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The president's son was convicted of unlawfully purchasing a firearm.
ByLucien Bruggeman,Olivia Rubin,Will Steakin,Chris Boccia, andLaura Romero
Last Updated: June 11, 2024, 5:31 PM
President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been found guilty on three felony counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs.
The younger Biden, who pleaded not guilty last October after being indicted by special counsel David Weiss, denied the charges. The son of a sitting president had never before faced a criminal trial.
MORE: What's next for Hunter Biden following conviction on federal gun charges
The trial came on the heels of former President Donald Trump's conviction on felony charges related to a hush money payment made to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
- 'Politics never came into play,' juror tells ABC News
- Hunter Biden says he's more grateful than disappointed
- Hunter Biden found guilty on all 3 counts
- Defense calls government's case 'conjecture and suspicion'
- Hunter Biden 'knew he was using drugs,' prosecutor argues
The frequency of updates may be limited due to federal court restrictions.
President Joe Biden hugged his son and spent several minutes with him on the tarmac at Delaware Air National Guard Base, hours after Hunter Biden was convicted in court.
The president spent several minutes with Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa and their infant son Beau on the tarmac.
MORE: Biden shows support for son Hunter after conviction, says he will respect verdict
The infant hugged his grandfather, who took the child's face in his hands and appeared to give him a kiss.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
A juror in Hunter Biden's gun trial told ABC News that he did not know who Hunter Biden was before the trial started, and that his proximity to power made no difference to the jury.
"Everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes," the juror said. "And those mistakes can have serious consequences -- not just for them, but for everyone else."
The juror -- whose father was killed by gunfire when he was young -- said prosecutors successfully showed that Hunter Biden's drug use around the time of his gun purchase was "too close for me to consider him not a user or addict at that point."
"There's too many patterns that I can see that showed that he was using it when he purchased the gun," the juror said.
A member of the jury in Hunter Biden's gun case told ABC News that "politics never came into play" in deliberations and that "the verdict absolutely was not politically motivated."
The juror said "it wasn't that hard" to reach a verdict, but said the panel of 12 had to overcome a six-six vote on yesterday afternoon when deliberations began.
When jurors returned this morning and deliberated further, he said they determined that prosecutors had met their burden of proof.
"If you're an addict, you're an addict," he said.
The juror said evidence that placed Hunter Biden at a 7/11 convenience store -- a place where he repeatedly said in his memoir and in text messages that he purchased drugs -- days prior to his gun purchase tipped them over the top.
A senior official who has been briefed on the matter tells ABC News that the Secret Service has not started planning for the possibility that Hunter Biden could be sentenced to prison. Those discussions with the Bureau of Prisons will start now.
As the son of a president, Hunter Biden gets Secret Service protection but can opt out of that protection if he wants.
As of now, he continues to have USSS protection and, for as long as his father is president, that would continue, even in prison, unless he waives the privilege.
When sentenced, he could face up to 25 years in prison -- though legal experts believe he will not serve time as a first-time and nonviolent offender.
-ABC News' Josh Margolin
