Jury begins deliberating in historic Hunter Biden case
Hunter Biden on criminal trial: ‘I think it went well’
Jurors in the Hunter Biden gun case have begun deliberating, and must now decide the fate of the US president’s son.
The 54-year-old is accused of lying about his drug use on a federal form while buying a weapon in 2018, and of illegally possessing a firearm while he was allegedly a drug user.
For days, prosecutors presented evidence to suggest that Mr Biden was in the throes of addiction when he purchased the gun in Delaware.
His defence team say he was in recovery and therefore not a drug user at the time.
Mr Biden, who did not testify, denies the three related charges.
If convicted, he could face up 25 years in prison.
The BBC briefly questioned Mr Biden in downtown Wilmington after the jury began deliberations on Monday.
“I think [today] went well,” Mr Biden said. “We’ll see though. We have to wait for the jury to come back.”
In a lengthy closing argument, prosecutor Leo Wise said “no-one is above the law” and the case is “no more important, or less important, because of who the defendant is”.
“The central issue in this case is whether he was an addict, and knew that he was,” Mr Wise added.
To make the government’s case, Mr Wise pored over witness testimony from Mr Biden’s former partners and his own memoir to try to show he was an active drug user around the time he bought the gun.
The evidence, Mr Wise said, was “personal. It was ugly, and it was overwhelming”.
Mr Biden’s defence team argue he was in recovery at the time, so was truthful when he indicated on the paperwork that he was not a drug user.
Source: www.bbc.com
