Some of the jurors who convicted Hunter Biden Tuesday on federal gun charges told ABC News that his standing as the president’s son did not affect their decision.
However, one of the jurors questioned whether President Joe Biden’s son should have been prosecuted in the first place.
A Delaware woman who was on the jury told ABC News that the case was «a waste of taxpayers’ dollars,» but in the end, she and her fellow jurors were able to come together with little disagreement.
Hunter Biden departs from federal court, June 11, 2024, in Wilmington, Del.
Matt Slocum/AP
The 51-year-old juror, who asked not to be identified, said Hunter Biden needed help for his addictions but did not need to receive any prison time for his convictions.
«I don’t think that anyone who is a nonviolent drug addict should be in prison. Just fine him. We know he did something wrong. Just fine him. He needs help,» she said.
It took the jury less than a day to come to their decision to convict Hunter Biden of two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm and a count of illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs.
The juror said politics were not a factor in the decision and the jury worked well, «considering who his father is and the political climate in this country.»
«It turned out better than I expected. There was no fighting in the jury room,» she said.
«When we took [the] first vote on count one we were split 50-50, but then when we went down and read each count and you broke it down and you heard each person’s opinion, that made sense,» the juror plained. «That’s why we found him guilty on all three.»
The key evidence was the text messages between Hunter Biden and others before and following the gun purchase.
«It did show in my opinion that he was trying to get drugs,» she said.
Hunter Biden arrives to federal court with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, June 11, 2024, in Wilmington, Del.
Matt Rourke/AP
The juror said that no other jurors brought up Hunter Biden’s addiction or mental health problems during the deliberations.
She reiterated that she felt that Hunter Biden should get help for those issues.
Another juror, who also asked not to be named, told ABC News he was able to put aside the fact that the president’s son was on trial.
«I knew it, but I didn’t take that [into account],» he said. «That didn’t affect me or sway me a bit.»
Elijah Lewis-Guy, a third juror who spoke to ABC News, said he didn’t know who Hunter Biden was before the trial began.
«Him being the son of the president just means that, once again, everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes,» he said. «And those mistakes can have serious consequences – not just for them but for everyone else.»
Lewis-Guy said gun violence claimed the life of his father when he was young and he said prosecutors successfully showed that Hunter Biden’s drug use prior to the purchase was «too close for me to consider him not a user or addict at that point.»
«There [are] too many patterns that I can see that showed that he was using it when he purchased the gun,» the juror said.
