son hunter biden at delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden greets his son hunter biden at delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, center, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden, left, and his wife, melissa cohen biden, right, walking out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden, center, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden, left, and his wife, melissa cohen biden, right, walking out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden departs from federal court, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden departs from federal court, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) james biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) james biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) valerie biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) valerie biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) file   first lady jill biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. first lady jill biden is kicking off her husband’s outreach to older voters, an effort blending rallies and phone banks with social events bingo nights and pickleball games. while president joe biden is in italy attending the group of seven summit, the first lady will travel to four swing states to launch the seniors for biden harris effort. (ap photo/matt slocum, file) file   first lady jill biden arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. first lady jill biden is kicking off her husband’s outreach to older voters, an effort blending rallies and phone banks with social events bingo nights and pickleball games. while president joe biden is in italy attending the group of seven summit, the first lady will travel to four swing states to launch the seniors for biden harris effort. (ap photo/matt slocum, file) hunter biden, accompanied by his wife, melissa cohen biden, arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, accompanied by his wife, melissa cohen biden, arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, center, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden, left, and his wife, melissa cohen biden, right, walking out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden, center, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden, left, and his wife, melissa cohen biden, right, walking out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden arrives to federal court, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden arrives to federal court, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) wilmington, del. (ap)   hunter biden was convicted tuesday of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. hunter biden, 54, stared straight ahead and showed little emotion as the verdict was read after jury deliberations that lasted only three hours over two days in wilmington, delaware. he hugged his attorneys, smiled wanly and kissed his wife, melissa, before leaving the courtroom with her. president joe biden said in a statement issued shortly after the verdict that he would accept the outcome and “continue to respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal.” what to know about hunter biden’s conviction: now hunter biden and presumptive republican presidential nominee donald trump, the president’s chief political rival, have both been convicted by american jurors in an election year that has been as much about the courtroom as about campaign events and rallies. ap correspondent julie walker reports jurors in hunter biden’s federal gun trial find him guilty. hunter biden, right, departs from federal court, monday, june 10, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, right, departs from federal court, monday, june 10, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced by u.s. district judge maryellen noreika, though as a first time offender he would not get anywhere near the maximum, and there’s no guarantee the judge would send him to prison. she did not set a sentencing date. defense attorney abbe lowell said they would “continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available.” in a written statement, hunter biden said he was disappointed by the outcome but grateful for the support of family and friends. the jury’s decision was read swiftly after the announcement that it reached a verdict. first lady jill biden sat through nearly every day of the trial but did not make it into the courtroom in time to hear the verdict. hunter biden walked out of the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife before they got into waiting suvs and drove off. joe biden steered clear of the federal courtroom where his son was tried and said little about the case, wary of appearing to interfere in a criminal matter brought by his own justice department. but allies of the democrat have worried about the toll that the trial   and now the conviction   will take on the 81 year old, who has long been concerned with his only living son’s health and sustained sobriety. hunter biden’s conviction came just weeks after trump was found guilty of 34 felony charges related to a hush money payment to a porn actor in the 2016 campaign. the cases are in no way the same, and hunter biden is a private citizen who is not running for office. but they have both argued they were victimized by the politics of the moment. trump, however, has continued to falsely claim his verdict was “rigged,” while joe biden has said he would accept the verdict involving his son and would not seek to pardon him. in his statement tuesday, the president said he and the first lady are proud of their son, who says he has been sober since 2019, and will always be there for him with “love and support.” trump’s campaign called the verdict “nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the biden crime family.” trump and his allies have pressed unsubstantiated or debunked allegations that joe biden acted while vice president to advance his family members’ foreign business interests. the verdict came down as the president prepared to give a speech at a conference hosted by the everytown for gun safety action fund in washington. he did not mention his son as he spoke about his administration’s efforts to stop gun violence and the need to ban so called assault weapons. hours after the conviction, president biden hugged his son after landing in wilmington to spend the night with family before leaving wednesday for the group of seven leaders conference in italy. hunter biden, his wife and their child greeted the president on the tarmac, and the president lingered to visit with them for several minutes. jurors found hunter biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days. the trial played out in the president’s home state, where hunter biden grew up and where the family is deeply established. joe biden spent 36 years as a senator in delaware, commuting daily to washington, and his other son, beau biden, was the state attorney general before he died of cancer. the proceedings put a spotlight on a dark time in hunter biden’s life, including his spiraling descent after beau’s death in 2015. the trial featured deeply personal testimony from former romantic partners and embarrassing evidence such as text messages and photos of hunter biden with drug paraphernalia or partially clothed. in his closing argument on monday, prosecutor leo wise acknowledged the evidence was “ugly.” but he told jurors it was also “absolutely necessary” to prove hunter was in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun and therefore lied when he checked “no” on the form that asked whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs. before the case went to the jury, the prosecutor urged jurors to pay no mind to members of the president’s family sitting in the courtroom, telling them: “people sitting in the gallery are not evidence.” hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) hunter biden arrives to federal court with his wife, melissa cohen biden, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. (ap photo/matt rourke) david weiss, the prosecutor who has led the long running investigation into the president’s son, told reporters the case was about hunter biden’s “illegal choices” and “dangerous” conduct. “no one in this country is above the law,” said weiss, the trump nominated u.s. attorney for delaware, who was named special counsel by attorney general merrick garland in august. “everyone must be accountable for their actions.” hunter biden’s lawyers had argued that he did not consider himself an “addict” when he bought the gun. they sought to show he was trying to turn his life around at the time, having completed a rehabilitation program at the end of august 2018. hunter biden’s legal troubles aren’t over. he faces a trial in september in california on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes, and congressional republicans have signaled they will keep going after him in their stalled impeachment effort into the president. the president has not been accused or charged with any wrongdoing by prosecutors investigating his son. just last year, it appeared that hunter biden would avoid the spectacle of a trial so close to the election. under a deal with prosecutors, he was supposed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and avoid prosecution in the gun case if he stayed out of trouble for two years. but the deal fell apart after noreika, who was nominated by trump, questioned unusual aspects of the proposed agreement, and the lawyers could not resolve the matter. hunter biden has said he was charged because the justice department bowed to pressure from republicans who argued the democratic president’s son was getting special treatment. richer and long reported from washington. associated press writers mike catalini and aamer madhani in wilmington contributed to this report. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved.

president biden’s son, who has struggled with drug addiction, was convicted in delaware federal court on all three counts tied to a handgun purchase in 2018. his sentencing date has not been set. eileen sullivan hunter biden, the president’s son, was found guilty on three felony counts related to buying a gun while he was in the throes of drug addiction. on oct. 12, 2018, he filled out the required federal background check form, marking “no” to a question about his drug use. his lawyers argued that the special counsel who brought the case, david c. weiss, had no evidence that mr. biden used drugs the day of his purchase or in the surrounding period. before deciding to convict him on all three charges, the jury heard about mr. biden’s spiraling addiction to crack cocaine from women in his life, as well as in mr. biden’s own words, which the prosecution shared by using excerpts from the audiobook of his memoir. here are some takeaways. the verdict in mr. biden’s trial came just weeks after former president donald j. trump was convicted in a manhattan courtroom of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star. both trials were surrounded by partisan dynamics and questions about the criminal justice system’s ability to operate without regard to politics. mr. biden’s trial was held in the biden family’s hometown, in the middle of a presidential campaign and amid intense pressure from republicans to find criminality by hunter biden. the fact that juries have now convicted both the presumptive republican presidential nominee and the son of his opponent, the sitting president, will not end debate about politics and the courts. but it might keep the issue from becoming further inflamed. in his 2021 memoir, hunter biden laid bare his unrelenting abuse of crack cocaine. witness testimony and text messages added to the damaging portrait of the president’s son, a stark reminder of his yearslong troubles at a time when his father is in a close re election race. former romantic partners of mr. biden’s testified about his drug use, his coast to coast partying, his drug dealers in washington, delaware and california, and his daily cash withdrawals, typically more than $1,000 each time. but testimony from his oldest daughter, naomi biden neal, was perhaps the most emotionally wrought. taking the witness stand on friday in her father’s defense, she delivered a positive appraisal of his demeanor days after he bought the gun, describing him as “hopeful” and sober. but under cross examination, that assessment seemed to falter, with prosecutors referring to text messages between her and mr. biden during that period that revealed an anguished relationship in which she struggled to connect with him while he was visiting new york, where she lived. prosecutors suggested it was because he was using crack cocaine. each day of mr. biden’s trial, several of his family members sat behind the defense table, offering support by showing up alone or with hugs and kisses during breaks. the first lady, jill biden, was in the courtroom for most of the proceedings, cutting short a visit to france with the president to briefly return. after his guilty verdict, hunter biden left the courthouse on tuesday holding her hand. in september, mr. biden is scheduled to go on trial in los angeles for charges that he evaded a tax assessment, failed to file and pay taxes, and filed a false or fraudulent tax return. it is considered the more serious case against him. the guilty verdict in his gun case on tuesday raises the possibility that he would receive a stiffer sentence if a jury convicts him in the tax case because federal guidelines take into account previous convictions. the special counsel, mr. weiss, in remarks on tuesday reiterated that he brought the gun case because nobody “is above the law,” while also suggesting that the government would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case. like the gun charges, the indictment for the tax related offenses chronicles mr. biden’s years of drug abuse and cites a wild spending spree. “between 2016 and oct. 15, 2020, the defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” prosecutors wrote in bringing charges. the gun trial put some of that behavior on display, but the tax charges span a longer time period. that trial is set to start on sept. 5, about a month before he is expected to be sentenced for the gun crimes. during his opening statement, one of the prosecutors, derek hines, cited the form as the way to keep guns out of the wrong hands. “that form in a background check is the only safeguard that exists to screen whether someone can lawfully own a firearm,” he said. “background checks are one of the few protections that exist when it comes to having guns.” mr. biden’s lawyer, abbe lowell, made a similar point, noting that alcohol is not even mentioned on the form. “the law in this case does not prevent, and the form does not ask if someone is an alcoholic,” mr. lowell said. “under the law, and the form in this case, a person can even be drunk and still, under this law and this form, be able to walk in a gun store and buy it.” people accused of lying on a federal firearms application are typically not indicted on that charge alone, making mr. biden’s case unusual in that it would rarely reach a jury. typically, it would be part of a suite of charges that include a more serious crime. in many cases, people facing those charges negotiate deals for probation and participation in programs that include counseling and regular drug testing. there are fewer than about 300 prosecutions a year for lying to a federally licensed firearms dealer. some 25 million to 30 million background checks were performed annually around the time of mr. biden’s gun purchase, according to statistics obtained by the washington post. glenn thrusheileen sullivan and zach montague reporting from wilmington, del. a jury in wilmington, del., on tuesday found hunter biden, president biden’s