Hunter Biden’s gun conviction, briefly explained

Hunter Biden’s first trial has ended in a guilty verdict. 

A Delaware jury found the president’s son guilty on three counts Tuesday, all related to his purchase and possession of a gun in 2018, when he was addicted to drugs.

Though Republicans have long argued that Hunter’s business activities were scandalous, this trial wasn’t about that saga at all, and Hunter hasn’t been charged with any improper lobbying or influence work. He has, however, separately been indicted in California over tax charges, and his trial there is scheduled for September.

The Delaware trial, though, was about an incident nearly six years ago when Hunter bought a gun. As part of the purchase, he filled out a form stating he was not a user of illegal drugs. The gun became an issue when Hallie Biden (his late brother’s widow, who Hunter then dated) learned of it, became concerned Hunter might harm himself, and threw it in an outdoor trash can. Texts he sent at the time made clear he was not particularly stable, but no one was hurt.

The gun incident was never the centerpiece of any investigation into Hunter, but amid a sprawling federal investigation of his business affairs, it was a seemingly clear case of an open-and-shut crime: He said on the form he wasn’t a drug user, but ample evidence made clear he was. Many long probes into purported corruption end this way, with a false statement on a federal form — with something clear and written down, rather than something murky and hard to establish. Thus, it was useful as prosecutorial leverage against him.

But as late as June of last year, it appeared that no trial would be necessary, since Hunter’s team struck a plea deal with prosecutors. That deal subsequently collapsed, though, and prosecutors came down on him hard — charging a gun offense that is rarely brought to trial as a standalone offense.

At the trial, Hunter’s attorneys did their best to try and inject some reasonable doubt into the question of whether he was actively using drugs in the brief period when he possessed that gun. But they had a tough case — Hunter’s addiction struggles before and after the gun purchase have been well-documented, and he texted Hallie during that period that he was “smoking crack.” (Hunter’s attorney argued that perhaps he was making up an excuse to avoid seeing Hallie.)

Overall, the verdict proves that the president’s son is not above the law. It also shows that, in the end, Joe Biden’s Justice Department was willing to prosecute a member of the president’s family — even to the point, some have argued, of going harder on Hunter than they would have on a typical defendant.

The convictions come with the possibility of prison time, but it is unclear how likely that is, given that the offense was nonviolent and that Hunter says he’s been sober since 2019. But the looming tax trial in September makes it clear Hunter’s legal woes are not over.