WILMINGTON, United States, June  11, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A jury found Hunter
Biden guilty on Tuesday of federal gun charges in a historic first criminal
prosecution of the child of a sitting US president.

The 54-year-old son of President Joe Biden was convicted on all three of
the felony counts stemming from his 2018 purchase of a handgun while addicted
to drugs.

The verdict comes as his father is seeking reelection and on a day when the
Democratic president is scheduled to give a speech in Washington about gun
violence.

The president expressed his "love and support" for his son in a statement
released by the White House following the conclusion of the trial held in the
Biden hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

"I am the President, but I am also a Dad," Biden said. "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," he said.

"I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the
judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal," Biden added.

The 12-member jury deliberated for about three hours over two days before
reaching a verdict.

Hunter Biden did not take the stand during the one-week trial. First Lady
Jill Biden attended several days.

Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison, although as a first-time
offender jail time is unlikely.

The verdict comes less than two weeks after the conviction on business
fraud charges of Donald Trump, Joe Biden's likely Republican opponent in the
November presidential election.

The proceedings, along with another case in which Hunter Biden faces tax
evasion charges in California, have complicated Democrats' efforts to keep the
election focus on Trump, the first former president ever to be convicted of a
crime.

- Drug addiction -

In addition to being a political distraction, Hunter Biden's legal woes
have reopened painful emotional wounds for the family from his time as a drug
addict.

His brother Beau died from cancer in 2015, and his sister Naomi died as an
infant in a 1972 car crash that also killed their mother, Neilia, Joe Biden's
first wife.

The Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist-turned-artist was charged with falsely
stating when buying a .38 caliber revolver in 2018 that he was not using drugs
illegally.

He was also charged with illegal possession of the firearm, which he had
for just 11 days in October of that year.

The president's son, who has written unsparingly about his addiction,
claimed that at the time he bought the revolver he did not consider himself to
be an addict.

He has long been the target of hard-right Republicans, and Trump allies
have investigated him at length in Congress on allegations of corruption and
influence-peddling. No charges have ever been brought.

Hunter Biden's business dealings in China and Ukraine have also formed the
basis for attempts by Republican lawmakers to initiate impeachment proceedings
against his father. Those efforts too have gone nowhere.

The White House has said there would be no presidential pardon for Hunter
Biden.