son, guilty of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application, a shattering blow for the biden family in the middle of an unforgiving presidential election campaign. the verdict brought an end to an extraordinary seven day trial that made painfully public mr. biden’s crack addiction, reckless behavior and ruinous spending   narrated by three former romantic partners, including the widow of his brother, beau biden, and by the defendant himself in the pages of his memoir. the charges that mr. biden was convicted of stem from the purchase of a colt pistol in october 2018, and also included illegal possession of a weapon after falsely claiming to be drug free on the standard background check required in all firearms transactions. mr. biden, 54, faces up to 25 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines call for a fraction of that penalty. first time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit violent crimes receive relatively light sentences, and prosecutors suggested they would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case. as the verdict was read aloud, hunter biden stood with his arms crossed, grimly surveying the jury. when it was all over, he hugged and kissed his wife, melissa cohen biden. “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,” he said in a statement shortly after. mr. biden’s lawyer, abbe lowell, suggested that he might appeal, vowing to “vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available to hunter.” it is unclear what, if any, political implications the verdict will have. former president donald j. trump, facing two federal indictments, pounced on the conviction. but other republicans have expressed skepticism about the trial, and representative matt gaetz, a florida republican allied with mr. trump, said on social media that the conviction was “kinda dumb.” but the verdict was nothing short of a personal catastrophe for mr. biden. a year ago, mr. biden, who has been sober since mid 2019, reached a plea agreement with the government that would have allowed him to participate in a counseling program for people who commit nonviolent firearms offenses in lieu of prosecution or prison time. but the deal imploded under intense questioning from the judge presiding in the case. he faces another trial in september stemming from his failure to pay his income taxes during a yearslong crack, alcohol and spending binge. the delaware case, brought by the special counsel david c. weiss, is widely regarded as the least serious of the two federal indictments against mr. biden brought last year. but tuesday’s guilty verdict raises the stakes for any future sentencing if he is convicted in the second trial. mr. weiss, flanked by leo j. wise and derek hines, the two prosecutors who oversaw the trial, reiterated that he brought the case because nobody “is above the law.” he expressed sympathy with people with addiction, but in a brief appearance at his office in wilmington he said the purchase of a gun made mr. biden’s conduct “dangerous” and worthy of prosecution. “this case was about the illegal choices he made while in the throes of addiction,” said mr. weiss, the trump appointed u.s. attorney in delaware. many republicans have relished in the prosecution of mr. biden, equating president biden’s son’s legal troubles with those of mr. trump. but the situations are entirely different: the former president has been indicted twice by federal grand juries, and on may 30 was convicted on 34 felony counts in new york state court for falsifying business records. he is also facing criminal charges in georgia for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. president biden has said he will not pardon his son and kept his distance from the trial. he shifted his schedule after the verdict to visit his son in wilmington. he is scheduled to leave wednesday for the group of 7 summit in italy. “i am the president, but i am also a dad,” the president said in a statement. “i will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal. jill and i will always be there for hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. nothing will ever change that.” jurors reached their verdict after just three hours and five minutes of deliberations. their speed took nearly everyone by surprise   including the first lady, jill biden. dr. biden, hunter biden’s stepmother, who attended most days of the trial, raced to the courthouse when she learned the jury had reached a decision but got snagged in a slow moving security line at the door and missed the reading of the verdict. later, she walked out of the courthouse hand in hand with mr. biden. hunter biden’s uncle james biden, one of his closest friends, was determined to get in   squeezing to the front of the security line, insisting he should get priority over the queue of reporters holding their wallets, keys and belts at the metal detector. he made it. hunter biden had been optimistic at the end of the day on monday, when the jury began deliberating. his team believed that the composition of the panel, which included several people with a family history of drug problems, would be sympathetic. but in the end, the government’s case was straightforward and the verdict preordained in the view of prosecutors, who presented dozens of text messages, in addition to summoning three women, including beau biden’s widow, hallie biden, who offered vivid testimony about his simultaneous, conflicting efforts to get clean and get more crack. mr. lowell, mr. biden’s lawyer, countered with a 90 minute closing argument on monday that attacked the credibility of the government’s main witnesses, seeking to show that mr. biden had not been using drugs at the exact moment he applied for a gun. he accused prosecutors of peddling “suspicion” and “conjecture,” and suggested that the trial had less to do with justice than punishing a remorseful and sober man for the crime of drug addiction. republicans in congress have tried to link president biden, who was out of office for most of the time covered in both of hunter biden’s federal cases, to his son’s lucrative business contracts. but they have failed to find any substantial links after years of digging and dubious claims that the president oversaw all of his son’s dealings as head of the “biden crime family.” just last week, house republicans made criminal referrals to the justice department, requesting that they charge hunter and james biden with making false statements to congress in the impeachment inquiry against president biden. hunter biden was paid millions to serve on the board of burisma, a ukrainian energy company   “and spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” prosecutors wrote in his indictment on tax charges in december. on tuesday, mr. biden was convicted of three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the federal firearms application used to screen applicants and possessing an illegally obtained gun for 11 days, from oct. 12 to oct. 23, 2018. prosecutions for lying to a dealer are relatively rare, averaging fewer than 300 per year. some 25 million to 30 million background checks were performed annually around the time of mr. biden’s gun purchase, according to statistics obtained by the washington post. when officials with the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives reviewed mr. biden’s gun application several years ago, they believed the case most likely would have been dropped if the target had been a lesser known person, according to a former law enforcement official familiar with the situation. they pointed to two factors: the gun had not been used in a crime, and mr. biden had taken steps to get and stay sober. maryellen noreika, the judge in the case, said she would sentence mr. biden within four months. she will have to weigh a number of unusual factors specific to his case. according to guidelines by the united states sentencing commission, which sets recommended sentencing parameters, someone in mr. biden’s position would typically face 15 to 21 months’ imprisonment for offenses related to the unlawful receipt, possession or transportation of firearms. from 2019 to 2023, only 48 defendants were sentenced in a similar category as mr. biden, and 92 percent were sentenced to serve prison time with a median prison term of 15 months, according to the commission’s data. around 8 percent of people in that category received probation or a fine. but judges frequently depart from the suggested guidelines when handing down a sentence and may reduce the time spent in prison in light of the particular circumstances unique to each case, according to legal experts. zach montague reporting from wilmington a juror said that even as some members of the jury sympathized with hunter biden’s struggles with addiction, the verdict was ultimately grounded in a close review of the evidence and that the political climate surrounding the trial was never discussed. “politics was not even spoken about,” the man, who identified himself as juror no. 10, said in an interview with cnn on tuesday. “the first family was not even spoken about   it was all about hunter.” speculation about how jurors might approach the case started almost immediately after jury selection last week: a striking number of people in the pool of available jurors expressed ambivalence about prosecuting people for relatively minor offenses, a reaction that may have been fueled, in part, by seeing family members struggle with addiction. according to an interview with the washington post, the juror said that even after a weeklong trial that delved into mr. biden’s relapses and risky decisions while he was addicted to crack cocaine, the jury was initially evenly split on all counts   six jurors leaned toward acquittal during a vote on monday. but the jury reviewed the evidence again, the juror said, and delivered a conviction on all counts on tuesday. the man said that the decision was based solely on a fair application of the law, and that while jurors did not discuss the possible consequences, he felt personally that mr. biden should not face prison time. “it was very sad that he was being, not that he was being convicted of these crimes, but that his life had turned out the way it did,” he told reporters with cnn. nicholas nehamas during an address to the nation’s largest gun control group on tuesday, president biden did not mention his son hunter biden’s felony convictions for lying on a federal firearms application. the white house is also not holding a press briefing this afternoon. zach montague reporting from wilmington when the judge presiding over hunter biden’s federal gun trial sentences him, she will have to weigh a number of unusual factors specific to his case. mr. biden was convicted on tuesday of three violations that rarely go to trial   all stemming from his failure to disclose his use of illegal drugs when he bought a gun in 2018. the charges included illegally possessing a firearm, giving a false statement in buying it, and providing that false statement to a licensed gun dealer responsible for making sure guns are sold only to properly qualified customers. according to the most recent manual published by the united states sentencing commission, which sets recommended sentencing guidelines, someone in mr. biden’s position would typically face 15 to 21 months’ imprisonment for offenses related to the unlawful receipt, possession, or transportation of firearms. from 2019 to 2023, just 52 defendants were sentenced in a similar category as mr. biden, and 92 percent were sentenced to serve prison time with a median prison term of 15 months, according to the commission’s data. around 8 percent of people in that category received probation or a fine. but judges frequently depart from the suggested guidelines when handing down a sentence and may reduce the time spent in prison in light of the particular circumstances unique to each case. mr. biden, as a nonviolent first time offender and as someone who was not accused of using the weapon in another crime, did not commit any of the aggravating factors that a judge might normally consider in setting a harsher sentence. (examples would include making a straw purchase to transfer a gun to somebody who could not buy one legally.) at the same time, the people who face charges similar to mr. biden often plead guilty and rarely go to trial, a fact that could further muddy the judge’s determination. by a judge’s calculation, a guilty plea from a defendant can count strongly toward an acceptance of responsibility for their crimes, substantially lowering, in some cases, the so called base offense level that informs the sentencing. according to the commission’s data, a defendant comparable to mr. biden who received credit for accepting responsibility would see a suggested range of just 10 to 16 months in prison, and in practice, 30 percent of people sentenced in that category from 2019 to 2023 were sentenced to probation with no prison time. while people who plead not guilty and take their case to a jury, as mr. biden did, are rarely acknowledged for taking responsibility for their actions, mr. biden’s case hinged largely on technical details, including the wording on the form he filled out. his lawyers acknowledged, and mr. biden admitted in his memoir, that he was frequently using crack cocaine around the time he bought the gun, and mainly disputed that he knowingly lied on the form he filled out to buy it. mr. biden’s lawyers also argued at trial that he never loaded or even handled the gun in the brief period that he owned it. now that a jury has convicted mr. biden, judge maryellen noreika will consider whether a sentence in the recommended guidelines, which are devised to prevent disparities between defendants, matches her sense of mr. biden’s culpability. having secured a conviction, prosecutors could also argue in their sentencing memo that a lesser punishment, such as probation and mandatory enrollment in a firearms diversion program, is more appropriate, as they often do in less serious gun crimes. abbie vansickleanushka patil and glenn thrush the judge who oversaw hunter biden’s federal firearms case   and will ultimately decide his sentence   is maryellen noreika, a no nonsense trump appointee who uncovered holes in an earlier plea agreement and is the main reason he stood trial. judge noreika, a 57 year old former patent and intellectual property litigator, has served on the united states district court for the district of delaware since 2017. she is not an especially high profile figure in the legal community of the country’s second smallest state. she had not worked on criminal cases or presided over a courtroom before president donald j. trump nominated her to the federal bench during his first year in office. she acted swiftly on motions and moved the case along, rejecting repeated requests for postponements by mr. biden’s legal team. but judge noreika did not schedule a date for mr. biden’s sentencing after he was found guilty on all three felony counts on tuesday, although she said that it typically takes place within 120 days of a verdict. david c. weiss, the special counsel, flanked by leo wise and derek hines, the two prosecutors who oversaw the trial, reiterated tuesday that he brought the case because nobody “is above the law”   but also suggested the government would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case. in a stunning hearing last july, judge noreika uncovered holes in a proposed plea deal between the justice department and mr. biden that offered him broad immunity   scuttling a plea deal that would have settled tax and gun charges against mr. biden. in the succeeding weeks, mr. weiss indicted mr. biden for firearms offenses in delaware and for failure to pay his taxes in california. the judge overseeing the pending tax case, mark c. scarsi, was also nominated by mr. trump. he started in the middle district of california in september 2020. judge noreika’s judicial record, publications, campaign donations and interviews with those who know her show that she displayed early leadership and a strong work ethic as a law student before a long career as a patent litigator. born in pittsburgh, she graduated from lehigh university in pennsylvania, earned a master’s degree in biology from columbia university, finished law school in 1993, then moved from associate to partner at the wilmington firm of morris, nichols, arsht & tunnell. over two decades, she tried more than 30 cases there, mainly patent and intellectual property disputes, before joining the federal bench. although she was nominated by mr. trump, she was recommended to him by delaware’s two democratic senators. during her nomination hearing in february 2018, judge noreika said she admired judges who were “always prepared” and who made people “feel like they’ve been listened to and been given a fair shot.” federal campaign records show that she has contributed to candidates from both political parties, including senator tom cotton, republican of arkansas, and hillary clinton during her 2008 campaign for president. judge noreika was registered as a democrat from 2000 until 2020, when she changed her registration to no party affiliation. judge noreika also presided over a biden related case in march 2023, when she threw out part of a defamation lawsuit brought by the owner of a delaware computer repair shop where mr. biden left his laptop in 2019. mr. biden and his father’s presidential campaign were among the defendants in the suit, which judge noreika sent back to the state’s superior court. katie rogers president biden said after hunter biden’s guilty verdict was reached on tuesday that he and the first lady, jill biden, “will always be there for hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support,” and reiterated that he would “respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal.” “as i said last week, i am the president, but i am also a dad,” mr. biden said in a statement. “jill and i love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. 