Hunter Biden’s disastrous decisions about taxes and guns have become easy fodder for Republicans, who have portrayed him as a criminal for years and say that as the president’s son, he enjoys special treatment by the U.S. justice system. How will this affect the campaign?
Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, has been convicted of illegally possessing a gun and making a false statement before purchasing the weapon. The federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, lasted about a week, and the jury delivered its verdict Tuesday after just three hours of deliberations. For the first time in U.S. history, a U.S. president’s son faced criminal charges. Hunter Biden was charged with lying on an application he submitted for a gun permit, failing to acknowledge he was a drug addict. He became an illegal gun owner when he bought the weapon. Hunter Biden’s defense was that when he made the purchase, he thought that he had overcome addiction, but the jury was not convinced. Biden’s wife and ex-partner, among others, testified against him saying he regularly used crack (a form of cocaine), and that they were unable to stop him from doing so.
The president’s son faces up to 25 years in prison but as a first-time offender, he will certainly receive a much lower sentence. U.S. courts set separate sentencing hearings typically about four months after a conviction, which means sentencing will probably take place in October prior to the presidential election as Biden seeks reelection. Hunter Biden has the right to appeal and it’s possible his conviction could be overturned.
What Makes Biden Different from Trump?
At first, the president defended his son, saying he was innocent. But once the Wilmington trial began, the president told a TV interviewer that he would not pardon his son if he was convicted. In other remarks, President Biden repeatedly stressed that although he loves his son, he would not intervene in the case.
Biden’s attitude contrasts with the behavior of Donald Trump, who was recently convicted in New York for falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about having sex with him. Such a revelation would have damaged Trump’s chances in the 2016 election, in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. The former president considered the New York verdict a scandal, and called it a witch hunt and political plot by Democrats to prevent him from returning to the White House. While he was free on his own recognizance throughout the trial, Trump made similarly disparaging remarks every day and he hurled vulgar online insults at the judge and prosecutor in the case.
Hunter Biden initially claimed his trial was also part of a political campaign designed to smear his father, but subsequently said he would abide by the jury’s verdict. Because Hunter Biden was convicted of federal crimes, the president could pardon the conviction, unlike Trump’s New York case which involved state law. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who presided over Hunter Biden’s trial, was appointed by Trump.
Hunter Biden’s Troubles Are Fodder for Trumpists
Hunter Biden faces another trial in September on charges connected with $1.4 million in unpaid taxes. The president’s son sought to resolve his legal problems last year by striking a deal with prosecutors in which he was to plead guilty to tax offenses and avoid trial for illegal gun possession if he pledged not to break the law for two years. However, Judge Noreika later refused to approve the deal.
Hunter Biden’s struggle with taxes and guns have become easy prey for Republicans, who have portrayed him as a criminal for years and say that as the president’s son, he enjoyed special treatment by the justice system. Republicans have also focused on Hunter Biden’s controversial business activities abroad, alleging he used his father’s position to conduct business and pointed to Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine where he served on the board of the Burisma energy company for which he received a sizable salary.
Trumpists have suggested that Biden himself was involved in his son’s murky businesses while still vice president during the Barack Obama administration, and right-wing Fox News commentator Sean Hannity called the Bidens a “crime family.”
No evidence was found that Biden broke the law despite the best efforts of Trump’s propagandists.
The Wilmington jury verdict is the president’s personal drama. Hunter Biden is his only surviving son after the untimely death from cancer of his older son Beau, an Iraq War veteran, in 2015. That’s why he defends the son who remains, even though Hunter Biden turned out to be a failure and morally depraved.
It’s hard to say for now how the Hunter Biden verdict will affect the course of the campaign before the election. What observers fear most, however, is that it could have a great emotional impact on the 81-year-old president.
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