Hunter Biden guilty verdict adds to president's distractions ahead of Trump debate

WASHINGTON – Hunter Biden's felony conviction Tuesday could continue to distract President Joe Biden during pivotal weeks of his 2024 reelection bid, with the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump fast approaching and the president's son's second criminal trial coming shortly before Election Day.

Although not a part of his father's campaign and not on the ballot himself, Hunter Biden's conviction on three gun-related charges could also complicate Joe Biden's campaign's labeling of his opponent, Trump, as a felon who should not return to the Oval Office.

Hunter Biden, a 54-year-old businessman and attorney, was found guilty of falsely claiming he was not using illegal drugs when he bought a Colt revolver in 2018 and illegally possessing that gun for 11 days after he bought it.

Trump has largely avoided talking about the trial proceedings. In the hours after the verdict, he did not address it on social media, and people in his orbit issued contrasting messages, indicating they hadn't decided on a strategy for handling the guilty verdict.

Trump and Joe Biden are scheduled to face each other for the first time this year in a presidential debate June 27.

Sentencing is normally 120 days after the jury reaches a verdict, Judge Maryellen Noreika told the president's son on Tuesday. If that holds true in Hunter Biden's case, it would mean his family would find out how much time he would serve just days before the election.

The trial in Delaware laid bare graphic details of Hunter Biden’s yearslong struggle with addiction, at times causing Biden family members visible anguish in the courtroom. First lady Jill Biden, who is Hunter's stepmother, watched much of the testimony along with her daughter Ashley Biden and Hunter Biden’s wife Melissa Cohen Biden. After about three hours of deliberation the jury found Hunter Biden guilty on three counts Tuesday.

Throughout the the proceedings, the White House and Biden's campaign team refused to discuss the historic occurrence of the child of a sitting president facing felony criminal charges for the first time, which they called an internal family matter. Within an hour of the verdict, the president issued a statement that expressed his love for Hunter, saying he is “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,” Joe Biden said.

But ultimately, the president underscored that he must respect the jury’s decision.

“I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal,” Joe Biden said in his statement. “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.”

The president stayed away from the courthouse and avoided discussing the trial in public, but it has long been apparent that he is extremely protective of his youngest, and only surviving, son.

Joe Biden halfway through the trial that if convicted, he would not pardon Hunter Biden.

Nonetheless, George W. Bush biographer Bill Minutaglio said the airing of Hunter Biden's dirty laundry has gone beyond what other president's children have been subject to, and that must eat at the president.

"I'm sure that he deeply, deeply cares for Hunter, and it must drive him crazy. It really must cause him a lot of sleepless nights to weigh the political calculus versus the personal calculus," Minutaglio said.

The family put up a united front in the Wilmington courtroom as it has for the unrelated year-and-a-half-long investigation into the Biden family's business dealings by House Republicans.

What are Republicans saying about Hunter Biden?

GOP officials largely avoided discussing the Delaware case, with some saying Republican voters were already up in arms about Trump's 34-count felony conviction and they didn't want to change the topic.

House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into the president has largely stalled ahead of the election, though Republican leaders wrote to the Justice Department during the trial recommending Biden’s son Hunter and brother James be charged for making false statements to Congress during the investigation.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who has been the face of that impeachment effort, called the verdict "a step toward accountability" but again urged the Justice Department to do its own investigation of Hunter Biden's overseas business.

During the trial, Trump himself was asked to address the proceedings during an appearance on Fox News, but he instead pivoted to talk about addiction and his brother Fred Trump Jr., who died of complications from alcoholism.

That is noticeably different than how Trump acted in the 2020 contest. The former president repeatedly brought up Hunter Biden's business ties to Ukraine, and mocked his past drug abuse.

The former president's allies also released multiple reactions after the verdict.

Kash Patel, Trump's national security adviser, said in a statement that the verdict "is a rare example of constitutional justice, one not where individuals receive biased treatment based on their last name" and "a fleeting moment of justice for all."

He attempted to contrast Hunter Biden's verdict with Trump's, saying in this situation the jury got to view all the evidence, a complaint Trump made in his case that the judge would not allow some evidence to be admitted.

Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued an additional statement on Tuesday saying the Hunter Biden trial, “has been nothing more than a distraction” from the “real crimes” being investigated by Congress.

“Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on Nov. 5," Leavitt said.

During their first presidential debate in 2020, Trump called out Hunter Biden for being administratively discharged from the Navy after testing positive for cocaine.

The specter of Hunter Biden's legal troubles will likely rise again ahead of Election Day. He faces a second trial in September in California over his failure to pay taxes for several years.

More than half of Americans said in a Reuters/Ipsos poll last summer that they believe Hunter Biden received favorable treatment from prosecutors because he is the president's son. That includes 75% of Republicans, 42% of independents and 33% of Democrats, the survey showed.

Congressional Republicans made similar claims Tuesday.

"Timing is everything. This is the veil of fairness in the Justice System under (the president)," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said on X, "never forget DOJ tried to avoid this trial & verdict by giving Hunter a sweetheart plea deal. Until the judge exposed them." The gun case went to trial after a plea deal fell apart in July 2023 that could have resolved gun and taxes charges without prison time.

Hunter Biden's guilty verdict may also muddy waters for Democrats, who as of late have relished in calling Trump a convicted felon. Other progressive allies, however, may use this moment to undercut Trump and Republican claims that there is a two-tiered legal justice system.

Will Hunter Biden's conviction matter to voters?

Whether any of this will have an impact on the election is up for debate.

Republican thinkers hold varying opinions on how Hunter Biden’s legal woes could play out on the trail, with some suggesting Trump should take a no holds barred approach.

“This takes the gloves off now that these law cases are part of the political system, and it’s perfectly clear now that they ought to be discussing Hunter Biden’s behavior. I do not think this should be left alone,” Jim Gilmore, a former Virginia governor who served in the Trump administration, told USA TODAY.

Polling has shown the president's son isn't the top of mind for most voters, but other gauges show Joe Biden's son is a vulnerability.

An October 2023 AP-NORC poll  found 68% of U.S. adults think Joe Biden acted either unethically or illegally in his son's business dealings. Just 30% said Joe Biden has done nothing wrong regarding Hunter’s business dealings.

Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist, said it could be wise for Trump to mostly steer clear of talking about his son on the campaign trail.

"People already want to fire Biden, and where he's going to win the race is giving them a reason to rehire him and this has nothing to do with that," he said.

But Jennings said Hunter Biden's criminal charges could be used as a Republican jab against Biden when he speaks up for gun control or wealthier Americans paying a higher tax rate.

Liz Mair, a Republican political consultant who worked on former Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, said the multiple Trump statements on Tuesday underscore that the presumptive GOP nominee’s team hasn’t figured out how to talk about this yet.

She said Trump won’t be able to resist bringing up Hunter Biden on the trail, but that may not win over pivotal voters.

"The problem is going to be fundamentally that Trump is on the ballot and Hunter isn’t," she argued. "People really don’t care about Hunter as a criminal the way they care about Trump as a criminal."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden's guilty verdict and President Joe Biden's campaign