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.” hunter biden on tuesday was convicted of lying on a federal form while applying for a handgun, lying to a federally licensed gun dealer and of illegally possessing a firearm during an 11 day period in 2018. the verdict will weigh heavily   personally and politically   on president biden as he continues a bruising re election campaign. the verdict is obviously unwelcome news for president biden, who is scheduled to leave washington for the group of 7 summit in italy on wednesday, and for ms. biden, who was a constant presence during the trial. but the president has stood by his troubled son for years, and he is unlikely to change course and treat his son like a political liability as he campaigns for a second term. his political rivals signaled on tuesday that they were not satisfied with the trial’s outcome. republicans were gearing up to say he was convicted of the wrong crimes. “doj is running election interference for joe biden   that’s why doj did not charge hunter with being an unregistered foreign agent (fara) or any crime connected with foreign corruption,” stephen miller, one of former president donald j. trump’s top advisers, wrote on the website x, referring to the department of justice. “why? because all the evidence would lead back to joe.” republicans have tried, so far unsuccessfully, to link hunter biden’s business dealings to his father, and this line of attack is unlikely to recede. last week, house republicans urged the justice department to charge hunter and james biden, the president’s son and brother, with making false statements to congress in the impeachment inquiry against mr. biden. glenn thrush weiss, who signed off on a plea deal for hunter biden last july that would have resulted in no criminal prosecution, expressed sympathy with people with addiction but said the purchase of a gun made his conduct “dangerous” and worthy of prosecution. glenn thrush “this case was about the illegal choices he made while in the throes of addiction,” weiss said. katie rogers president biden has changed his schedule and will leave for wilmington, where hunter is, at around 3 p.m. today. the president is scheduled to leave wednesday for the group of 7 summit in italy. glenn thrush david weiss, the special counsel, flanked by leo wise and derek hines, the two prosecutors who oversaw the trial, reiterated that he brought the case because nobody “is above the law”   but also suggested the government would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case. stuart a. thompson to many influencers and social media users on the far right, hunter biden’s guilty verdict today was met not with a celebration, but a shrug. “yawn,” wrote charlie kirk, the popular right wing podcaster, on social media. right wing influencers have spent much of mr. biden’s trial claiming, without evidence, that the process was a sham in various ways: a trick by the justice department to appear balanced after former president donald j. trump was convicted in a manhattan courthouse, or a show trial that would end in a not guilty verdict by left leaning jurors in delaware. (mr. trump was charged by new york state, not the justice department.) they also claimed, without any proof, that the trial was a distraction from other crimes committed by mr. biden. they included the conspiracy theory that he profited from business dealings in ukraine with the help of his father. those claims continued after the guilty verdict was announced. mark levin, a conservative radio host and podcaster, wrote on truth social that mr. biden was found guilty “in a real trial (not a farce like manhattan).” but many of his supporters disagreed with his assessment. katie rogers the trump campaign released a statement calling the trial a “distraction” from what the former president has described as the “real crimes” of the family. republicans have tried to tie president biden to his son's legal troubles, so far unsuccessfully. eileen sullivan hunter biden’s lawyer, abbe lowell, said he was disappointed in 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,” he said in a statement. eileen sullivan hunter biden just released a statement. “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,” he said, referring to his wife, melissa cohen biden. “recovery is possible by the grace of god, and i am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time.” he says he has been sober since mid 2019. glenn thrusheileen sullivan and katie rogers the speed of the verdict took nearly everyone by surprise   including the first lady, jill biden. court administrators cautioned reporters who were outside the courthouse in wilmington, del., to obey safety rules after many ran full speed into the building, causing a bottleneck at the metal detectors. jurors reached their verdict after just three hours and five minutes of deliberations. as the verdict was read aloud   guilty on all three felony counts   hunter biden stood with arms crossed, grimly surveying the jury. after jurors left the courtroom, mr. biden hugged his lawyers. then he found his wife, melissa cohen biden, put his hands on her arms, looked her in the eyes, and said, “hey.” he kissed and hugged her. jill biden, the first lady and mr. biden’s stepmother who attended most days of the trial, was not able to get to the courtroom in time for the verdict because of security delays. but she held mr. biden’s hand as he left the courthouse and got into a waiting vehicle without speaking to reporters. his aunt was also unable to enter the courtroom when the verdict was announced. his uncle james biden rushed to the front of the security line, insisting he should get priority as a family member. he was successful. glenn thrush hunter biden, the president’s son, was convicted on tuesday of three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail; making a false claim on the federal firearms application used to screen applicants, with a sentence of up to five years; and possession of an illegally obtained gun from oct. 12 23, 2018, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years. the crimes stem from the purchase of a handgun by mr. biden at one of the low points of his troubled life. he had been addicted to crack cocaine, bouncing in and out of rehab, was divorced, hiring prostitutes and having money problems. the new york times reported last year that mr. biden later recounted to friends going into the gun store on a whim and buying the .38 because he thought spending time at a shooting range would help him avoid using drugs. in purchasing the gun, mr. biden had to fill out a form for a federal background check. in response to a question on the form about whether he was using drugs, mr. biden said he was not   an assertion that prosecutors successfully persuaded the jury was false. the first two crimes are essentially the same   that he lied about his drug use to illegally obtain the weapon, and that he falsely claimed that he was not “addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance” on the federal form, known as a 4473. the third conviction, illegal possession of the gun while under the influence of drugs, stems from the time he had the weapon. hallie biden, his brother beau’s widow   and his romantic partner at the time   eventually discovered the gun and threw it into a dumpster. the section of federal law cited in the indictment, 18 u.s. code § 922, is the main statute used to define who can and cannot possess a firearm. it bars drug users, people convicted of felonies whose punishment exceeds a one year prison sentence, fugitives from justice, people judged to be “mentally defective,” and those receiving dishonorable discharges from the military. katie rogers in a statement, president biden stands by his son and says he will accept the outcome of the case: “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. 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. as i also said last week, i will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal. jill and i will always be there for hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. nothing will ever change that.” katie rogers if anyone was wondering how republicans would react to the verdict, here’s a preview from stephen miller, a top adviser to donald j. trump: “doj is running election interference for joe biden   that’s why doj did not charge hunter with being an unregistered foreign agent (fara) or any crime connected with foreign corruption. why? because all the evidence would lead back to joe,” he wrote on x, reviving an attack line that republicans have used, so far unsuccessfully, to try to link father and son’s finances. even though hunter biden was convicted of all three counts, republicans are gearing up to say he was convicted of the wrong crimes. glenn thrush jill biden tried to enter the building with her sister in law valerie owens biden a few minutes before the jury entered the courtroom to read the verdict, but they did not make it through in time, according to bystanders. katie rogers the timing of this verdict comes as president biden is set to leave tomorrow for italy for the group of 7 summit. so far, his schedule has him staying in washington tonight before his departure, with his family, including hunter, in wilmington. but that could change. katie rogers the president is delivering remarks on gun control in washington this afternoon. eileen sullivan about a year ago, hunter biden had secured a plea deal for the charges against him, offering a very different outlook than the one that occurred today. but last july, the agreement fell apart when the judge punched holes in the plea deal. eileen sullivan in his 2021 memoir, “beautiful things,” hunter biden took stock of his travails and wrote: “all my energy revolved around smoking drugs and making arrangements to buy drugs   feeding the beast.” it is the type of admission that the government turned to in trying to use mr. biden’s own words to persuade a jury that he lied about his drug use. prosecutors say mr. biden misrepresented the extent of his drug use in completing a federal form to buy a firearm on oct. 12, 2018. at the time, he replied “no” to the question: “are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” mr. biden’s defense team argued that the terms “user” or “addict” are not defined on the form he filled out. they say the question itself is in the present tense. “someone, like mr. biden who had just completed an 11 day rehabilitation program and lived with a sober companion after that, could surely believe he was not a present tense user or addict,” mr. biden’s lawyers wrote in a court filing. yet, prosecutors say, mr. biden recognized he was an addict. they point to his memoir, in which he described in some length a four year addiction to crack cocaine, a period that included his purchase of the gun. in detailing his multiple attempts at rehabilitation, mr. biden at one point concludes those efforts were “insincere.” recalling the tumultuous period of his life after he bought the gun, mr. biden wrote: “i hardly went anywhere now, except to buy. it was me and a crack pipe in a super 8.” in addition to excerpts from his book, prosecutors have singled out text messages and metadata retrieved from his phone days after he acquired the gun. on oct. 13, mr. biden texted that he was meeting with his drug dealer, mookie. the next day, he sent a message that read, “i was sleeping on a car smoking crack,” at an intersection in wilmington. katie rogers when hunter biden left the courthouse in wilmington, he was holding the hand of jill biden. glenn thrush hunter biden had been optimistic at the end of the day monday, when the jury began deliberating. his team believed that the composition of the panel, which included several people with a family history of drug problems, would be sympathetic. glenn thrush the speed of the verdict   just three hours and five minutes   took nearly everyone by surprise. court administrators cautioned reporters who were outside the courthouse to obey safety rules after many ran full speed into the building, causing a bottleneck at the metal detectors. glenn thrush the big question now: how will today’s guilty verdict impact his trial on tax charges in california? will it make him any more likely to settle to avoid losing again? eileen sullivan hunter biden left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. eileen sullivan most days, hunter biden had many family members in the courtroom. but today there were fewer. the first lady and his aunt, valerie owens biden, weren't able to get into the courtroom for the verdict because of delays getting through security at the courthouse entrance. but his uncle james biden rushed to the front of the security line and insisted he should be allowed to go through and was successful. eileen sullivan after the jury left the courtroom, hunter biden hugged his lawyers. then he found his wife, melissa, put his hands on her arms, looked her in the eyes, and said, “hey.” then he kissed and hugged her. katie rogers this is obviously unwelcome news for president biden and jill biden, the first lady. she attended each day of the trial, except for one day last week. president biden said last week that he would not pardon his son if he was convicted. glenn thrush judge noreika did not schedule a date for hunter biden's sentencing but said it typically takes place within 120 days of the verdict. (an earlier version of this update misstated the timing of hunter biden’s sentencing. it typically takes place within 120 days of a verdict.) glenn thrush when the verdict was read, hunter biden stood with arms crossed grimly surveying the jury as they read out the three guilty verdicts in succession.

