(UPDATE) WILMINGTON, Delaware — Hunter Biden was convicted on Tuesday of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, United States President Joe Biden's younger son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
Hunter, 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 lawyers, smiled wanly and kissed his wife Melissa before leaving the courtroom with her.
In a statement issued shortly after the verdict, the president said he would accept the outcome and "continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal."
Now Hunter 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.
Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced by US District Judge Maryellen Noreika, though as a first-time offender he would not get anywhere near the maximum, and there is 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 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 walked out of the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife before they got into waiting sports utility vehicles 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.
Victimized by politics?
Hunter's conviction came just weeks after Trump was found guilty of 34 felony charges related to a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during the ex-leader's 2016 campaign. The cases are in no way the same, and Hunter is a private citizen who is not running for office. But they have both argued that 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 on Tuesday, the president said he and the first lady were proud of their son — who says he has been sober since 2019 — and would 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.
Hours after the conviction, the president hugged his son after landing in Wilmington to spend the night with family before leaving on Wednesday for the Group of Seven leaders conference in Italy.
Jurors found Hunter 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 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 elder son Beau was the state attorney general before he died of cancer in 2015.