Hunter Biden Convicted in Gun Trial, Faces Tax Charges

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, faced a significant legal setback as he was convicted on all three felony counts in a federal gun trial in Delaware. The charges stemmed from an incident in 2018 when he unlawfully purchased a firearm while struggling with drug addiction. Despite his plea of not guilty, a jury found him guilty of lying on a federal firearms application, lying to a federally licensed firearm dealer, and illegally possessing a firearm.

The conviction comes at a challenging time for Hunter Biden, as he is also awaiting trial for nine tax-related charges, scheduled to begin in early September. The indictment, brought by special prosecutor David Weiss’s office, accuses him of a complex scheme to evade taxes totaling over $1.4 million between 2016 and 2019. It alleges that instead of paying his taxes, Biden spent lavishly on an extravagant lifestyle, diverting funds from his company Owasco to support his lifestyle.

According to the indictment, Hunter Biden failed to pay his taxes for the years 2016 through 2019 on time. In 2018, he reportedly stopped paying overdue taxes from 2015. The indictment also claims that he did not file his tax returns for 2017 and 2018 on time. Furthermore, it alleges that in his 2018 tax return, Biden included false business deductions to avoid paying taxes.

The trial for the tax-related charges is scheduled to commence on September 5, following a postponement from the original date of June 20. Despite the legal challenges, President Biden stated that he would not pardon his son if he were convicted on the felony gun charges.

The legal troubles for Hunter Biden began in 2018 when the Internal Revenue Service initiated a federal tax probe, a fact confirmed by Biden himself in December 2020. Last June, he entered into a plea deal with prosecutors, which would have had him plead guilty to two federal misdemeanor charges. However, the deal fell apart in July amid indications that he could face additional charges. Consequently, the two tax misdemeanors were dismissed in August, and he was indicted on a new set of charges in December.

Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, Hunter Biden allegedly received over $7 million in total gross income, according to the December indictment. The trial for the gun charges commenced on June 3, marking another chapter in the legal saga that has shadowed the Biden family.