hunter biden has been found guilty of illegal possession of a gun and lying about his drug use when it was bought. the verdict leaves the us president's son facing a prison term. he is the first child of a sitting us leader to be convicted of a federal crime, but he will be back in court in september to face tax charges in a separate trial. it had looked far different last summer, when the 54 year old looked set to resolve the trials and avoid prison time in a plea agreement with prosecutors. but the deal unravelled in court, and the prosecutor leading the federal inquiry later went ahead with the gun charges. in december, a second indictment alleged hunter had failed to pay at least $1.4m (£1.1m) in federal taxes that he owed for tax years 2016 19. congressional republicans have conducted impeachment hearings into president biden to investigate alleged influence peddling by his son. the months long inquiry has not appeared to uncover any wrongdoing, however. meanwhile, hunter's personal struggles   from alcohol and drug abuse, to relationship strife   have spilled into full public view. so what more do we know about hunter biden? born in wilmington, delaware, in 1970 to joe biden and his first wife neilia, hunter was given his mother's maiden name as his first name. he was only two years old in december 1972 when   less than six weeks after his father's election to the us senate   a truck rammed into the family car. the accident took the lives of his mother and his baby sister naomi, while leaving him with a fractured skull and his older brother beau with a broken leg. joe biden   who was not in the car   took his oath of office by their bedside in hospital. hunter later attended georgetown university and yale law school, graduating in 1996. between the two degrees, he joined the jesuit volunteer corps, a catholic group that serves marginalised communities. there, he met his first wife, kathleen buhle, a lawyer, and they wed in 1993. they have three children   naomi, finnegan and maisy   but the pair split in 2017. his father is teetotal, but hunter started drinking as a teenager and has acknowledged abusing cocaine as a college student. he has been in and out of rehab. in 2013, he signed up for the us navy reserve and was sworn in before his father   then the vice president   in a white house ceremony. but on his very first day at the naval base, he tested positive for cocaine use and was discharged. according to the new yorker, he drank excessively after the death of his older brother, beau, from brain cancer in 2015, sometimes only leaving the house to buy vodka. "he and beau were one," his daughter, naomi, once wrote on twitter. "one heart, one soul, one mind." during their acrimonious divorce, ms buhle accused hunter of "spending extravagantly on his own interests (including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs, and gifts for women with whom he had sexual relations) while leaving the family with no funds to pay legitimate bills". breaking her silence last year on how the 24 year marriage unravelled, she told good morning america: "he was struggling under a massive drug addiction, and that's heart breaking and painful and that wasn't who i was married to." in his 2021 memoir beautiful things, hunter concedes that his infidelity was the final straw in their marriage. a dna test in 2019 found he was "the biological and legal father" of a child born to lunden alexis roberts, an exotic dancer from arkansas. hunter claimed to have "no recollection" of their encounter in his memoir, but he has settled a paternity suit with ms roberts and pays her child support. none of the bidens appear to have ever met navy roberts, now four years old. but amid a media pressure campaign, president biden was last summer forced to acknowledge his seventh grandchild. before he finalised his split from ms buhle, hunter entered into a relationship with his brother's widow, hallie biden. during a two year relationship, the pair bonded over their shared and "very specific grief" as a result of beau biden's death, he told the new yorker. taking the stand at his delaware trial, hallie biden testified that the president's son had introduced her to crack cocaine and bought drugs in her presence. she also said his frequent use left him "agitated" and "high strung". two months after a stint in rehab in 2018, hunter biden purchased a handgun   what his defence team maintains was an impulse buy, under pressure from a pushy gun store owner. prosecutors said he lied on the firearm application form by claiming that he was not using drugs at the time. hunter biden's attorneys argued he did not consider himself an addict and had been clean at that time. hallie biden, who told the court she had confronted hunter biden over his drug use, found the weapon and ammunition as she again cleared "remnants of crack cocaine and [drug] paraphernalia" from his vehicle. she described how, in a moment of panic, she stuffed the gun in a shopping bag and tossed it in a garbage bin, 11 days after the firearm was purchased. "i didn't want him to hurt himself or the kids to find it and hurt themselves" she said of her actions. according to the new york times, hunter had ominously told a family friend at the time: "i know you all think the wrong brother died." retrieving the discarded gun would ultimately involve local police, the fbi and an elderly man who had been fishing in the trash for aluminium and plastic. reports of an "amicable" split between hallie and hunter surfaced in 2019, less than a week after his father launched his third bid for president. mere weeks later, hunter wed south african filmmaker melissa cohen after a whirlwind six day romance. they have one son. at his trial, hunter biden did not take the stand in his own defence but he and several family members sat through emotional testimony from three ex partners, including ms buhle. his daughter, naomi, also testified. speaking out in 2019 on his struggle with addiction, he said: "you don't get rid of it. you figure out how to deal with it." in beautiful things, hunter biden credits his survival to his family's love, recounting an intervention that ended with his father tightly embracing him and saying: "i don't know what else to do. i'm so scared. tell me what to do." the president's son has turned in recent years to painting as a form of therapy, telling the new york times that it "keeps me away from people and places where i shouldn't be". but sales of his artwork   for up to $500,000 a piece   have created an ethics dilemma for the biden white house. president biden has defended his son on multiple occasions, including in a feisty presidential debate with mr trump in 2020. ahead of the trial, he released a statement: "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." but he has said that, if a jury convicts hunter biden in this trial or the next, he should not expect to be pardoned. after graduating from yale, hunter worked at mbna america, a bank holding company headquartered in delaware and later acquired by bank of america. joe biden's close ties to the bank   one of the largest employers in delaware and a top contributor to his political campaigns   earned him the unfavourable moniker of "the senator from mbna". as hunter was promoted to the rank of executive vice president, joe pushed bankruptcy reform legislation favourable to mbna through the senate. in the early 2000s, while still receiving consulting fees from the bank, hunter opened a washington lobbying practice. it saw him land "clients with interests that overlapped with [his father's] committee assignments and legislative priorities", according to politico magazine. the father son relationship at the time, he told the new yorker, was that neither would speak to the other about lobbying work. president biden has maintained this to be true in the case of more recent allegations of wrongdoing as well. in 2006, with then senator biden set to re assume chairmanship of the senate's foreign relations committee, hunter and another relative made an ill fated purchase of a hedge fund group. their tenure at paradigm global advisors extended through joe biden's 2008 run for president and selection as vice president to president barack obama. during this time, the fund was connected with several alleged fraudsters, including a texas financier convicted of running one of the largest ponzi schemes in us history. the bidens denied any wrongdoing and faced no charges. in 2010, they liquidated the fund and returned money to investors. much has been made in recent years about hunter's foreign business interests while his father was vice president. in 2013, he took a founding board seat at bhr, a chinese private equity firm   first as an unpaid member and later owning a 10% equity stake in the fund. the company was registered in shanghai less than a fortnight after hunter flew with his father on an official vice presidential trip to china and met bhr's chief executive, but only for "a cup of coffee", the first son later said. after his father left office in 2017, hunter partnered with chinese oil tycoon ye jianming on a natural gas project in louisiana. the deal collapsed after ye was detained by chinese authorities on corruption charges and subsequently went missing. hunter's dealings in ukraine have stoked even more controversy, given that his father was the obama administration's point man for us ukraine relations. in 2014, he joined the board of a ukrainian energy company, burisma holdings, where he was paid as much as $1.2m (£943,000) per year. as part of an anti corruption drive, vice president biden was at the time rallying for the ouster of the country's top prosecutor, viktor shokin. mr shokin was removed by parliament in 2016, but critics argue the prosecutor only lost his job because he was investigating burisma. republicans alleged both joe and hunter biden had received $5m payouts from burisma executives in exchange for mr shokin's firing. but those claims fizzled when an ex fbi informant was charged with fabricating the whole bribery scheme. a former business partner to hunter also testified joe had been on speakerphone several times during hunter's calls with various contacts. allegations of corruption formed the centrepiece of both president trump's first impeachment in 2019, and are stoking the nascent impeachment inquiry into president biden. a laptop abandoned by hunter at a delaware repair shop, and the seedy contents of its hard drive, also featured prominently in the 2020 presidential campaign. the biden team argued at the time it was a "smear campaign" engineered by russian disinformation, but the hard drive has been authenticated by us media and the fbi has it. analysis of its contents has provided proof of hunter's extensive earnings from his work in china and ukraine, as well as evidence of his alcohol  and drug fuelled escapades. as the president revs up his re election campaign, the extensive fallout from his son's legal drama, business interests and tabloid friendly life is proving to be an unwelcome distraction. the japanese prime minister gets much needed reassurances that his country is still america's top ally. officials say it's too soon to say what caused the plane to come down on alaska's west coast. nineteen state attorneys general sued the trump administration after the department of government efficiency (doge) was given access. the billionaire aide to donald trump indicates he wants to see the end of an agency founded after the financial crash of 2007 8. fbi agents, former allies, and the nation's top record keeper are among those president trump has fired. copyright 2025 bbc. all rights reserved. the bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites. read about our approach to external linking.

profile sections local tv featured more from nbc follow nbc news news alerts there are no new alerts at this time wilmington, del.   a jury tuesday found hunter biden, the son of president joe biden, guilty on three felony gun charges after a weeklong trial that focused on his history of drug addiction. biden was charged in federal court in wilmington with three felony counts tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics; he had pleaded not guilty. the jury started its deliberations monday afternoon and deliberated for about three hours before it returned the historic verdict. biden looked straight ahead at the jury as it delivered the verdict, and he nodded slightly as it was read. the trial, the first involving the child of a sitting president, came as the president faces a brutal re election fight against former president donald trump in november. first lady jill biden was not in the courtroom as the verdict was read and arrived minutes later. she immediately went into a holding room where hunter biden went after the verdict. two of the counts carry maximum prison sentences of 10 years, while the third has a maximum of five years. under federal sentencing guideline recommendations, biden could be sentenced to over a year in prison, but the judge could sentence him to more or less time. each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. no sentencing date has been set. in a statement, the president said, “jill and i love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.” the president said he accepted the outcome of the case "and will continue to respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal. jill and i will always be there for hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. nothing will ever change that.” president biden has the power to pardon his son, but he told abc news in an interview thursday that he would not do so. hunter biden issued a statement thanking his wife, family and friends for their support. “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,” the statement said. his attorney abbe lowell indicated they may appeal the verdict. "we are naturally disappointed by today’s verdict," he said. "we will continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available to hunter." jill biden attended the trial   which began june 3 and featured explicit testimony from three of hunter biden’s former romantic partners about his chronic drug use   on multiple days. one of the jurors told cnn that “no politics came into play” in the verdict. “president biden never really came into play for me because his name was only brought up once during the trial, and that’s when it kind of sunk in a little bit, like, oh, wow, this is the sitting president’s son who’s on trial," said the juror, who was not identified. "but you kind of put that out of your mind,” he added. two of the counts accused biden of having completed a form falsely indicating he was not using illegal drugs when he bought a colt cobra revolver in october 2018. the third count alleged he possessed a firearm while using a narcotic. the case was brought by special counsel david weiss, the trump nominated u.s. attorney for delaware, who was kept on by the biden led justice department to continue his investigation into the president's son. "this case was not just about addiction," weiss said after the verdict. "this case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction." biden’s defense centered on the language used in the question on the federally mandated gun shop form, which asked “are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to,” a narcotic drug. lowell noted other questions on the sheet began with “have you ever been,” but not that one. he suggested that biden had been using alcohol during that period but not crack cocaine and that it would have been easy to tell whether he was on drugs at the time. “there may be high functioning alcoholics, but there’s no such thing as a high functioning crack addict,” lowell said in his opening statement. lowell acknowledged biden used crack in the months before and after the sale but suggested he was not using it at the time of the sale and did not at that point consider himself an addict, so he did not “knowingly” violate the law. prosecutors pushed back against that claim by using passages from biden’s book, in which he detailed his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. lowell told jurors in closing arguments that writing after the fact about being an addict in his book, which was published in 2021, does not mean biden knew he was an addict when he bought the gun. prosecutors