Hunter Biden trial highlights: President's son found guilty on all charges in federal gun case

In the defense room after the verdict, Hunter Biden made some remarks, thanking each person in the room by name, according to multiple people who were in the room.

“It was an incredible human moment,” one person said, “it was an extraordinary moment that everyone around him in those minutes after the verdict will always remember.” 

Juror #10 told Fox News in an interview that he was "nervous" when it came to time to deliberate, but that in the end, it helped to focus on "just why" the president's son "was on trial."

"I think he’s just like anybody else," the juror said. "Nobody’s above the law, no matter who you are."

"So that did not play a factor in my decision," the juror said, adding that the decision to convict "was not politically motivated."

"Politics played no part in this whatsoever," the juror said. "We just went by the rules."

The juror added that it was not a factor that first lady Jill Biden, and other members of the Biden family, were present for the trial.

"I was aware of it," the juror said. "But no. Once we went into the jury room, we didn’t. We didn’t discuss anything. We didn’t discuss the family."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says he thinks Hunter Biden being found guilty is “appropriate."

Johnson has been very critical of the guilty verdict against Trump in the former president's New York case. But when asked if his take on the Biden case undercuts his argument that there is a two-tiered justice system, Johnson replied, “It doesn’t."

"Every case is different, and clearly the evidence was overwhelming here. I don’t think that’s the case in the Trump trial, and all the charges that have been brought against them have been obviously brought for political purposes," Johnson said. "Hunter Biden is a separate instance.”

Former President Donald Trump’s argument about the “weaponization” of the justice system just ran smack into a Delaware jury’s conviction of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.

The result, according to some Republicans, is a major blow to one of Trump’s favorite talking points — and a boost to Biden’s case that he respects the rule of law.

“Hunter Biden’s conviction definitely weakens the argument,” said Dan Eberhart, a major Republican donor who backs Trump and thinks he should be focused on the economy rather than court cases. “To me, the justice system is working.”

Read the full story here.

President Joe Biden will depart Joint Base Andrews at 3 p.m. en route to Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said. He is scheduled to arrive at 3:50 p.m.

In brief remarks to the media after the verdict, special counsel David Weiss said the gun case against Hunter Biden was about the “dangerous” decisions he made as he battled addiction, including lying on the government form that he used to buy a gun.

“Ultimately, this case was not just about addiction, a disease that haunts families across the United States, including Hunter Biden’s family,” he said.

“This case was about the illegal choices defendant made while in the throes of addiction, his choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun and the choice to then possess that gun. It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous.”

Juror #10 spoke to CNN after the verdict and suggested it was hard for Naomi Biden to testify about her father.

“No daughter should ever have to testify against her dad," the juror said, although Naomi Biden was, in fact, a witness for the defense.

“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 kinda sunk in a little bit, like, oh, wow, this is the sitting president’s son who’s on trial," the juror added. "So, yeah, that was kind of hard, to know what the trial’s about now. But you kind of put that out of your mind."

The Trump presidential campaign said in a statement, without evidence, that the Hunter Biden trial has been nothing more than a distraction from other wrongdoings.

"Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5th," said national press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The GOP impeachment inquiry in the House has not found any evidence tying the president to his son's business dealings.

Prosecutors Derek Hines and Leo Wise exited the courtroom with slight smiles and declined to comment to NBC News.

As they waited for the rest of the Biden family to leave the defense room, a few family friends that had been there throughout trial sat outside the courtroom on a bench with their arms folded. One appeared to have tears in their eyes.

“Prepare for departure for all parties” was heard over a U.S. Marshal's radio.

Outside the defense room, a group of about eight Secret Service agents and U.S. Marshals conferred with one another before the defense room door opened.

In a statement reacting to 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. Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time.” 

His lawyer Abbe Lowell said the defense team is "naturally disappointed."

"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. "Through all he has been through in his recovery, including this trial, Hunter has felt grateful for and blessed by the love and support of his family.”

Hunter Biden, first lady Jill Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, walk out of federal court after hearing the verdict today.

Another Trump ally told NBC News about the verdict, “I think this won’t matter a ton, but it undercuts the argument of a two-tiered system of justice.”

“That said, the more that argument exists and is pushed, the worse it is for Trump,” the Trump ally said. “It’s too close to threats to democracy and drives that issue — the only issue where Biden enjoys a lead.”

An NBC News poll from April found that 28 percent of registered voters said they would vote for or against a candidate based on how they are protecting democracy or constitutional rights.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to address gun safety and his administration’s steps to reduce gun violence in a speech Tuesday at an annual conference on the issue — hours after his son was found guilty on gun-related charges by a federal jury in Delaware.

He’s scheduled to headline Everytown for Gun Safety’s annual training conference, Gun Sense University, in Washington at 1:30 p.m. ET. The group said that the conference brings together volunteers and survivors of gun violence from across the country “to share best practices, participate in training sessions about effective organizing and prepare for the crucial work ahead.”

