Watch: Verdict day recap

Newsweek's Erin Keller, who was at the court in Wilmington, Del., gives a recap of the final day in Hunter Biden's gun ownership trial.

NRA issues statement on verdict

Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), told Newsweek:

"The National Rifle Association has always stood for the lawful use and possession of firearms. Mr. Biden's documented lifestyle choices at the time of purchasing a firearm made him a prohibited person under current law."

READ MORE from Newsweek's Matthew Impelli.

Watch: Hunter Biden guilty on all three counts

When will Hunter Biden be sentenced?

A date is yet to be set by Judge Maryellen Noreika, who dismissed the court after the jury's guilty verdict was announced.

It's estimated that sentencing will happen sometime within the next 120 days.

The three felony counts carry up to 25 years in prison and a maximum fine of $750,000.

It is unclear whether Biden will face jail time or not, but as a first-time offender it is unlikely.

Donald Trump Jr. backs unfounded claims

The former president's son shared a post on X, which claimed that Hunter Biden's conviction was a "red herring" because the Department of Justice had not pursued other potential cases.

The post claimed prosecutor David Weiss had only gone after Biden in this case because it would not lead back to "shady business dealings" involving Joe Biden.

Trump Jr. said: "This is exactly right!!!!" in resharing the post.

Biden is set to go on trial over not paying $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019 in California later this year.

Support for Biden contrasted with that for Trump

Melissa Cohen-Biden walked into court holding her husband Hunter Biden's hand every day of his gun trial, a move which contrasts with another recent high-profile case: Donald Trump's hush money trial.

The former president's wife Melania Trump was notably absent from the entire court case, which stretched over several weeks in New York, despite her spending time nearby at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.

In Delaware over the past week, the Bidens have come out in force to show support for the President's son, who was found guilty on federal charges surrounding his purchase of a gun in 2018, where prosecutors argued he lied on documents about his drug use.

READ MORE on the differences at the two trials.

Verdict could impact another Hunter Biden case

In a separate case in California, prosecutors have accused Hunter Biden of not paying $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019. He has also pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in that case.

Tuesday's guilty verdict could have implications on the tax fraud case if he is ultimately found guilty. Federal sentencing guidelines allow judges to provide a harsher sentence if a defendant has a history of criminal convictions.

READ MORE from Newsweek's Andrew Stanton.

Where is Joe Biden today?

The President has been speaking at an event for Everytown for Gun Safety in Washington D.C.

Joe Biden did not mention his son's conviction, but is expected to travel to Delaware following the event.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says evidence was 'overwhelming'

Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the verdict does not undermine the GOP's view that a two-tier justice system is in play.

"Every case is different. And clearly the evidence was overwhelming here," he said. "I don't think that's the case in the Trump trials. And all the charges that have been brought against him have been obviously brought for political purposes. Hunter Biden is a separate incidence."

Watch: Special Counsel David Weiss's briefing

Newsweek's Erin Keller was in the briefing room as David Weiss spoke to reporters following the verdict:

Juror said Hunter was guilty of lying

Speaking to CNN after the verdict, Juror 10 said that Hunter Biden was "just like anybody else".

He told the outlet that his decision was based on Biden knowing he was an addict when he purchased the gun in questions.

"We all knew he was a drug addict," the first juror said. "In his mind, how could he not know he was an addict?"

Watch: Special Counsel on Biden's conduct

The day so far

• Hunter Biden guilty on all three counts
• President says he will accept outcome of case
• Trump campaign calls verdict a "distraction"
• Juror doesn't believe Hunter Biden belongs in jail

President to head to Delaware

Joe Biden will travel to Wilmington later, in a change of plans following his son's conviction.

The president will head there after speaking at a gun safety event in Washington D.C. Tuesday afternoon.

Jury was initially split on verdict

According to Juror 10, who spoke with CNN following the verdict, the panel was initially split on whether Biden was guilty or not.

The jury was 6-6 yesterday in their first vote with six in favor of convicting Hunter Biden and six with a not guilty verdict. Earlier Tuesday, the vote was 11-1, with the sole holdout questioning one element of one charge.