also pointed to circumstantial evidence from witnesses about biden’s chronic drug use, his text messages and photos of him using drugs to show he was using crack during that time. “the evidence was personal, it was ugly, it was overwhelming,” prosecutor leo wise told the jury in his closing argument. prosecutors noted that biden had withdrawn $5,000 in cash on the day of the sale and texted hallie biden, the widow of his brother, beau biden, the next day that he was looking for a dealer. two days after the gun sale, he texted her, “i was sleeping on a car smoking crack.” lowell suggested that his client’s claims were “facetious” and that he was simply trying to dodge hallie biden. the two had a tumultuous romantic relationship after beau biden died. “you have no idea whether he was just saying that or whether he was actually there?” lowell asked hallie biden in cross examination last week. “correct,” she replied. prosecutors also pushed back against lowell’s argument that his client could not function on drugs. another witness biden had been romantically involved with, zoe kestan, testified that when she first saw him smoke crack, she did not notice any change in his demeanor. she also said that his drug use got worse as time went on and that there were points when he was smoking crack every 20 minutes. hallie biden said hunter biden introduced her to crack, a time in her life that she referred to as “terrible” and “embarrassing.” she said she gave up using drugs in august 2018 and urged him to get clean, as well. she discovered the gun in his car 11 days after he bought it and threw it away outside a grocery store for fear he or her children might hurt themselves. “i realize it was a stupid idea now, but i was just panicking,” she testified. a passerby found the gun, which led to the criminal investigation. republicans   most notably trump   have targeted hunter biden and his relationship with his father. trump was impeached in 2019 for withholding aid to ukraine while pressuring president volodymyr zelenskyy to announce an investigation into the bidens and trump attorney rudy giuliani later disseminated the contents of hunter biden's laptop to the new york post in the weeks before the 2020 election. house republicans have continued to investigate hunter biden and other members of the family since his father became president, and they have criticized weiss for not being aggressive enough while also accusing the justice department of having a two tiered system for bringing two criminal cases against trump. at the same time, they have also raised money off of trump's allegations that the justice department has been "weaponized" against biden's political opponents. a republican strategist who asked not to be identified said the conviction takes some of the wind out of the sails of that argument. “it at a minimum slows the momentum and the clear cut argument that the trump campaign previously had about biden’s weaponization of the justice system. it’s less of a bumper sticker than it was before,” the strategist said. biden's conviction comes less than two weeks after trump was found guilty in new york state court of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to a porn star in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election. he will be sentenced july 11. the gun charge was initially going to be disposed of as part of a plea deal with weiss’ office last year. under the terms of the deal, biden would have been sentenced to six months' probation for pleading guilty to tax charges, while the gun charge would have been dismissed in two years if biden honored the terms of what is known as a diversion agreement. as part of the plea deal, which u.s. district judge maryellen noreika ultimately rejected over concerns about its scope, biden submitted a statement of facts in which he acknowledged he “was a user of and addicted to crack cocaine at the time” of the gun sale. the court document, which jurors were prevented from seeing because it was part of the rejected plea agreement, also said that during the 11 days he possessed the gun, “he purchased and used crack cocaine regularly.” plea negotiations fell apart following noreika’s rejection, leading to the indictment on the gun charges in delaware and another on tax charges in california. that case is scheduled to go to trial in september. gary grumbach produces and reports for nbc news, based in washington, d.c. daniel barnes reports for nbc news, based in washington. owen hayes is an associate producer for the nbc news washington bureau. sarah fitzpatrick is a senior investigative producer and story editor for nbc news. she previously worked for cbs news and "60 minutes." dareh gregorian is a politics reporter for nbc news. © 2025 nbcuniversal media, llc

hunter biden pleaded guilty to federal tax charges thursday in a surprise move that spares president joe biden and his family another likely embarrassing and painful criminal trial of the president's son. hunter biden's stunning decision to guilty plea to misdemeanor and felony charges without the benefits of a deal with prosecutors came hours after jury selection was supposed to begin in the case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. "enough is enough," defence attorney abbe lowell told the judge before hunter biden entered his plea. "mr. biden is prepared, because of the public and private interest, to proceed today and finish this." hunter biden quickly responded "guilty" as the judge read out each of the nine counts. the charges carry up to 17 years behind bars, but federal sentencing guidelines are likely to call for a much shorter sentence. sentencing is set for dec. 16. the president's son was already facing potential prison time after his june conviction in delaware on three felonies, over a gun he bought in 2018, in a trial that aired unflattering and salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction. sentencing for that conviction is set for nov. 13. he could face up to 25 years in prison in that case, though he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely. more than 100 potential jurors had been brought to the courthouse to begin the process of picking the panel that would have decided whether he's guilty of misdemeanor and felony charges over what prosecutors say was a four year scheme to avoid paying taxes while pulling in millions of dollars from foreign business entities. prosecutors were caught off guard when hunter biden's lawyer told the judge thursday morning that his client wanted to enter what's known as an alford plea, under which a defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction. prosecutors said they objected to such a plea, telling the judge that hunter biden "is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him." "hunter biden is not innocent. hunter biden is guilty," prosecutor leo wise said. white house press secretary karine jean pierre said she was "not able to comment" on hunter biden's plans to change his plea. president joe biden has said he would not pardon or commute a sentence handed down against his son. asked again thursday if the president would pardon hunter, jean pierre said: "still no." the tax trial was expected to put a spotlight on his foreign business dealings, which republicans have spent years scrutinizing to accuse his father   without evidence   of corruption in connection with his son's work overseas. although u.s. president joe biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential election muted the potential political implications of the tax case, the trial was expected to carry a heavy emotional toll for the president in the final months of his five decade political career. gop, democrats use hunter biden conviction to score political points hunter biden walked into the courtroom holding hands with his wife, melissa cohen biden, and flanked by secret service agents. initially, he pleaded not guilty to the charges related to his 2016 through 2019 taxes and his attorneys have indicated they will argue he didn't act "willfully," or with the intention to break the law, in part because of his well documented struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. hunter biden had agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offences last year in a deal with the u.s. justice department that would allow him to avoid prosecution in the gun case if he stayed out of trouble. but the agreement imploded after a judge questioned unusual aspects of it, and he was subsequently indicted in the two cases. his decision to change his plea thursday came after the judge issued some unfavourable pre trial rulings for the defence, including rejecting a proposed defence expert lined up to testify about addiction. u.s. district judge mark scarsi, who was appointed to the bench by former president donald trump, placed some restrictions on what jurors would be allowed to hear about the traumatic events that hunter biden's family, friends and attorneys say led to his drug addiction. the judge barred attorneys from connecting his substance abuse struggles to the 2015 death of his brother, beau biden, from cancer, or the car crash that killed his mother and sister when he was a toddler. the indictment alleged that hunter biden lived lavishly while flouting the tax law, spending his cash on things like strippers and luxury hotels   "in short, everything but his taxes." hunter biden's attorneys had asked scarsi to also limit prosecutors from highlighting details of his expenses that they say amount to a "character assassination," including payments made to strippers or pornographic websites. the judge has said in court papers that he will maintain "strict control" over the presentation of potentially salacious evidence. prosecutors could have presented more details of hunter biden's overseas dealings, which have been at the centre of republican investigations into the biden family often seeking   without evidence  to tie the president to an alleged influence peddling scheme. the special counsel's team had said it wants to tell jurors about hunter biden's work for a romanian businessman, who they say sought to "influence u.s. government policy" while joe biden was vice president. the defence accused prosecutors of releasing details about hunter biden's work for the romanian in court papers to drum up media coverage and taint the jury pool. audience relations, cbc p.o. box 500 station a toronto, on canada, m5w 1e6 toll free (canada only): 1 866 306 4636 it is a priority for cbc to create products that are accessible to all in canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. closed captioning and described video is available for many cbc shows offered on cbc gem.

our live coverage has wrapped for the day. read more about today’s court proceedings in the posts below. 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: read more takeaways from day 6 no cameras are allowed inside the delaware courtroom where hunter biden’s trial is underway, but sketch artist bill hennessy is capturing the scenes. president joe biden said he would not pardon his son hunter if he’s found guilty of criminal gun charges. “yes,” biden told interviewer david muir of abc last week when asked if he would rule out a pardon. the president also affirmed he would accept the outcome of the trial. biden accused his predecessor donald trump of attempting to subvert the rule of law by questioning the verdict in his own criminal trial. “he’s trying to undermine it,” biden told muir. “he got a fair trial. the jury spoke.” read more on president joe biden’s comments. federal district judge maryellen noreika is overseeing hunter biden’s gun case in delaware. noreika, a donald trump appointee, was confirmed by the us senate in august 2018 by voice vote. she had the support of both democratic senators from delaware. under the senate’s blue slip tradition, nominees for district court seats require the support of home state senators to move forward. sen. chris coons, a democrat, praised noreika in a statement after her nomination was announced. he described her and another appointee as “seasoned attorneys,” with “impressive trial skills, deep experience in federal practice, and profound respect for the law.” before becoming a federal judge, noreika was a former patent lawyer in wilmington, delaware. she grew up in pittsburgh, pennsylvania and graduated from university of pittsburgh school of law in 1993. noreika’s political spending has gone to both parties. on the presidential level, federal records indicate that she gave $1,000 to then new york sen. hillary clinton’s 2008 campaign for the democratic nomination. she later donated $2,300 to the eventual 2008 republican nominee, then arizona sen. john mccain. she donated to the subsequent gop nominee as well, giving $2,500 to mitt romney’s presidential campaign in 2012. noreika also financially supported sen. tom cotton, a conservative republican from arkansas, during his 2014 senate race. she also donated $1,000 in 2009 to the dscc, the senate democrats’ campaign arm. cnn’s tierney sneed, marshall cohen and jack forrest contributed to this report. as president joe biden engages in the fight of his political life in a campaign focused on democracy and the rule of law, the most intimate details of his family’s ongoing personal tragedies have been publicly dissected in a courtroom over the last week. hunter biden’s struggles with addiction after the death of his brother beau biden have been the focus of hours of testimony during his trial for federal criminal charges, putting some of the biden family’s most personal problems on full display. the president’s son has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts connected to a gun he purchased in october 2018. for decades, the president has navigated the sometimes competing demands of his political career and being a father, particularly when it comes to hunter biden. part of the president’s enduring brand has been his ability to relate to the personal tragedies of others because of what his family has suffered, including the death of his first wife and daughter in a 1972 car crash that severely injured beau and hunter, and beau’s 2015 death from brain cancer. the most emotional parts of the trial involved the testimony from those closest to hunter biden, including his daughter naomi, his ex girlfriend and his brother’s widow hallie biden and his ex wife, kathleen buhle. though the questions they faced were aimed at determining whether hunter was using drugs in 2018, the effect hunter’s drug use had on their own lives was inescapable. “i am the president, but i am also a dad,” biden said in a statement at the start of the trial. “our family has been through a lot together, and jill and i are going to continue to be there for hunter and our family with our love and support.” last week, the president ruled out pardoning his son. the jury will resume deliberations tuesday in hunter biden’s federal gun trial in wilmington, delaware. while buying a revolver in delaware in 2018, prosecutors accuse biden of lying on a federal form, swearing that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs   even though he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase. here’s who was on the stand during the trial: the jurors have been dismissed for the day in the hunter biden trial. they began deliberating about an hour before court ended monday. court and deliberations will resume tuesday morning. a panel of 12 delaware citizens is deliberating in the federal gun trial against hunter biden after both sides presented closing arguments. this is the first time in american history that the child of the sitting president is going on trial. the indictment was brought by the justice department, specifically by david weiss, the special counsel appointed last year to oversee the hunter biden probes. hunter biden, 54, is accused of illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while abusing or being addicted to drugs, a violation of federal law. he pleaded not guilty to the three charges, though he has been open about his struggles with alcohol and crack cocaine addiction. the first two charges in the three count indictment are tied to the gun purchase itself. when a person buys a gun, they must fill out a form with the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives and affirm that they