Jurors in Hunter Biden’s trial started deliberating on Monday to decide if the president’s son is guilty of federal charges related to a revolver he purchased in 2018, a period prosecutors say he was addicted to crack cocaine.
Hunter Biden faces three felony charges in a case that has exposed some of his troubled history with drug addiction.
Prosecutors presented testimony from former partners, personal text messages, and photos showing Hunter Biden with drug paraphernalia or scantily dressed to argue that he violated the law.
“No one is exempt from the law,” prosecutor Leo Wise told jurors during his closing statement, with First Lady Jill Biden observing from the courtroom’s front row.
Deliberations lasted less than an hour before jurors adjourned for the day, with plans to resume Tuesday morning.
Jill Biden leaves the federal court (Via Sam Kingsley/Shutterstock)
President Joe Biden’s son has publicly discussed his battle with crack cocaine addiction, having achieved sobriety over five years ago. However, the defense argued that Hunter Biden did not view himself as an “addict” at the time of purchasing the gun, marking “no” on the form that asked if he was using drugs unlawfully or was addicted.
The trial has placed Hunter Biden against his father’s Justice Department amid the Democratic president’s reelection campaign.
Special Counsel David Weiss, appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump as U.S. attorney for Delaware, brought the charges after a lengthy investigation.
Before sending the case to the jury, the prosecutor urged jurors to focus on the strong evidence against Hunter Biden and to disregard the presence of the president’s family members in the courtroom.