However, voting later on Tuesday, the juror said the jury was unanimous in their guilty verdict on all three counts the president's son faced in Delaware.

READ MORE from Newsweek's Natalie Venegas.

Watch: Bidens leaving court after verdict

Weiss says work continues

Wrapping up his statement, Weiss said his team had more work to do, adding that therefore he would not be taking any questions today.

Prosecutor thanks jury

"No one in this country is above the law," Special Counsel David Weiss continued at the briefing in Delaware.

He said that the prosecution was committed to this principle.

Weiss went on to thank the jury for their work in assessing the evidence and testimony presented to them and reaching their verdict.

'This case was not just about addiction'

Special Counsel David Weiss said Hunter's case was not just about drug addiction, but about lying.

"This case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throws of addiction," Weiss said at a briefing.

"His choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun, and the choice to then possess that gun.

"It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous," Weiss added.

MAGA Republicans react to verdict

Many of Trump's supporters, who have accused prosecutors of weaponizing the justice system against conservatives, celebrated the ruling as a form of accountability for Biden.

"If it were not for the IRS whistleblowers coming forward to the Ways and Means Committee, Hunter Biden would have never faced accountability for the crimes he has committed. Today's verdict is a step towards ensuring equal application of the law, regardless of one's last name," posted Representative Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican.

READ MORE from Newsweek's Andrew Stanton.

Juror says Hunter does not belong in jail

Speaking to CNN, juror No. 10 said that he did not believe the President's son should be sentenced to jail time.

"I really don't think that Hunter belongs in jail," he told the outlet.

Speaking about Hunter's daughter testifying, the juror said it was a "very sad" moment.

Trump campaign calls trial a 'distraction'

The campaign of former President Donald Trump has weighed in on Hunter Biden's guilty verdict.

"This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine. Crooked Joe Biden's reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5th, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit," Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, said in a statement.

READ MORE from Newsweek's Nick Mordowanec

Prosecutors set to make statement

While Biden and his defense have stuck to written statements, prosecutors are set to make a live statement at the court at 1 p.m. ET.

Hunter Biden grateful for support

In a statement following the guilty verdict, Hunter Biden said he was recovering from his addiction.

"I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome," Biden said.

"Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time."

Prosecutors refuse to comment

Newsweek's Erin Keller is outside the courtroom:

Joe Biden reacts to son's guilty verdict

Reacting to the news of his son's guilty verdict, the President said many U.S. families are facing struggles with addiction.

"As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery," Biden said in a statement.

"As I also said last week, 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 and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that."

Pictured: Hunter Biden leaves court with First Lady

Moments after being found guilty, Hunter Biden left court holding hands with his stepmother, Jill Biden.

His wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden, was by their side as they left without making a statement.

Rep. James Comer says officials still covering for President

Reacting to the news of Hunter Biden's guilty verdict, Republican James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, repeated claims that the Department of Justice is protecting the Bidens.

"Today's verdict is a step toward accountability but until the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved in the Bidens' corrupt influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden family, it will be clear department officials continue to cover for the Big Guy, Joe Biden," Comer posted on X.

There has been no evidence that officials have covered up any wrongdoing by the President or the wider Biden family.

Four revelations from Hunter Biden's trial

There were many revelations for the jury in the Hunter Biden gun trial. Prosecutors offered a journey through Hunter Biden's crack addiction from 2015 to 2019, a time in which he introduced others to the drug and sought crack from just about anywhere he could find it.

Biden, a son of president Joe Biden, pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements on a federal form while purchasing a firearm in October 2018 and of illegal gun possession while being a drug user, specifically of crack cocaine.

He was the first offspring of a sitting president to go on criminal trial.

READ MORE from Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll here.

President to speak on gun safety

Joe Biden is set to speak later Tuesday on gun safety.

The speech will come after his son was found guilty in his gun ownership trial, in which he was convicted of lying on a federal form as be bought a firearm in 2018.

First Lady missed verdict

The jury's verdict came so quickly that some of the Bidens didn't make it into the courtroom in time.

Jill Biden was reported to be in a holding room outside as the verdict was read.

