Criminal trial begins against Hunter Biden, first to implicate the son of a US president

UNITED STATES (France24).-

The trial of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, began this Monday, June 3. The day was marked by the selection of the jury — made up of 12 members and four alternates — and the presence of the American first lady, Jill Biden. Hunter Biden is accused of illegal weapons possession. The trial is unprecedented, since it involves for the first time a son of a president of the United States and who, in addition, could go to jail if found guilty.

The trial against Hunter Biden, accused of illegal weapons possession, began this week with the selection of the jury, made up of 12 members and four alternates. All of them were chosen after being questioned about their opinions regarding the right to bear arms and drug addiction.

The process begins after the failure of a plea agreement that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 elections, which will take place in November.

Therefore, it is the first time that a president of the United States, in this case, Joe Biden, sees his son involved in a legal process: far from hiding the scandal, the first lady appeared in the courtroom to support to his stepson.

In the case of his father and president of the United States, he has been seen spending the weekend with his son and has said in a statement that he feels “unlimited love” for him and that he has “trust” and “respect for your strength”.

Furthermore, he added: “I am the president, but I am also a dad.” Ultimately, he concluded that he would have no further comment on the case. “Jill and I love our son, and we are very proud of the man he is today,” he concluded.

Hunter Biden also faces another trial in California, accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

Both cases could affect Biden’s campaign, since his opponent, Donald Trump, often uses his son’s cases to attack him and accuse him of corruption.

The Republicans, on the other hand, have someone already sentenced at home. Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in New York for covering up a hush money payment to a porn actress to prevent damage to his 2016 presidential campaign.

Read alsoTrump is found guilty in the criminal trial in New York; sentence will be handed down in July

11 days with a gun

The case against Hunter Biden has its origins in a period when, by his public admission, he was addicted to crack cocaine. His descent into drugs and alcohol came after the 2015 death of his brother, Beau Biden, from cancer. He is accused of purchasing and possessing a gun for 11 days in October 2018 and indicating on the gun purchase form that he did not use drugs.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers have suggested they could argue that he did not see himself as an addict, in response to prosecutors’ argument that he checked “no” to the question on the form. For this reason, they also seek to attack the credibility of the gun store owner.

If Hunter Biden is convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison, although first-time offenders typically do not receive the maximum, and it is unclear whether the judge would impose time behind bars.

With AP and Reuters