The 2024 U.
S. presidential race has been rocked by a new lawsuit, with Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, convicted on three felony charges.
These charges are related to the purchase of a firearm in 2018, a time when prosecutors argued he was illegally using or addicted to drugs. This development has sparked discussions about its potential impact on the presidential race between President Biden and his Republican adversary, Donald Trump. The focus also lies on the sentence that Judge Maryellen Noreika will hand down to Hunter Biden, a first-time offender.
According to the Daily Mail, this trial marks the first instance of a sitting President's child being a defendant in a criminal case. Hunter Biden, 54, could face up to 25 years in prison. No sentencing date was set after the verdict was read on Tuesday.
This legal development comes on the heels of Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in late May, marking the first time a former president has been convicted of a crime. However, the legal spotlight quickly returned to the Biden family, specifically Hunter's activities, which have captivated and appalled the nation for the past five years.
Hunter Biden's most notable controversy involves a laptop belonging to him, which critics argue contains data implicating family members in a corruption scandal. This scandal threatens to erode confidence in President Biden himself. However, Hunter is not the only Biden accused of criminal wrongdoing.
In Delaware, Hunter Biden was charged with lying about his drug use on application forms when he purchased a gun in 2018. The charges included two counts of making false statements and one of illegal gun possession. Hunter himself admitted to being in the throes of a "full blown addiction" to crack cocaine at the time. However, prosecutors argued that he falsely reported that he was 'not an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant narcotic drug' at the time of purchase. The third charge related to his possession of a firearm while allegedly being a drug user.
The case has shed light on Biden's struggles with addiction, with testimonies from former lovers and associates providing insight into Hunter's relationship with drugs. Ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan told jurors that Hunter would prepare crack at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, spending days in hotels getting high in the months before he bought the gun.
Another former partner, Hallie Biden, who connected with Hunter after the death of her husband, his brother Beau, in 2015, told the court that Hunter abused alcohol and crack cocaine as he mourned the tragic loss. Beau Biden died from cancer earlier that year, aged 46.
Hunter Biden's legal troubles extend beyond this case. In December 2023, he was charged with evading $1.4 million in tax payments. If found guilty, he could face up to 17 years in prison. The charges include failure to file and pay taxes, false tax return, and evasion of assessment. Prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden spent his money on 'drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes'.
Hunter Biden also faced scrutiny over the contents of a laptop he reportedly dropped off at a computer repair shop in Delaware in April 2019 and never picked up. DailyMail.com confirmed the authenticity of thousands of emails found on the drive, which included some 217 gigabytes of data.
Democrats have dismissed the probe as probably disinformation, perhaps pushed by Russian operatives to discredit the President. The New York Post's 2020 report on the story received widespread attention, alleging some of the emails were related to Hunter's foreign business dealings.
Hunter Biden was named alongside James Biden, the President's brother, in new criminal referrals accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of the GOP's yearlong impeachment inquiry. The Republican leaders of the House Oversight and Accountability, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees sent a letter to the Justice Department recommending the prosecution of Hunter Biden and James Biden.
The Biden family's legal troubles extend beyond Hunter and James. Frank Biden, the younger brother of Joe Biden, was found partially legally responsible for the death of Michael Albano in August 1999. Caroline Biden, niece to the President, admitted to $110,000 worth of credit card fraud in 2018. President Biden's daughter, Ashley Biden, found herself embroiled in controversy back in 2009 when a 'friend' tried to sell a video that allegedly showed her snorting cocaine.
These legal issues surrounding the Biden family have added a layer of complexity to the 2024 presidential race. As the legal proceedings continue, the nation watches with bated breath, waiting to see how these developments will shape the political landscape.
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