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Jury selection on Monday commenced gun trial of Joe Biden’s son Hunter, the first prosecution in US history for the child of a sitting president – just as the Democratic leader seeks to accelerate his reelection campaign.
The 54-year-old Hunter Biden denies three felony counts stemming from his purchase of a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver in 2018 when, by his admission, he had been heavily addicted to drugs.
The Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist-turned-artist has been plagued by legal troubles, mostly connected to alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction, that may likely affect his father's campaign ahead of elections.
He will be tried in the family’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, on two counts of making false statements on gun purchase paperwork that he was not using drugs illegally.
He faces a third charge of illegally possessing the gun – which he had for only 11 days in October 2018.
Hunter Biden nearly escaped prosecution. But last July, a plea bargain fell apart.
If found guilty, Hunter could face 25 years in prison, though in practice such offences, if not accompanied by other charges, are seldom punished by incarceration.
“Someone, like Hunter, who had just completed an 11-day rehabilitation programme and lived with a sober companion after that, could surely believe he was not a present tense user or addict.”
Among those reportedly expected to testify is the defendant’s lover at the time of the firearm incident: Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter’s brother Beau Biden.
The president has said he stands by his son and loves him for his attempts to recover from drug addiction.
Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, a Biden ally, told CNN Sunday that Americans should “absolutely” respect the jury’s verdict, however, it rules.
“And I think the President himself will respect the verdict – much as it is painful, I’m sure, to see one of your children on trial.”
AFP