Hunter Biden guilty on all three counts

READ MORE on the verdict from Newsweek's Eileen Holliday.

Will Hunter Biden go to prison?

Legal opinion varies about whether Hunter Biden will be imprisoned if convicted in his gun trial.

But experts agree that he would have avoided prison had the court accepted a plea agreement that his attorney had worked out with prosecutors.

READ MORE on what experts told Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll last week.

Hunter Biden showed 'no emotion'

As the jury returned its verdict, the President's son showed little to no emotion.

He patted members of his legal team on the back and hugged them. Biden then kissed his wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden, as they left the courtroom.

- Newsweek's Erin Keller in the courtroom

No sentencing date yet

The judge has said she will set a sentencing date at a later time.

Husband and wife together

Jury finds Hunter Biden guilty

The jury found Hunter Biden guilty on all three counts.

Pictured: Hunter Biden & Melissa Cohen return to court

First Lady & President's brother return

After not appearing first thing this morning, Jill Biden and James Biden have also returned to the courthouse to await the jury's decision.

Hunter Biden returns to courthouse

Jurors spent three hours deliberating

A decision was reached after just three hours of deliberation - one on Monday afternoon and two Tuesday morning.

Verdict reached

The jury has reached a verdict in Hunter Biden's trial.

Key points so far today

• The jury headed into its second day of deliberations
• Hunter Biden and wife Melissa Cohen-Biden arrived together
• Newsweek looks at the impact the verdict could have on Donald Trump
• The First Lady is not in court, after being there most days

Key faces of the Biden trial

With family support, as well as testimony from Hunter Biden's ex-wife and former lovers over the past week, Newsweek's Joe Edwards broke down who's who in the trial in Delaware.

READ MORE on Kathleen Buhle, Zoe Kestan and others.

Gun influencer voiced disappointment over trial

A gun influencer recently said he was "disappointed" in the silence among firearm owners amidst Hunter Biden's federal gun trial.

"I am disappointed in the shortsightedness of the 2A community in the Hunter Biden case. Remove political partisanship from the equation, you don't have to like Hunter Biden. Hell I don't obviously. But this is a chance to further prove the unconstitutionally of the 4473," Eric Blandford, the Georgia State Director for the Gun Owners of America, wrote on X.

READ MORE from Newsweek's Matthew Impelli on the debate around the form Biden allegedly lied on.

Hallie Biden gave explosive testimony

As a witness for the prosecution, Hunter Biden's former lover - and the widow of his brother Beau Biden - gave the court a lot of detail on the defendant's drug use.

Hallie Biden spoke of the struggles she had experienced while dating Hunter following her late husband's death in 2015:

Protestor says he has important job to do

Robert Ware is the only protestor to have been at Hunter Biden's trial each day.

He spoke to Newsweek's Erin Keller about why he feels he needs to be there:

Could Trump benefit from jury's verdict on Biden?

A not guilty verdict for President Joe Biden's son Hunter could be good news for Donald Trump.

The jurors will decide whether the president's son is guilty of three felonies in a case that has put Hunter squarely in the sights of his father's Justice Department.

The trial's conclusion this week would come less than two weeks after the New York City criminal trial that resulted in a guilty verdict for Trump on charges of falsifying business records.

The presumptive Republican nominee, who is also facing criminal charges in two federal cases brought by the Department of Justice, has alleged that the Biden administration has weaponized the DOJ against him and is prosecuting him solely because he is the president's political rival.

A guilty verdict for Hunter, however, could undercut Trump's claims that federal prosecutors are only going after Republicans.

READ MORE of Newsweek's Katherine Fung's analysis.

Prosecutors say Biden lied on gun form

At the center of the trial is a federal gun ownership form Hunter Biden filled out in Oct. 2018.

He is accused of lying on that document, specifically when answering questions around whether the purchaser is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, illegal drugs.

Prosecutors say that Biden knew he was but checked the "no" box instead.

The first two charges against the president's son relate to that form, while the third is about possessing the gun while under the influence.

He denies all three charges.

Protestor back at the courthouse

Protestor Robert Ware has returned to the Wilmington courthouse this morning, after previously heckling Hunter Biden and claiming the media would cover the trial in a biased way.

