By Tom Hals and Jack Queen
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) – The jury will resume deliberations in the case on Tuesday Hunter Bidenthe son of the US president, accused of lying about his drug addiction to illegally buy a gun in 2018.
The judges deliberated for an hour on Monday and were due to resume their discussions at 9am ET (1pm GMT).
Prosecutors delivered their closing arguments to the 12-member jury on Monday, reminding them that no one is above the law that prohibits false statements on a background check for firearm purchases.
“When he chose to lie and buy a gun, he broke the law. We ask that you return the only verdict supported by the evidence: guilty,” said District Attorney Derek Hines.
Hunter Biden, 54, son of president Joe Bidenis the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to crimes including (1) lying about his addiction when he filled out a government screening document for a Colt Cobra revolver and (2) illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days.
Attorney Abbe Lowell, in closing arguments Monday, likened the government’s case to the work of a magician who draws attention to drug use from months or years earlier to create the illusion of drug use when the gun was purchased.
“They faded away all those years before he came across StarQuest Shooters and all those years after,” Lowell told jurors, referring to the store where his client bought the gun.
Hunter Biden told the judge overseeing the case during a 2023 hearing that he has been sober since 2019.
The trial in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, follows another historic first: the May 30 criminal conviction of Donald Trump, the first U.S. president to be found guilty of a crime. Trump is the Republican challenger to Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the presidential election on November 5.
Trump and some of his Republican allies in Congress have charged in the case and three other criminal charges are politically motivated efforts to prevent him from regaining power.
Democrats in Congress cite the prosecution of Hunter Biden as evidence that Joe Biden is not using the justice system for political or personal purposes.
The sentencing guidelines for the charges against Biden are 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say defendants in cases similar to his often receive shorter sentences and are less likely to receive prison time if they adhere to the terms of their pretrial release.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Howard Goller)
