President Joe Biden's son Hunter has been found guilty of illegally buying a firearm after hiding his drug use in a landmark US court ruling.
A federal court jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found Hunter guilty on all three firearm charges against him - making him the first ever child of a sitting US President to be convicted of a crime.
Prosecutors said Biden had lied on a form when buying a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018 when he stated he was not a drug user or addict - despite a problem with crack cocaine.
The conviction comes after the Commander-in-Chief's son had pleaded not guilty to felony charges which included his lies on the government screening document - as well as illegally possessing the firearm for 11 days.
Hunter Biden had stated he was not a drug user or addict - despite a problem with crack cocaineReutersBut Hunter's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told jurors that his client had not tried to deceive authorities as he had been clean when he bought the gun, and did not consider himself a drug user at the time.
The Delaware trial included prosecution testimony by Hunter Biden's ex-wife, former girlfriend, and sister-in-law, all of whom provided first-hand accounts of his out-of-control addiction in the weeks surrounding his purchase of the gun in October 2018.
Prosecutors also drew attention to text messages, photos and bank records - which they said proved Biden was deep in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun, and knowingly broke the law by denying drug user on the screening form.
The defence called Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi who testified that her father seemed to be doing well when she saw him shortly before and after he bought the gun.
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Hunter Biden, as seen with wife Melissa Cohen Biden today ahead of the reading of his verdict
Reuters
The case had been brought by the Donald Trump-appointed US Department of Justice (DoJ) Special Counsel David Weiss.
Weiss has also charged Hunter Biden with three felony and six misdemeanor tax offences in California, which alleged that he had failed to pay $1.4million (£1.1m) in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items.
But Biden has also pleaded not guilty to those charges - for which a trial is scheduled for September 5 in Los Angeles, two months to the day ahead of the crunch US presidential election.
Hunter Biden's conviction comes mere days after Donald Trump was found guilty of a litany of felonies - which made him the first former US President to become a convicted criminal.
Donald Trump has accused Democrats of trying to stop him regaining power in his November rematch with Joe Biden
GettyTrump, convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to former adult film star Stormy Daniels, has accused Democrats of pursuing that case and three other criminal prosecutions to prevent him from regaining power in his November rematch with Joe Biden.
But Congressional Democrats have pointed to cases including the Hunter Biden prosecution as evidence that Joe Biden is not using the justice system for political or personal ends, having said last week he would not pardon his son if convicted.
Reacting to the Trump verdict, a Biden administration statement read: "There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.
"The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator 'on day one' and calling for our Constitution to be 'terminated' so he can regain and keep power."