are legally allowed to buy the weapon. hunter biden has been charged with lying on those forms. these questions include: have you been convicted of a felony? are you a fugitive? are you in the country unlawfully? and, importantly for this case, are you an “unlawful user of, or addicted to” illegal drugs? hunter biden allegedly checked the box that said, “no.” count 3 relates to the possession of the gun. it’s also against federal law to possess a gun if you are abusing drugs. hunter biden had the gun for 11 days in october 2018, before his girlfriend threw it in a dumpster because she was worried about his mental health, according to the indictment and texts made public in recent court filings. “guns present a danger if they get in the wrong hands, and that’s the impetus behind these laws,” nabeel kibria, a washington, dc based defense attorney who has handled hundreds of gun cases, told cnn. “the evidence seems pretty stacked against hunter … but who determines who is an addict? what are the bright line rules that must be followed?” if convicted of al three counts, hunter biden could face up to 25 years in prison, though he likely will receive far less than the maximum as a first time offender. some jurors took notes during the roughly hour long prosecution closing arguments, taking glances at the large contingent of biden family members, including the first lady, the president’s siblings james and valerie, and a number of cousins. various family members shook their heads in disapproval as the prosecutor described hunter biden’s “four years of active addiction.” during hunter biden attorney abbe lowell’s 90 minute closing however, some jurors appeared to be nodding off. he showed them a lengthy series of full screen graphics to list what he said were reasonable doubts jurors should have about the government case. lowell used an analogy of an accordion to try to describe how prosecutors were stretching facts to cover the lack of direct evidence of hunter biden’s drug use in october, 2018 when he bought the gun. some jurors pulled their sweaters and shawls up to cover themselves in the chilly courtroom as the prosecution retook the podium for the rebuttal. both sides gave their final thoughts to jurors in closing arguments in the gun trial against hunter biden. the defense rested its case monday morning without calling the president’s son to the stand. hunter biden faces three charges stemming from a 2018 gun purchase. while buying the revolver, biden is accused of lying on a federal form, swearing that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs   even though prosecutors say he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase. here’s a recap of what both sides said in their final appeal to jurors: prosecution: defense: remember: if convicted on all counts, biden could face as much as 25 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000, according to court filings. however, defendants very rarely get the maximum penalty, especially in cases like these, involving non violent crimes and an alleged first time offender. his punishment will be solely up to the judge, the prosecution had a strong “evidentiary basis” that could push toward a conviction, but the defense made a strong emotional appeal, strengthened by the presence of his family, said florida judge and law professor jeff swartz. “i think the prosecution made a huge mistake making a point of pointing out jill biden and other members of the family and saying, these people don’t matter. you’re looking at a bunch of family people sitting in the box and being told family doesn’t matter. that literally makes no sense to me,” swartz said. swartz also mentioned that there was a juror who had a family member who also struggled with addiction and sobbed during the opening statement, making the emotional pull of the testimonies defending hunter biden even stronger. the case against hunter biden has gone to the jury in wilmington, delaware. they will now consider whether president joe biden’s son is guilty or not guilty of the three gun charges brought by prosecutors. the prosecution has concluded their rebuttal. the judge is now set to provide final instructions and send the jury to start deliberations. prosecutor derek hines told the jury that defense witness naomi biden actually hurt her father’s case because she was telling the truth. she was “completely uncomfortable” and in visible “anguish” on the stand, he said of naomi biden. “she couldn’t vouch for the defendant’s sobriety,” hines said, adding that she couldn’t do so because she swore to tell the truth. during his closing argument, hunter biden defense attorney abbe lowell shouted that it was cruel when prosecutors asked if naomi biden used drugs. (there is no evidence that she has used drugs and she has not been accused of doing so or charged with any crime.) prosecutor derek hines is pointing directly at hunter biden while referencing hunter biden’s decisions to buy a gun and use drugs. “choices have consequences, and that’s why we’re here,” he said. “we wouldn’t be here in this courtroom” if hunter biden only smoked crack, hines said. hunter biden could be sentenced to jail time if he is convicted, said cnn’s chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid, but he may face a far less harsh sentencing due to the fact that he’s a first time offender. “he could potentially face decades in prison, hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, but that’s the upper range, and sentencing is definitely more of an art than a science,” reid said. “i can say that jail time would be on the table.” hunter biden is facing a three count indictment, with the first two tied to the gun purchase itself. count three relates to the possession of the gun. it’s also against federal law to possess a gun if you are abusing drugs. hunter biden had the gun for 11 days in october 2018, before his girlfriend threw it in a dumpster because she was worried about his mental health, according to the indictment and texts made public in recent court filings. “as a first time offender, again, if he’s even convicted, he would face something far less. now, he faces three counts, for example, if he’s only convicted on one count, the sentence would be even less,” reid said. hunter biden’s sentence will be solely up to the judge. if convicted on all three counts, he could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000 at sentencing. “his team will also likely appeal, and any sentence that came about would be paused while these appeals played out. so it’s not likely he’ll see jail time, even if he is given jail time, at least immediately,” said cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider. cnn’s marshall cohen contributed reporting to this post. it was “extraordinarily cruel” for prosecutors to ask naomi biden if she used drugs to try to fill in the “gaping holes” in their case, hunter biden’s defense attorney abbe lowell said during his closing argument. lowell glared directly at prosecutors as he spoke, raising his voice and banging his fist on the lectern. hunter biden’s defense attorney abbe lowell finished his closing argument in the federal gun case monday. prosecutors will now present a rebuttal. after that, the judge said she would then give jurors a few final instructions before sending them to deliberate. lowell’s closing argument went approximately 85 minutes. defense attorney abbe lowell slammed prosecutors, saying the most “unfair” thing weiss’ team did was “take hunter’s words about being an addict out of the context they were in.” many people refer to themselves as addicts even in periods when they aren’t using, lowell said. but calling yourself an addict at an aa or na meeting, or in retrospect, is “not the same” as legally acknowledging that you are currently a drug user. lowell added that “hunter has not asked anyone to excuse the mistakes he has made: using drugs and alcohol to dull the pain that he felt.” hunter biden defense attorney abbe lowell said hallie biden did something “incredibly stupid” and may have done it “for love” when she threw out hunter biden’s gun. after hunter biden learned that hallie biden tossed the gun in a trash can at a grocery store, he told her to call the police, lowell noted. “a person who is … using drugs, can’t operate, is a ‘danger to public safety,’” lowell said quoting prosecutors, is the “very same person” who told hallie biden to file a police report. lowell also said “there is no evidence in the record   none” that the gun was ever even loaded during the 11 days when hunter biden owned it in october 2018. “there is no evidence that the gun was anywhere except in that lockbox,” in his truck, lowell said. hunter biden defense attorney abbe lowell brought up the federal form hunter biden signed to purchase a gun in 2018. “he did check the boxes and he did sign the form,” lowell said, but said based on witness testimony it was unclear when that occurred and how complete it was. lowell also noted that the question of drug use and addiction on the form was in the present tense. “a question not on the past tense but in the present: are,” lowell said, adding “what he thought on those key days” as crucial. lowell reminded the jury that the gun seller, gordon cleveland, didn’t think hunter biden was on drugs when he bought the gun. cleveland “spent lots of time” with hunter biden that day, maybe more than anyone else, lowell said, and testified that hunter biden “not at all exhibited” any signs of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. this is “real evidence” that hunter biden is not guilty of lying on the atf form, lowell said. defense attorney abbe lowell again leaned on the “magician’s trick” motif to accuse prosecutors of trying to dupe the jury. “watch this hand, pay no attention to the other one,” lowell said. he raised this regarding the testimony of a drug enforcement administration (dea) drug expert. the expert told the jury all about the “drug lingo” that hunter biden used, lowell said, but those examples weren’t from the time that hunter biden purchased and possessed the firearm. much of the case, lowell said, included testimony to facts hunter biden has already admitted   his years long use of crack cocaine. lowell ridiculed prosecutors for calling hunter biden’s ex wife to testify, noting she didn’t have knowledge about the year off the allegations. no one, lowell said, had witnessed “actual drug use” in the month hunter biden bought the firearm. lowell is also hammering into the jury that prosecutors’ case is based on “suspicion” and “conjecture.” “there was no actual witness” to hunter biden’s drug use during the operative time in 2018, lowell asserted. hunter biden’s repeated withdrawals of cash could be for other “operative purposes” besides drug purchase, he said, and prosecutors didn’t definitively prove “when” remnants of crack were left on a leather pouch hunter owned. “proof beyond a reasonable doubt is not suspicion or conjecture and hoping you won’t realize the difference,” lowell said. defense attorney abbe lowell also noted that hallie biden, a key witness for the prosecution, couldn’t recall details around the time she found the gun in hunter biden’s car. “poor hallie,” lowell said, adding that through her testimony she has been “dragged through” a tragic time in her life. hallie biden, lowell said, testified that she guessed that residue she saw in the car was from drugs and couldn’t recall what paraphernalia she said she saw. powell also said the prosecutors were trying to weave “suspicion” and “conjecture” about the pouch found with hunter biden’s gun in his car. an fbi chemist testified that it tested positive for small amounts of cocaine. “you don’t know” who put that residue there, lowell said, suggesting explicitly it may have originated from “hallie [biden].” further, lowell noted that the special counsel only tested the pouch for drugs in 2023, five years after it was seized. the defense slammed hunter biden’s ex girlfriend, zoe kestan, a critical prosecution witness who implicated him in drug use a few weeks before he bought the gun at the center of the case. defense attorney abbe lowell said kestan met with prosecutors many times before trial to “rehearse” her testimony   instantly drawing an objection from the special counsel team. it is not uncommon for prosecution witnesses in a trial to meet with those attorneys before getting on the stand. lowell noted that kestan helped connect hunter biden with drug dealers, enabling him. he also pointed out that kestan took a lot of pictures of hunter biden with drugs, but none from the key month of october 2018, when he bought the gun. during the trial, prosecutors honed in on a series of text messages that hunter biden sent in october of 2018. “the text messages that hunter biden was sending in the month of october, they are critical evidence because there’s no direct evidence, nobody who can testify that they saw hunter biden doing or using crack cocaine during that month,” said legal correspondent paula reid. a series of text messages hunter biden sent to his sister in law and past partner hallie biden show that he is “suggests that he was either doing drugs or about to buy drugs,” reid added. defense attorneys argued that hunter biden was simply trying to avoid hallie and made up an excuse, stating that it was not sufficient evidence to show that hunter biden was actually doing drugs. the prosecution will focus on the fact that there were traces of cocaine in the pouch containing the gun, but the defense will focus on the specific timing of the gun ownership, according to legal analyst elie honig. “what the defense team for hunter biden has argued is that the prosecution has to show you beyond a reasonable doubt that he was an addict from the day he bought this gun, october 12, 2018. he only had it for 11 days until the 23rd, so they’re going to say prosecution has to prove that he was an addict during that time and that he knew it,” honig said. defense attorney abbe lowell compared the prosecutor’s case to a “magician’s trick”   a slight of hand where they try to get a conviction even though the evidence isn’t there. he said this while this wile criticizing special counsel david weiss’ team for, in his view, cherry picking evidence to present a more favorable timeline at hunter biden’s drug use that supports their claim that he was actively on drugs in october 2018. again, lowell argued that the bar for prosecutors to prove hunter biden was knowingly violating the law was extremely high. knowingly, lowell said, means that hunter biden would have had to have been “conscious and aware” of the law and how he was violating it. “with this very high burden, it’s time to end this case,” lowell said. when he marked on the federal form that he wasn’t an addict, hunter biden was not saying “what he believed to be false.” lowell, hunter biden’s defense attorney, told the jury that prosecutors hadn’t proved beyond a reasonable doubt that hunter biden knew at the time he bought the gun that it was illegal. hunter biden’s knowledge of his addiction and of breaking the law is a key legal threshold required for a conviction. “they spent hours, i mean literally hours, recounting hunter biden’s terrible journey with alcohol and drug use,” lowell said, chiding prosecutors for reading excerpts from hunter biden’s memoir. but, lowell said, prosecutors are “blurring hunter’s intentions at the time of the purchase with what he was “admitting after the fact” in his book. “pay close attention” to the real timeline, lowell told the jury. prosecutors have finished their closing arguments in hunter biden case. the defense team is beginning theirs. abbe lowell said the jury should make sure that hunter biden is not “convicted improperly.” reasonable doubt “is not suspicion or conjecture,” lowell said. “with this very high burden, it’s time to end this case,” he said. in closing arguments, prosecutor leo wise zeroed in on testimony about hunter biden’s truck. his daughter naomi said there weren’t any drugs or drug remnants when she gave the truck back to her dad on october 19. hallie biden testified that she found crack remnants when she searched his care on october 23. wise read messages between hunter biden and his daughter, naomi, telling the jury they were evidence of hunter biden acting erratically. pointing to naomi’s searing