As reporters wait outside for the jury to make its decision, Ware got into a back-and-forth with an ABC correspondent over the outlet's coverage of Biden's much-talked-about laptop.

READ MORE from Erin Keller's exclusive interview with Ware last week.

Fact check: Was the jury compromised?

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by Fox News columnist Tammy Bruce, posted on June 3, 2024, said: "Biden family acquaintance kept in jury pool for Hunter federal trial as others dismissed over stances on gun rights, DOJ."

Other users also chimed in, claiming that it could already be predicted how the trial was going to end if someone close to the Biden family was on the jury.

Newsweek's Tom Norton checked the validity of these claims.

What happened in court on Monday?

After Hunter Biden decided not to testify, the prosecution recalled one of its witnesses before resting its case once more on Monday morning.

Newsweek's Erin Keller recaps events leading up to the judge sending out the jury:

The well-known attorney defending the President's son

Biden's defense lawyer is Abbe D. Lowell, an attorney who has represented well-known players in politics on both sides of the aisle.

A partner at law firm Winston & Strawn, Lowell, 72, is described as "one of the country's foremost white collar defense and trial lawyers" on its website.

His specialties include arguing cases around regulatory enforcement, including those involving the United States Congress. Over his years of practice, the attorney has been involved in trials across 15 different federal and state courts, as well as at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lowell has represented high-profile companies including Goldman Sachs and GNC, as well as well-known public officials such as Senator Robert Menendez and Governor George Pataki.

In 2018, the attorney represented the daughter of former president Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner, who had allegedly benefited from income outside their unpaid roles within the White House.

READ MORE on the attorney here.

Biden's daughter detailed his drug struggles

In an emotional, nervous testimony as a witness for the defense, Naomi Biden spoke about her father's drug problems at the end of last week.

Hunter Biden leaves court

As the jury continues its deliberations, Hunter Biden has left the courthouse.

Newsweek's Erin Keller is waiting outside the federal court in Wilmington, Del.

Would the President pardon his son?

President Joe Biden said last week he would not use his executive power to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who stands trial on felony gun charges.

In a Thursday interview with ABC News host David Muir, the president was asked if he would accept the outcome of his son's trial. Biden replied, "Yes."

He was then asked if he would rule out the possibility of pardoning his son if found guilty, to which Biden again replied, "Yes," affirming that he would not use his executive privilege to exonerate his son. Presidents can issue pardons for federal crimes.

The White House in December also said that the president would avoid taking such action. "I've been very clear; the president is not going to pardon his son," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a December 13, 2023, press briefing.

READ MORE from Newsweek's Mandy Taheri.

Hunter Biden & Melissa Cohen arrive

Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa Cohen-Biden arrived at the court in Wilmington, Del. Tuesday morning, holding hands as they have every day of the trial.

Ms. Cohen was the only relative present, in contrast to a host of Bidens and other loved ones seen since the trial began last Monday.

First Lady not in court

After being at the court most days of her stepson's trial, Jill Biden was not sitting in the courtroom this morning.

Parties met for a quick check-in with the judge, before the jury went back into deliberations.

Hunter's wife Melissa Cohen Biden was the only relative present.

- Newsweek's Erin Keller is live on the ground.

Jury deliberation continues

After being asked by the judge whether they had read or heard anything about the case outside of the court, the jury headed back into the deliberation room at around 9:05 a.m. this morning.

Photos: Waiting game outside court

Journalists wait outside the courtroom as jurors deliberate Biden's fate inside.

What are the charges against Biden?

Hunter Biden, 54, is facing three federal charges, over his purchase of a firearm in October 2018.

Prosecutors allege he lied on a federal document when buying the gun, by failing to declare he was using or addicted to drugs at the time.

He is the first child of a sitting U.S. president to stand trial in federal court.

Biden denies the charges against him.

Hunter Biden 'wise' not to testify

Speaking to Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said on Monday that the president's son was wise not to testify at his own trial.

Read more of her analysis here.

Jury heads back for day two

The jury is back at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Court in Wilmington, Del. this morning as day two of deliberations gets underway in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial.