One of the jurors who voted to convict first son Hunter Biden on three felonies linked to his illegal purchase of a firearm spoke to CNN shortly after the decision was handed down on Tuesday.
The jury found Biden guilty on all three charges in his federal gun trial, a case brought by special counsel David Weiss in September. The charges included providing false statements and knowingly possessing a gun while being addicted to drugs. The juror, identified only as “juror 10” by CNN, told the outlet that jail is not the appropriate sentence for the president’s son, given his actions.
“Deliberating, we were not thinking of the sentencing, and no, I really don’t think that Hunter belongs in jail,” the juror said. “If you looked at this case and you realize that when Hallie dumped that gun in a trash can, and it was retrieved, and Hunter Biden did not want to press charges because he was the victim of a theft of the firearm, he did not want to press any charges against Hallie and another thing that I also thought was they asked him, ‘did you want your gun back?’ And he said ‘no,’ he did not want that gun back.”
“When he said he did not want that gun back. And that gun sat in evidence for almost five years, I think that may have been what led to his downfall,” the juror continued. “Had he taken possession of that gun, I don’t know if we would even had the trial because, he may have sold the gun, got rid of the gun, sold it back to a gun shop or whatever,” he continued. “And it wasn’t like it was sitting in evidence … I believe that means it was sitting in evidence and somebody got a hold of that and say, ‘hey, let’s check this out a little bit more. And see exactly how he obtained that gun.” The juror added he did not think Biden should have testified during the trial.
Former Trump attorney Tim Parlatore said after the verdict: “The sentencing guidelines range is going to recommend 0-6 months in jail. So chances are Hunter’s going to get probation … I think that the president is going to be very hard-pressed to commute that sentence if he gets probation because if he commutes it, then he also takes away his right to appeal.”
WATCH:
Juror Tells CNN He Doesn’t Think ‘Hunter Belongs In Jail’ After Convicting Him pic.twitter.com/2l7MxU9yI1
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 11, 2024
CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said earlier on Tuesday that polling suggests Americans perceive Biden’s treatment in the legal system as justified or insufficiently tough, noting “66% of Americans say that the legal system’s treatment of Hunter Biden has been fair.”
“In fact, according to the polling, if anything, they think it’s been not harsh enough on him,” Enten continued. “Just 27% of Americans think that the legal system has been unfair. So the fact is, most Americans have no problem with Hunter Biden being on trial. His favorability ratings are quite low, and … when you look at the polling, why the White House, I think, is genuinely worried [is] because he’s definitely, in their minds, potentially a liability for him.”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.