testimony about her father’s addiction, wise said the reason naomi was called to the stand “was to suggest he was somehow okay” in october 2018. but hunter biden repeatedly texted his daughter on the early hours of the morning, wise said, trying to get his touch from her. “this isn’t okay,” wise said. prosecutor leo wise said that hunter biden messaged with drug dealers in the days around when he bought the gun at the center of this case. “you see him setting up meetings [with a dealer] right before he bought the gun,” wise said. the messages show hunter biden’s purchasing drugs “almost in real time,” wise said. wise also attacked hunter biden’s defense of text messages sent in the days after he bought the gun about buying and using drugs. abbe lowell, hunter biden’s attorney, has argued hunter biden made up a drug deal story to avoid seeing hallie biden at the time. hallie biden, the widow of hunter biden’s late brother, beau, was hunter biden’s former girlfriend. “you use your common sense,” wise said of this theory from the defense, noting if hunter biden didn’t want to see hallie biden he could have lied earlier about where he was. “he didn’t need to make up this elaborate story about two drug deals,” wise said. prosecutor leo wise also summarized the testimony of three former partners of hunter biden’s who testified to his rampant drug use across several years. wise highlighted how hallie biden saw drug residue in hunter biden’s car at the same time she found the gun. the prosecutor also noted that zoe kestan said she saw hunter biden use drugs in late september 2018. he purchased the gun on october 12. “there is overwhelming evidence that he used drugs after the rehab at the view,” in los angeles in august 2018, wise said. he also noted testimony from kestan that hunter biden smoked in malibu, weeks after that rehab experience. “we’re really only talking about a period of 13 days,” wise said, arguing that hunter biden did not get clean after that “supposedly life changing rehab” stint at the view. prosecutor leo wise told jurors that evidence showed hunter biden “habitually” used illegal drugs around the time of the gun purchase. “it started years before [the gun purchase] and continued for months after,” wise said of hunter biden’s drug use. “he had lost control,” wise said, calling hunter biden an “addict.” a main tenant of hunter biden’s defense is that the government has not adequately proved he was actively using at the time of the 2018 gun purchase. wise showed jurors the scores of text messages and images detailing how, according to prosecutors, hunter biden coordinated with drug dealers to buy crack and use the drug. the messages, wise said, show how hunter biden met up with drug dealers in the days around his gun purchase. wise also said hunter biden’s memoir was “searingly painful” but contained personal and honest information that, in his view, helps prove hunter biden’s guilt. the front row of court was packed with hunter biden’s closest relatives eager to show support on what could be the last day of his federal criminal trial. first lady jill biden was flanked by hunter biden’s wife on one side, and her daughter ashley biden on the right. the secret service agent could barely fit on the end of the bench as so many people eager to sit in the front row. the first three rows of court were completely filled with hunter biden’s friends and family. there was a lot of confusion about a sidebar that latest 45 minutes with reporters straining to try and get a glimpse of what defense attorney abbe lowell was animatedly arguing about with the judge and prosecutors. before lunch, the jury was very attentive when the judge walked them through the jury instructions, reading along line by line as the judge spoke them aloud. as court broke for a brief lunch break, hunter biden stopped by the first three rows of the courtroom to glad hand with family and friends that were there showing support. the prosecutor said the state does not have to prove hunter biden used drugs on a specific day to prove their case. “the united states is not required to prove drug use on a specific day,” prosecutor leo wise told the jury. “there is no requirement for the united states to prove [drug] use in the month of october.” instead, the standard is that hunter biden was “actively engaged” in drugs around the time of the gun purchase, wise said. “you can convict on those facts alone,” wise said. wise invoked the testimony of hunter biden’s ex girlfriend, zoe kestan, who said she witnessed hunter biden smoking crack in september 2018, a few weeks before buying the gun. “there is no evidence that anyone else possessed the gun from october 12 to october 23, other than the defendant,” prosecutor leo wise said of the gun hunter biden owned. this was in reference to count three, unlawful possession of a firearm by the user of a controlled substance. “maybe if he had never gone to rehab … he could argue he didn’t know he was an addict,” wise said of hunter biden. as hunter biden’s trial on federal gun charges comes closer to a conclusion, the biden family called on a family friend and spiritual adviser, the rev. christopher alan bullock, to attend court today. bullock, the senior pastor of the canaan baptist church in new castle, delaware, told cnn he has known the biden family since the early 90s. he led a prayer with hunter biden inside the courthouse this morning. “we’re here to support them in this season of struggle. we know that addiction plays a part in most american families directly, indirectly, but in times like these the family needs support. hunter needs prayer, the president, first lady, so we’re here to support them,” bullock told cnn. bullock said hunter’s energy was “very positive, upbeat, but concerned, as he should be.” “he’s positive. he’s concerned. his family’s here. supporters are here. prayer is here and the folk who know and love them are here in good times and in times like these,” bullock said. “love is greater than politics,” he added. asked what he spoke about in prayer today, bullock said, he “evoked the name of god that he would give hunter strength and that justice would be a reality and give the family peace and unity.” “we believe, like the bidens believe, in the power of faith. whenever you are in a situation like this, not only must you involve the law, but you must know the lord. so, it’s the law and the lord, so my job is to keep them in prayer, to provide spiritual and moral support,” bullock said. hunter biden “knew he used crack” around the time he bought the gun in question in his criminal trial, prosecutor leo wise told jurors. “the defendant knew he used crack and was addicted to crack at the relevant time period,” wise said, homing in on one of the most difficult elements of the alleged crimes that prosecutors need to prove to win a conviction. wise added: “the evidence was personal; it was ugly and overwhelming.” but, he said, such evidence of drug use and beyond was “necessary,” explaining why prosecutors spent so much time highlighting hunter biden’s well documented struggles with addiction. prosecutor leo wise tells the jury, “people sitting in the gallery are not evidence. you may recognize them from the news … but respectfully, none of that matters.” the first lady, jill biden, and other family members have been sitting in the gallery for much of the trial. “your decision can only be made on evidence,” wise told the jurors. “no one is above the law and this case stands for that simple proposition,” wise said. “prosecutors need to prove hunter biden’s guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. that is a burden we embrace,” wise said. prosecutors have begun their closing arguments in the hunter biden trial. legal experts concurred that putting hunter biden on the stand would have been a “risky” move. the defense rested its case this morning without calling the president’s son to testify. “i think it was too risky to put him on the stand,” defense lawyer seth berenzweig told wolf blitzer on “cnn newsroom,” adding that “it was the right decision” not to have hunter biden testify. “i would always advise my clients unless in the most rare occasions not to testify,” said defense attorney alyse adamson. “if it is just the prosecution’s case, if the defendant does not testify, then the burden is where it should be, which is on the prosecution. it’s just too risky to have a defendant testify because you don’t know what the prosecution is gonna ask them.” the jury is now taking a lunch break, with closing arguments set to start when it returns. judge maryellen noreika is now reading the jury instructions. the instructions outline what the 12 person jury must consider against the defendant and the laws governing their deliberations. after this, court will go on a lunch break and then have closing arguments. the prosecution has finished its rebuttal argument after calling fbi agent erika jensen. 13 total witnesses testified in the case. during cross examination, fbi agent erika jensen said she did not have location data of where hunter biden was when he messaged an individual about meeting at a 7 eleven. “it’s q,” one text on october 11 said, one day before hunter biden’s gun purchase. “i’m at 7 11 now.” “meet me at 7 11 at 3,” hunter biden wrote back. fbi agent erika jensen, who testified at the beginning of the trial, is back on the stand and prosecutors are questioning her. prosecutors are asking jensen about texts that hunter biden sent while he was in wilmington saying he was at a 7 eleven in town. this is an important topic because there are only 2 texts of hunter biden referring to using or buying drugs in october 2018 when he bought the gun, one of them said he was meeting a dealer named “mookie” at the 7 eleven. the defense has said that, while those texts may exist, they do not prove that hunter biden went where he claimed to have gone in the texts, like the 7 eleven. they also told the jury that “mookie,” the alleged dealer, might not exist. jensen is now telling the jury about other times that hunter biden said he went to the 7 eleven, according to his texts. the defense has rested its case without calling any more witnesses. they put on testimony from three witnesses on friday. before the proceedings restarted, several men put their arms around hunter biden and prayed in a circle. as the court proceedings are paused, people connected to the justice department have stood in the hallway working out what appears to be tech issues. three individuals huddled over a doj computer repeatedly said they were working on “connectivity issues.” the individuals also referenced several exhibits that needed to be printed. they said, however, that no one was around to operate a printer. lawyers were in an extensive sidebar monday morning, and court is now in a short break. it is not clear what they were discussing. it was clear that speaking about her father was a very painful subject for naomi biden. and even though she is a graduate of columbia law school, she appeared very uncomfortable on the stand after the defense called her to testify friday in the trial against hunter biden. naomi biden entered the court on friday with her husband, and first lady jill biden immediately motioned for him to come sit next to her among the biden family and friends who make up at least the first two rows of the courtroom. naomi biden’s testimony focused on two instances in 2018 when she saw her father. the first was in august or september, when she went to visit her dad in los angeles. hunter biden had reached out to her to come visit him amid his stint in rehab. he offered to arrange the trip, and naomi biden said she agreed to go, even though she had not seen him in quite some time. naomi biden said she met with him and his sober coach, and brought her boyfriend, who is now her husband. it was “the cleanest she had seen him since my uncle died,” naomi biden said. “i was proud of him, and i was proud to introduce peter to him,” she said. on the stand, naomi biden came across as genuine and compelling as the child of an addict. she then testified about a trip to new york city, where hunter biden came to pick up a car. she described seeing him at the end of october, and said she felt “hopeful.” naomi biden said her father seemed the same as when she had seen him in los angeles. on cross examination by prosecutor leo wise, she again testified about how she had not seen her father recently because “after my uncle died, things got bad,” around 2015. prosecutors got her to concede that she really did not know what he was like when he was using drugs, because she had not seen him for quite some time. prosecutors seemed to catch naomi and defense attorney abbe lowell off guard when they introduced her to a series of texts she exchanged with her father during the trip to new york. naomi biden seemed a little confused and reticent when confronted with texts appearing to show her father to be somewhat erratic and non communicative when trying to arrange the hand off of his car. she did not remember the exchange and started to appear increasingly uncomfortable when talking about texts her father sent her in the wee hours of the morning about exchanging his car. as she left the stand, naomi biden gave her dad a cool embrace, a kiss on the cheek, and was seen trembling and wiping away tears as she exited the courtroom. the judge has rejected an attempt by the defense to add more favorable language to the verdict form that jurors will fill out when they finish their deliberations. hunter biden’s lawyers wanted her to add the term “knowledge” for all three charged offenses   because the law requires prosecutors to prove that hunter biden knew he was a drug abuser when he bought the gun. but the judge declined. that term is already in the jury instructions that they’ll hear before they deliberate. hunter biden’s defense attorney abbe lowell indicated in court monday that hunter biden will not testify in this case. he agreed to allow the judge to give an instruction to the jury that they shouldn’t hold it against him that he “did not testify” in this case. the instruction will be read later today to the jury. however, this is not the same as announcing definitively that hunter biden is not testifying. that would be announced officially when the defense rests its case, in the presence of the jury. the judge in the hunter biden case has rejected several attempts by the defense to add more favorable language to the jury instructions that jurors will hear before they begin deliberations. the defense wanted judge maryellen noreika to directly instruct the jury that they must acquit hunter biden if he didn’t know he was a drug user or addict when he bought and owned the gun in 2018. the defense also wanted the judge to give extra instructions about the meaning or “reasonable doubt,” but she declined. the jury has not been brought in yet. first lady jill biden entered the courthouse in wilmington, delaware, as her son’s trial on federal gun charges enters its second week. ashley biden also arrived at the courthouse hunter biden arrived at the federal courthouse where is facing felony gun charges alongside his wife melissa cohen biden. court will resume monday morning after a week of testimony. a group of people, including valerie and james biden were outside the doors. hunter kissed valerie on the cheek and the group walked in together. a reporter yelled out, “will you testify?” as hunter biden walked out of the motorcade but he didn’t reply. special counsel prosecutors rested their case against hunter biden on friday, and his lawyers said they’ll decide over the weekend whether he testifies in his own defense. that would be a bold and risky move for president joe biden’s son, who could face prison time if he is convicted of the felony gun charges that he’s facing. he has pleaded not guilty to lying on federal background check forms about his drug use and to possessing a gun while addicted to drugs. the defense began presenting its case on friday, calling biden’s daughter naomi biden, who said she was “nervous” and appeared uncomfortable at times, including when confronted by prosecutors about some difficult texts with her father. here’s what to know about the fifth day of the trial: © 2025 cable news network. a warner bros. discovery company. all rights reserved. cnn sans ™ & © 2016 cable news network.

