Joe Biden’s son has been found guilty of illegally buying a gun after hiding his drug use.
Hunter Biden, 54, was convicted of three firearm charges in the first criminal prosecution of a sitting US president’s offspring.
Prosecutors had said he lied on a form when buying a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018 by stating he was not a drug user or addict, despite a problem with crack cocaine.
Mr Biden pleaded not guilty to felony charges that included lying about his addiction when he filled out a government screening document for the revolver and illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days.
First Lady Jill Biden was in the courtroom shortly after the verdicts – which came after the jury deliberated for about three hours – and was seen holding her stepson’s hand as they left.
In a statement following the verdicts, Joe Biden said he accepts the outcome of the case, as his son considers making an appeal – while Donald Trump described the trial as a “distraction” from the Bidens’ “real crimes”.
Image: Hunter Biden leaving with Jill Biden. Pic: Reuters
The trial included testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and sister-in-law, who gave accounts of his spiralling addiction in the weeks before and after buying the gun.
Prosecutors also showed text messages, photos and bank records they said showed Mr Biden was deep in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun.
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Conviction is body blow to US president that will supercharge Trump rhetoric
It is another moment without precedent for America. The son of a sitting president has been convicted on three felony counts in a federal court.
Beyond the seriousness of the crime itself, the trial has lifted a lid on the layered struggles and tragedies of one family. It could be any number of American families – except it is the nation’s first family.
At its heart, it is a story of addiction, loss and grief which led to a criminal conviction. But because it’s about the Bidens, it is also, inevitably, a story of politics and scandal.
The first family’s private turmoil has played out in a public courtroom because one member of the family lied to obtain a gun.
It is a case that almost never came to trial. A plea bargain had been arranged – Hunter Biden would plead guilty to the tax fraud and the gun charges would be dropped.
But the plan fell apart.
Just as Donald Trump had been told he wasn’t above the law, so too was Joe Biden’s son. A trial began and history was made when the sitting president’s son entered the courtroom.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers sought to show he was not using drugs when he bought the gun and didn’t intend to deceive as he didn’t consider himself a drug user at the time.
The defence called Hunter Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, who testified 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 found guilty in federal gun trial
Mr Biden did not testify at the trial, which was held in the Bidens’ hometown of Wilmington in Delaware.
The sentencing guidelines for the gun-related charges are 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say defendants in similar cases often get shorter sentences.
They are also less likely to see jailtime if they abide by the terms of pretrial release.
The judge set no date for sentencing, but added the timeline is usually within 120 days – which could place it a month before the US presidential election on 5 November.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer said they are “naturally disappointed” and will “continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available”.
Image: Hunter Biden arriving at court with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden. Pic : Reuters
The case followed another historic first after last month’s criminal conviction of Mr Trump, the first former US president to be found guilty of a crime.
Democrats have pointed to this case as evidence Joe Biden is not using the justice system for political ends, having said last week he would not pardon his son if convicted.
But in a statement Mr Trump said: “Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on 5 November, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit.”
The president said he is “also a dad” and is “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 added.
“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.”
US President Donald Trump has called for the reopening of notorious prison Alcatraz.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social, Mr Trump said America had been “plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat criminal offenders”.
He added that when the United States was “a more serious nation” it “did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals”.
“That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt Alcatraz, to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders,” he wrote.
Mr Trump said the reopening of the San Francisco prison would “serve as a symbol of law, order, and justice”.
Image: US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters on Sunday. Pic: AP
Alcatraz was infamously inescapable and in the 29 years it was open, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes, according to the FBI.
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Nearly all of them were caught or did not survive the attempt at escaping.
The prison housed some of America’s most notorious criminals, including Al Capone and George Kelly.
It has also been the subject of a number of films, including The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.
Image: Alcatraz Island. File pic: AP
Alcatraz Island, which is surrounded by strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters, is now a major tourist site, operated by the National Park Service.
The prison’s closure in 1963 was attributed to crumbling infrastructure and high repair costs.