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chair of the House Oversight Committee, praised the jury’s verdict finding Hunter Biden guilty on three charges tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics.

President Joe Biden again expressed his support for his son and maintained that he accepts the outcome of the case.

“As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad," the president said in a statement after the verdict was delivered. "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.”

A Republican strategist said the Hunter Biden verdict undercuts some of Trump's talking points that President Biden controls the Department of Justice.

“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," the strategist said. “It’s less of a bumper-sticker than it was before.”

After Hunter Biden was found guilty of three charges tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics, NBC News’ Hallie Jackson analyzes the political ramifications for President Joe Biden and how it may affect the 2024 election.

As the courtroom awaited the verdict, the alternate jurors came in and were seated by the defense. U.S. Secret Service agents and the U.S. Marshals were huddled in the center aisle and were seen conversing.

Hunter Biden sat down and drank water after entering the courtroom, and he looked down and appeared to be taking notes as he waited for the foreman to deliver the verdict. 

Biden looked straight ahead at the jury and nodded slightly as the guilty verdict was read.

The jury deliberated for one hour yesterday and two hours today before reaching a verdict.

First lady Jill Biden missed the reading of the verdict. She re-entered the courthouse at 11:21 a.m.

No sentencing date has been set by Judge Noreika. She will set it at a later time, she said.

A jury in Delaware has found Hunter Biden guilty on three felony gun charges. 

Hunter 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.

Two of the counts carry maximum prison sentences of 10 years, while the third has a maximum of five years. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.

Hunter Biden re-entered the courthouse with his wife at 11:06 a.m. ET. His uncle and aunt, James Biden and Valerie Biden Owens, also re-entered the courthouse shortly after.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has argued that prosecutors had fallen short of proving that his client had deliberately lied about his drug use in October 2018 when he submitted a federal form to pass a background check to purchase a gun.

During the trial, Lowell sought to poke holes in prosecutors’ arguments that Biden was an active drug user around the time that he obtained the gun in question, suggesting that his client did not consider himself a drug user or addict at the time. He argued that the wording in some of the questions on the form left room for his client’s denial of being a habitual drug user.

In his closing argument, Lowell pushed back against the prosecution’s citations of Biden’s book, which was published in 2021 and detailed his experience in being an addict, to bolster their argument that Biden knowingly lied about his drug use. Lowell told jurors that it was “unfair” of prosecutors to use quotes from the book about being an addict without context.

A verdict has been reached in Hunter Biden's trial.

Prosecutors have accused Hunter Biden of using or being addicted to crack and that he knew it when he bought the gun from the Wilmington, Delaware, gun shop in October 2018.

They also argued that the false statement on the ATF form, in which Hunter Biden didn't check the box asking whether he was addicted to or using controlled substances, was intended to or likely to deceive the gun sellers.

Melissa Cohen-Biden is the only Biden family member sitting in the front row — the first time there has been no other family since the trial started.

The language on the jury verdict form says:

1. As to Count One, charging the defendant with making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, we the jury find the defendant:
2. As to Count Two, charging the defendant with making a false statement with respect to information required to be kept in records, we the jury find the defendant:
3. As to Count Three, charging the defendant with possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, we the jury find the defendant:

The foregoing constitutes the unanimous verdict of the jury.

As we await the verdict in Hunter Biden’s gun trial, President Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed support for his son while declining to comment on the case.

• The president has said he will accept the verdict regardless of the outcome

Asked whether he will accept the jury’s verdict in the case during an interview with ABC News last week, the president replied, “Yes.”

“And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?” ABC News’ David Muir asked. “Yes,” Biden said.

Jurors entered the courtroom at 9:05 a.m. and began deliberating shortly after.

Jury deliberations will enter a second day at Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial where they will decide if he was lying on a federal background check before purchasing a gun. It comes after grueling testimony with close members of his family in the court room. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports and Laura Jarrett provides analysis on "TODAY."

The jury will continue deliberations today when the court comes back into session at 9 a.m.

Jurors were handed the case yesterday afternoon after prosecutors and the defense finished their closing arguments. The jury deliberated for about an hour before being sent home for the day.

Many of Biden's family members and friends have attended the trial to show their support, including first lady Jill Biden; James Biden and Valerie Biden Owens, President Joe Biden's brother and sister; Hunter's sister Ashley Biden; and his wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden.

Jurors in Hunter Biden’s gun trial began deliberating Monday after they heard new evidence from a witness about his drug use in October 2018, around the time he is alleged to have illegally purchased a firearm. 

Prosecutors rested their case after they told jurors that Biden was a “habitual” user of drugs from 2015 to 2019, a period that overlaps with his gun possession, and that he knew he was an addict and even wrote extensively about it in his memoir. 

Jury deliberations began in Hunter Biden’s federal criminal trial after prosecutors laid out what they called “overwhelming” evidence against the president’s son as he faces gun charges. NBC News’ Ryan Nobles has the latest.