ryan lucas hunter biden, president biden's son, departs from the j. caleb boggs federal building on monday in wilmington, del., after jurors began deliberations in his trial on felony gun charges. anna moneymaker/getty images hide caption a federal jury in delaware has convicted president biden’s son, hunter biden, on felony gun charges stemming from his purchase of a colt revolver in 2018 when he was addicted to crack cocaine. the verdict, handed down after three hours of deliberations, capped a weeklong trial in federal court in wilmington, del. the jury found hunter biden guilty on two counts of making false statements about his drug use when he bought the weapon, and one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a drug user or addict. hunter biden showed no emotion as the judge’s courtroom deputy read out the verdict. afterward, the president’s son hugged his attorneys, and kissed his wife, melissa cohen biden, before filing out of the courtroom. in a statement after the verdict, hunter biden said: “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." his attorney, abbe lowell, said his team "will continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available to hunter." this was the first of two cases against hunter biden brought by justice department special counsel david weiss. the president’s son also faces tax charges in a separate prosecution scheduled to go to trial in september. biden has said he won't pardon his son, and on tuesday he said in a statement: "i will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal." biden later made an unexpected trip to wilmington where he was greeted on the tarmac by hunter biden, melissa cohen biden and his son beau. the president hugged them and spoke to them for several minutes. the gun case was rooted in a difficult period in hunter biden’s life when he was reeling after the death of his brother, beau, in 2015 and was addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol. it centers on the colt revolver that the president’s son bought at a gun store in wilmington in october 2018. it was thrown away in a trash can outside a grocery store 11 days later. prosecutors said that hunter biden lied on the federal form every gun purchaser is required to fill out when he declared that he was not using or addicted to illegal drugs. over the course of the trial, prosecutors set out to prove to the jury that hunter was a drug user at the time, that he knew it and that he lied about when he bought the gun. prosecutors called 10 witnesses, including three women who were at one point romantically involved with hunter biden: his ex wife, kathleen buhle; an ex girlfriend, zoe kestan; and his brother beau’s widow, hallie biden. buhle, who was subpoenaed to testify, told the jury about first discovering her then husband’s drug use when she found a crack pipe on the porch of their home the day after their 22nd wedding anniversary. the couple divorced in 2017. kestan and hallie biden, both of whom were granted immunity to testify, told jurors they had witnessed hunter biden smoke crack cocaine as well as buy it from drug dealers. kestan also testified that she was with the president’s son in 2018 when he was cooking his own crack from powder cocaine. hallie biden, meanwhile, testified about how she and hunter biden became romantically involved over time following the death of her husband   hunter’s brother   in 2017. she told jurors that hunter had introduced her to crack, and that they smoked it together   a period of her life, she said, that she was embarrassed and ashamed of. hunter’s own words also factored into the government’s case. prosecutors played long excerpts from his memoir in which he describes in painful detail his spiral into addiction. the government also presented the jury with text messages hunter biden sent and received between 2017 and 2019 in which he talks about using drugs, buying drugs and his addiction to crack. that includes two text messages that he sent just days after he bought the gun. in one, he says he’s waiting for a dealer named mookie, and in another he says he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack.” hunter biden’s attorney, lowell, has not disputed that hunter biden was addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol. but he has argued that his client completed a rehab program in august of 2018, and that he did not consider himself a drug user when he bought the gun on oct. 12, 2018, or over the period that he owned it. in his closing argument, lowell accused prosecutors of using sleight of hand to try to hide what he said were holes in its case. throughout the trial, lowell tried to focus the jury’s attention on a narrow period of time   the 11 days hunter biden owned the gun before hallie biden found it and threw it in a trash can outside a wilmington grocery store. lowell repeatedly pointed out that the government has a lot of text messages from before and after october 2018 in which hunter biden talks about his drug use or even arranges to buy drugs   but not in october 2018. the drug texts the government did produce dating to the period hunter biden owned the gun lowell tried to diffuse as nothing more than facetious messages his client sent to hallie biden. sponsor message become an npr sponsor

hunter biden’s conviction for lying about his drug use on a handgun licence application will be a devastating personal blow for his father, joe biden. the us president doubles as the patriarch of a tight knit family that has seen its share of personal tragedy and trauma. now his surviving son has been found guilty of three federal crimes that carry a potentially lengthy prison term. but hunter's verdict is unlikely to change how americans vote in november's election. his father's name will be on the ballot, not his. there's no evidence connecting the president to his son's offences. and there has been scant polling evidence that the public is following this trial closely. after the verdict was announced, the president released a statement hinting at the dual obligations demanding his attention. “i am the president, but i am also a dad,” he said. he added that he continued to support his son and was proud of the man he is today. at the start of the trial, joe biden said he wouldn’t comment on the proceedings, but his son’s courtroom drama has followed him for weeks, as he conducted his official duties and campaigned for re election. hunter's yet to be determined punishment may be similarly distracting as the president prepares later this month for a pivotal presidential debate. "this will, of course, be a personal distraction for the president, as it would be for any father," says michael larosa, who served as press secretary for first lady jill biden during the first two years of the biden presidency. "it's not a distraction from his duties as president, but i'm sure it will take an emotional toll on the family." while in france for d day commemorations last week, president biden said that he would not consider using his authority to pardon his son. and he added that he would accept the jury’s verdict   a contrast from donald trump’s rejection of his own conviction as rigged and corrupt. the former president’s response to the hunter biden verdict was also markedly different. in a statement released by the campaign, trump said the trial was “nothing more than a distraction” from what he asserted were more serious crimes committed by the biden family. that was a sentiment echoed by many other republicans. congresswoman nancy mace of south carolina said the verdict was just “the veil of fairness”. others noted that the trial only went ahead because a federal judge last year rejected what critics saw as a "sweetheart" plea deal. trump’s trial became a partisan brawl from start to finish, with republican officials lining up behind the former president to condemn the proceedings. hunter’s conviction had a different feel, marking the culmination of a dark period for a biden family that has known more than its share of turmoil. hunter biden spiralled into drug use around the time that his brother, beau, died from brain cancer. his battles with addiction and the toll it exacted on his family relationships were presented in painful detail during the trial through excerpts from hunter’s memoir, his text messages and emails, photographs and testimony from those close to him. all the while, friends and members of hunter biden’s family   including first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden   sat behind him, watched and sometimes hugged him or held his hand during breaks in the trial. his half sister ashley cried during the defence attorney’s closing arguments. “jill and i will always be there for hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support,” president biden’s post verdict statement concluded. “nothing will ever change that.” the prosecuting attorney during his closing argument said the evidence presented was ugly and personal. he also said that it was overwhelming and it was necessary to show that when hunter biden filled out the federal background check application for a handgun, he knowingly lied when he certified that he was not using drugs. in the end, a unanimous jury agreed. this guilty verdict means the president’s son   the only surviving child from his first wife, who was killed along with his infant daughter in a car accident half a century ago   may face years in prison. hunter biden now awaits sentencing for his conviction, but even after the judge decides his punishment his legal travails will not be over. he is also facing a september trial on charges of failing to pay $1.4m in federal income taxes. that trial, coming less than two months before the election, may not contain the raw emotion on display in the delaware courtroom, but it could prove more politically damaging for the president. hunter’s foreign business dealings and his financial ties to the president have been a source of continued scrutiny by mr biden’s republican critics. drug addiction and the consequences of it have touched many american lives. allegations of financial impropriety and tax fraud, however, may generate less sympathy from the voting public. "there is no need for joe biden to continue receiving access to classified information," president donald trump says. usaid foreign staff say in addition to feeling stranded, they also worry how their absences will harm the countries and people they leave behind. the offer is part of an ongoing effort by the trump administration to slash the size of the federal government. the former texas lawmaker and cornerback will run the agency that offers millions of american families housing assistance. the full senate voted in the evening, approving bondi as the next attorney general, tasked with running the department of justice. copyright 2025 bbc. all rights reserved. the bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites. read about our approach to external linking.

amy taxin, associated press amy taxin, associated press deepa bharath, associated press deepa bharath, associated press alex veiga, associated press alex veiga, associated press claudia lauer, associated press claudia lauer, associated press leave your feedback los angeles (ap)   hunter biden pleaded guilty to federal tax charges thursday in a surprise move that spares president joe biden and his family another likely embarrassing and painful criminal trial of the president’s son. hunter biden’s stunning decision to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges without the benefits of a deal with prosecutors came hours after jury selection was supposed to begin in the case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. read more: as the political impact of hunter biden’s trial is diminished, it still carries a heavy emotional toll for the president the president’s son was already facing potential prison time after his june conviction on felony gun charges in a trial that aired unflattering and salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction. the tax trial was expected to showcase more potentially lurid evidence as well as details about hunter biden’s foreign business dealings, which republicans have seized on to try to paint the biden family as corrupt. although president joe biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential election muted the potential political implications of the tax case, the trial was expected to carry a heavy emotional toll for the president in the final months of his five decade political career. “enough is enough,” defense attorney abbe lowell told the judge before hunter biden entered his plea. “mr. biden is prepared, because of the public and private interest, to proceed today and finish this.” hunter biden quickly responded “guilty” as the judge read out each of the nine counts. the charges carry up to 17 years behind bars, but federal sentencing guidelines are likely to call for a much shorter sentence. sentencing is set for dec. 16. more than 100 potential jurors had been brought to the courthouse in los angeles on thursday to begin the process of picking the panel to hear the case alleging a four year scheme to avoid paying taxes while spending wildly on things like strippers, luxury hotels and exotic cars. prosecutors were caught off guard when hunter biden’s lawyer told the judge thursday morning that hunter wanted to enter what’s known as an alford plea, under which a defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction. prosecutors said they objected to such a plea, telling the judge that hunter biden “is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.” “hunter biden is not innocent. hunter biden is guilty,” prosecutor leo wise said. hunter biden walked into the courtroom holding hands with his wife, melissa cohen biden, and flanked by secret service agents. initially, he pleaded not guilty to the charges related to his 2016 through 2019 taxes and his attorneys had indicated they would argue he didn’t act “willfully,” or with the intention to break the law, in part because of his well documented struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. hunter biden had agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses last year in a deal with the justice department that would allow him to avoid prosecution in the gun case if he stayed out of trouble. but the agreement imploded after a judge questioned unusual aspects of it, and he was subsequently indicted in the two cases. his decision to change his plea thursday came after the judge issued some unfavorable pre trial rulings for the defense, including rejecting a proposed defense expert lined up to testify about addiction. scarsi, who was appointed to the bench by former president donald trump, also placed some restrictions on what jurors would be allowed to hear about the traumatic events that hunter biden’s family, friends and attorneys say led to his drug addiction. the judge barred attorneys from connecting his substance abuse struggles to the 2015 death of his brother beau biden from cancer or the car accident that killed his mother and sister when he was a toddler. the indictment alleged that hunter biden lived lavishly while flouting the tax law, spending his cash on things like strippers and luxury hotels   “in short, everything but his taxes.” hunter biden’s attorneys had asked scarsi to also limit prosecutors from highlighting details of his expenses that they say amount to a “character assassination,” including payments made to strippers or pornographic websites. the judge has said in court papers that he will maintain “strict control” over the presentation of potentially salacious evidence. prosecutors had said they want to introduce evidence about hunter biden’s overseas dealings, which have been at the center of republican investigations into the biden family often seeking   without evidence  to tie the president to an alleged influence peddling scheme. the special counsel’s team had planned to have a business associate of hunter biden’s testify about their work for a romanian businessman, who prosecutors say sought to “influence u.s. government policy” while joe biden was vice president. sentencing in hunter biden’s delaware conviction is set for nov. 13. he could face up to 25 years in prison in that case, though he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely. lauer reported from philadelphia. ap writer zeke miller contributed from washington. left: file photo: hunter biden, son of u.s. president joe biden, leaves the federal court after the jury finds him guilty on all three counts in his trial on criminal gun charges, in wilmington, delaware, u.s., june 11, 2024. reuters/hannah beier/file photo/file photo by alanna durkin richer, colleen long, associated press by amy taxin, alanna durkin richer, associated press by news desk and associated press amy taxin, associated press amy taxin, associated press deepa bharath, associated press deepa bharath, associated press alex veiga, associated press alex veiga, associated press claudia lauer, associated press claudia lauer, associated press support provided by: learn more thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. © 1996   2025 newshour productions llc. all rights reserved. pbs is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. sections about stay connected thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. learn more about friends of the news hour. support for news hour provided by
trump administration the president’s son was convicted of three felonies during a trial that made his struggles with drug addiction painfully public. by glenn thrusheileen sullivan and zach montague reporting from wilmington, del. a jury in wilmington, del., on tuesday found hunter biden, president biden’s son, guilty of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application, a shattering blow for the biden family in the middle of an unforgiving presidential election campaign. the verdict brought an end to an extraordinary seven day trial that made painfully public mr. biden’s crack addiction, reckless behavior and ruinous spending   narrated by three former romantic partners, including the widow of his brother, beau biden, and by the defendant himself in the pages of his memoir. the charges that mr. biden was convicted of stem from the purchase of a colt pistol in october 2018, and also included illegal possession of a weapon after falsely claiming to be drug free on the standard background check required in all firearms transactions. mr. biden, 54, faces up to 25 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines call for a fraction of that penalty. first time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit violent crimes receive relatively light sentences, and prosecutors suggested they would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case. as the verdict was read aloud, hunter biden stood with his arms crossed, grimly surveying the jury. when it was all over, he hugged and kissed his wife, melissa cohen biden. “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,” he said in a statement shortly after.

 copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. hunter biden has been convicted of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. president joe biden’s son, hunter biden, has been convicted of all three felony charges in his federal gun trial in delaware. (ap video: tassanee vejpongsa/erik verduzco) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial. (ap photo/matt slocum) hunter biden, accompanied by his wife, melissa cohen biden, arrives to federal court on hearing there is a verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del (ap photo/matt rourke) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden greets his son hunter biden at delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) president joe biden talks with his son hunter biden and wife melissa cohen biden, and grandson beau, as he arrives delaware air national guard base in new castle, del., tuesday, june 11, 2024. (ap photo/manuel balce ceneta) hunter biden, president joe biden’s son, accompanied by his mother, first lady jill biden and his wife, melissa cohen biden, walks out of federal court after hearing the verdict, tuesday, june 11, 2024, in wilmington, del. hunter biden has been convicted of all 3 felony charges in the federal gun trial.