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said it would “comply with all presidential orders”.
The Bureau of Prisons currently has 16 high-security prisons, including its maximum-security facility in Florence, Colorado, and a facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, which is home to the federal death chamber.
The United States’ federal law enforcement agency has been the subject of increased scrutiny in recent years after Jeffrey Epstein‘s suicide at a federal jail in New York City in 2019.
A woman in the US who has been missing since 1962 has been found “alive and well”, authorities have said.
Audrey Backeberg left her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in July that year when she was 20 years old, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators pursued numerous leads over the years but the case eventually went cold.
However, during a review of cold cases earlier this year, a detective reassessed all the case files and evidence, and re-interviewed several witnesses – and found Ms Backeberg.
The 82-year-old was “alive and well” – living outside of the state of Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office said.
Ms Backeberg was married and had two children when she disappeared on 7 July 1962, according to the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation.
She left her home to pick up her salary but never returned, causing her husband to ask family members where she was.
Shortly afterwards their 14-year-old babysitter claimed she and Ms Backeberg had hitchhiked to Wisconsin’s capital city Madison and then caught a bus to Indianapolis, Indiana.
The teenager said when she arrived she became nervous and wanted to go home, while Ms Backeberg refused to return and was last seen walking near a bus stop.
Ms Backeberg’s marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse, the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation said, with a criminal complaint having been filed days before she went missing.
Her relatives insisted she would never abandon her children, the organisation added, and her husband passed a polygraph test and maintained his innocence.
Mr Hanson said Ms Backeberg may have left home due to marital issues, but it was unclear why she had stayed away for so long.
He said he had promised to keep their conversation private.
“I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life,” he said.
“She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets.”
Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said Ms Backeberg made the choice to leave and her disappearance “was not the result of any criminal activity or foul play”.
Donald Trump has posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal regalia on his Truth Social platform – just 11 days after the death of Pope Francis.
Uploaded onto his account early on Saturday morning, it shows the US president with a large gold cross on a chain around his neck.
From there, it was published, without comment or explanation, on the White House X and Instagram accounts and, though it drew fierce criticism, it was liked more than 100,000 times.
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It comes just a few days after the world leader joked that he’d like to be the pontiff.
Last week, he was asked by reporters on the White House lawn who he would like to succeed Francis and he replied: “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
He went on to say that he did not have a preference, but there was a cardinal in New York who was “very good”.
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‘I’d like to be pope’
Mr Trump was quickly accused of mocking Pope Francis’sdeath, but, by noon, UK time, the post had been liked more than 58,000 times on Instagram.
User comments, however, were mostly negative, with one saying that the image “isn’t funny. It’s not satire. And it’s not harmless”.
Another simply called it “disgusting”, while other reactions included “disturbing”, “disrespectful” and “offensive”.
On X, where the picture was liked more than 78,000 times, a user commented that Mr Trump was “making a mockery of the pious”, while another judged it “not a wise decision”.
The Argentinian, who became pope in 2013, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 due to a stroke and heart failure.
Last weekend, the president was criticised for wearing a non-traditional blue suit for Francis’s Vatican funeral and chewing gum during the ceremony.
However, his meeting in St Peter’s Basilica with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the outdoor mass got under way was dubbed “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy.
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in St Peter’s Basilica. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office
Mr Trump’s own religious views have long been a matter of speculation.
He was raised as a Presbyterian and publicly identified with it for most of his adult life, before, in October 2020, he renounced it and said he now considered himself a non-denominational Christian.
Many have questioned the depth of his faith, but that hasn’t stopped him appealing to conservative Christians and the Christian right, particularly evangelicals, some of whom have helped him get elected twice.
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Earlier this year, Mr Trump shared a bizarre AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform showcasing what appeared to be a vision of Gaza under his proposed plan.
The footage showed the area transformed into a Middle Eastern paradise with exotic beaches, Dubai-style skyscrapers, luxury yachts and people partying – and featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk.