The Biden presidential campaign was dealt with a major blow on June 11 after a federal jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found the president's son, Hunter Biden, guilty of three felony counts— lying to a federally- licensed gun dealer, lying on a federal firearms application used to screen applicants and possessing an illegally obtained gun for 11 days (from October 12 to October 23, 2008). It makes Hunter the first offspring of a sitting US president to be convicted of a crime.
The charges against Hunter, 54, were brought by Justice Department special counsel David C. Weiss, who was appointed by Donald Trump. The charges were filed in connection with the purchase of a Colt pistol at a Delaware gun store in October 2018 and keeping it for nearly two weeks. The two false statement charges against him came from the fact that he lied about his drug problem while filling out the federally mandated form while purchasing the gun. The third charge was about possessing a gun while being under the influence of drugs. Hunter has previously admitted to struggling with drug abuse, which he said got aggravated after losing his brother Beau to a brain tumour in 2015. He said he got sober in 2019.
Hunter had earlier reached a plea deal with the justice department, opting for a counselling programme for people who committed nonviolent firearm offences, instead of trial and jail. It involved Hunter pleading guilty to two misdemeanour tax charges, admitting to illegally possessing a firearm when he was a drug user and avoiding jail time. But the deal collapsed last July under intense questioning by Judge Maryellen Noreika who presided over the case and intense political opposition to what the Republicans alleged was a “sweetheart deal” for the president's son.
Noreika, who was appointed by Trump, said she would sentence Hunter within four months, so it could come just before the presidential elections in November. He could potentially face jail time up to 25 years for the three charges. But sentences for non-violent and first-time offenders are typically lenient. According to the guidelines set by the United States Sentencing Commission, the body tasked with recommending sentencing parameters, Hunter could face imprisonment from 15 to 21 months.
Defendants like Hunter, however, are less likely to be sent to jail if they comply with the rules and regulations of their pretrial release.
President Joe Biden weighed in on the conviction, releasing a statement offering support for his son. "I am the president, but I am also a dad.... I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal. Jill and I will always be there for Hunter," said the statement.
While he was in France last week to attend the World War II D-Day commemorations, Biden said he would not pardon his son. But as soon as the guilty verdict was announced, Biden changed his schedule for the day and flew to Wilmington to be with Hunter.
The conviction has come at a bad time for Biden as he is in the middle of a tough reelection fight against Trump. Being the patriarch of a close-knit family, Biden will find it hard to balance personal and political commitments, especially as Hunter is his only surviving child from his first wife, who was killed along with his infant daughter in a car accident several decades ago. It could come as a major distraction as the campaign season enters the home stretch.
But an even bigger concern for Biden could be a second case against Hunter in California, also being prosecuted by Weiss. It involves three felony charges and six misdemeanour counts for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019. Hunter was indicted in December and pleaded not guilty on all counts. Weiss alleges that Hunter made more than $7 million during this period, which was spent 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".
US District Judge Mark Scarsi, who is overseeing the case, has set September 5 as the date to start trial in the case. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for mid-August, just before the Democratic National Convention where Biden will be formally nominated as the Democratic candidate for president. And, the trial will coincide with the last days of the campaign and early voting in some of the key states.
The verdict in the Delaware case would have serious implications on the tax fraud case as federal sentencing guidelines permit judges to impose a harsher sentence if a defendant has a history of criminal convictions. As Hunter has been found guilty of three felonies in the gun case, he could get a much harsher sentence in the California trial, although judges are not bound by such sentencing guidelines.
The tax case could also hurt Biden's presidential campaign as it is closely related to Hunter's business interests in Ukraine and China, which have been a favourite target of the Republicans. Many senior Republican leaders, including Trump, have alleged that Biden benefited from Hunter's business dealings. The Biden family and the president are still being investigated by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on whether they were targeted by foreign actors such as Russia, China, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, whether the president was compromised and whether national security was threatened.
According to a report by the House Committee, "the Bidens and their associates have received over $20 million in payments from foreign entities."The House Republicans have also tried to impeach Biden, but the process was stalled because of intraparty schism and scepticism.
The only silver lining for Biden among the legal travails facing his son is the fact that the guilty verdict from Delaware has proven that Republican charges of a "weaponised justice department" are incorrect. Trump, who is a convicted felon, has been making the point that his conviction in the hush money case was an attempt by the Justice Department to derail his presidential bid, although the DOJ had nothing to do with the case prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorney. Hunter, on the other hand, was prosecuted and convicted by the Department of Justice under Attorney General Merrick Garland, who reports to Biden.
Some experts say that the case could, ironically, help Biden. Larry Jacobs, who teaches politics at the University of Minnesota, told The Guardian that while the case is a personal disaster for Biden, it could bring some gains to the Democratic Party. 'The tragic case of Hunter Biden is painful for Joe and Jill Biden, but it is a win for the Democratic Party and the Biden campaign. It puts a lie to the Republican claims that the justice system is being manipulated by and for the benefit of the Democrats," he said.
But others worry that if the cases against Hunter get prolonged, it could take its toll on Biden. David Axelrod, former adviser to President Barack Obama, spoke about the emotional strain the issue is causing the 81-year-old president, especially during the brutal reelection campaign. "To a guy who has already experienced great loss and tragedy, this is another heavy brick on the load," said Axelrod. "It is going to take enormous strength to carry that load, given all the other bricks that are on there of the presidency and being a candidate."