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Hunter Biden Found Guilty on All Counts. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired June 11, 2024 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And we are starting with breaking news, guilty on all charges, a jury in Delaware convicting President Biden's son Hunter on all three federal gun charges that he faced in his trial, the decision pretty swift, deliberations lasting just under three hours.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The jury ultimately determined that Hunter Biden broke laws designed to keep drug users and addicts from owning guns.

This is historic. It's the first time the child of a sitting president has ever been convicted in federal court. And at any moment, we are set to hear from special counsel David Weiss. He oversaw the Hunter Biden investigation, which also includes his federal tax case, which is yet to be adjudicated in California.

Let's get to CNN's Paula Reid, who's standing by outside the White House in Wilmington, Delaware.

Paula, a juror actually just spoke to CNN and mentioned that President Biden only came up once as they were thinking about this case. What else did they say?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is really extraordinary, Boris, and a credit to the CNN team here on the ground in Wilmington for getting a juror to talk about these historic deliberations.

And this juror revealed that, yesterday, after they began their deliberations, they went around the room and took a vote. That is a standard thing you do as a jury when you have to make this kind of decision. And at that time, the jury was divided, we're told, 6-6.

So if they couldn't get that to move, this would have potentially been a hung jury or a mistrial. But then we're told when they came back this morning, it was suddenly 11-1 in favor of conviction, and that the other jurors were able to convince that holdout that prosecutors had proved a critical element of the crime, which is that Hunter Biden knowingly lied when he purchased that firearm and while he owned it about his either using or being addicted to drugs.

Now, our colleague Hannah Rabinowitz also talked to some other jurors to get their take as well. And it's interesting. We're getting a little bit of mixed reaction about whether this was a worthy cause. One juror told Hannah that -- quote -- "This seemed like a waste of taxpayer money."

But the juror that Manu and I just spoke to on "INSIDE POLITICS" a short time ago, he said that, yes, he does believe that it was a legitimate case. But this juror also told Hannah Rabinowitz that they believed that they had no choice but to convict because of the way the jury instructions were written, so definitely significant that we have this insight from inside the jury room, because, otherwise, you have no idea how they assess the facts.

I also want to note that the juror that Manu and I just spoke to, he did say that he felt bad for Naomi Biden. That is Hunter Biden's daughter. She was called by the defense to testify in support of her dad. She testified that she saw him around the time in question in this case and that he was as clean and as clear as she had seen him since before her uncle Beau died.

It seemed to be very powerful testimony, but it was clear that it was very difficult for her to get on the stand in this historic case. But then when prosecutors had a chance to cross-examine her, they made a really important point in their case, which is that, even though she didn't see drugs in her father's car, which he could give back to him on October 19, Hallie Biden had testified that, when she found the gun in that same car just a few days later, she found it alongside drugs and drug paraphernalia.

That seemed to those of us watching the case to be significant, but this juror said that Naomi Biden's testimony did not ultimately factor into their decision very much.

KEILAR: Yes, that was an interesting point, and also to your point that he, particularly, that juror did not look favorably on that testimony, it seems in a way that it sort of backfired, that juror thinking out loud that a child shouldn't have to testify in a trial involving their parent.

And it was clearly very difficult. Can you speak a little bit -- I thought it was really illuminating, Paula, to hear what Juror 10 said about the movement of jurors. I think we're all interested in how jurors first come to the table at deliberations and say sort of where they are on the charges and how after some consensus-building that does shift over time.

And that was the case here.

REID: Yes, it's really fascinating.

I mean, he says that the first vote was 6-6, that it is exactly split even. This jury was comprised of six men, six women. It was a majority-black jury. And it appears that first vote came back completely divided.

But then when they came back this morning, it was 11-1. So it appears that some people, given a night's rest, given a chance to reflect, changed their mind. But there was still that one holdout. And we're told that that holdout was really focused on whether prosecutors had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Hunter Biden knowingly lied when he filled out that form, that he was aware that he was either using or addicted to drugs.

[13:05:09]

And this is something that defense attorneys were really trying to exploit and focus on and pushed the idea to the jury that, look, he didn't know. First of all, they argued that he wasn't on drugs. But they also tried to push the idea that prosecutors had not proved that he was using or that he knew that he had an issue at that time.

So the fact that they were caught up on that, that is not surprising, because even prosecutors knew that this was going to be the most difficult element to prove. But we're learning that, in that room, the other jurors, as you said, they were able to build consensus and convince this one holdout, who could have possibly prompted a hung jury or a mistrial, to convict.

And you had unanimous convictions then across all three counts.

KEILAR: And, Paula, I know you have a statement from Hunter Biden.

REID: We do.

We got a written statement from Hunter Biden after this case. I'm going to ask my producer to hand it to me, because we don't have a printer here, so I have got to read it off the phone.

He said -- quote -- "I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this week from Melissa," his wife, "my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome. Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time."

So, here, instead of focusing on the conviction, he is instead focusing on the fact that he has enjoyed an enormous show of force from his friends and his family members. The first three rows of court most days were filled with his family, with his friends, including the first lady of the United States.

And it was interesting yesterday. When prosecutors got up to do their closing arguments, that was one of the first things they focused on. I was really surprised, A, that they'd call attention to that and, B, that they would include that in their closing argument.

And they pointed to the gallery, where his supporters were, including the first lady, and said, those people, they don't matter. They're not evidence.

But, Brianna, what that suggests to me is that prosecutors on some level, they were concerned that the presence of the first lady and this enormous show of support for Hunter could potentially jeopardize the verdict here, but, clearly, in the end, the jury finding beyond a reasonable doubt that prosecutors proved their case.

SANCHEZ: Paula Reid outside the courthouse in Wilmington.

Paula, please stand by. We want to go now to CNN's Evan Perez, who is live at this press

conference that is set to begin in moments. U.S. attorney David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation, is set to give remarks and answer questions from reporters at any moment, again.

Evan, what are we anticipating we might hear from the special counsel?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, Boris, that I think the special counsel wants to, A, thank the jury and everyone involved in this case, because, obviously, this has been a very hard-fought, very tough case for everyone involved.

There's been a lot of criticism for the special counsel, both from Republicans, who have been unhappy about the amount of time it has taken to do this investigation. This is an investigation that started six years ago. And so he has a lot of critics from Republicans and from Democrats who think that this case would probably not have been brought if it wasn't for the name of the defendant, Hunter Biden.

Of course, we -- I think we have heard that from some of the jurors themselves. They have had some concern that this case probably shouldn't have been brought or should -- or might have been a waste of government resources.

So those are the types of questions that, of course, I think linger over this investigation, over this case. But it -- there was no doubt, really, that the overwhelm -- there was an overwhelming amount of evidence that showed Hunter Biden was abusing drugs during overall over this period and also that he bought this firearm.

And so this was always -- the odds were always in favor of the government. The government was probably going to win this case. And it was just a matter of whether the defense was able to get a little bit of doubt for the jury. And, obviously, that did not work.

We don't know. We -- right now, they're telling us that he is not likely to take some questions. We're going to try our best anyway. But, obviously, David Weiss' time is not over, because he's got another case that he's bringing against Hunter Biden later this year in September.

Right now, there's a trial date for the tax allegations that have been part of this case as well over the next few -- over the next few months.

KEILAR: Well, that is disappointing, of course, Evan, that he will not be taking questions.

And, of course, look, when it comes to future legal proceedings, it would be strange for him to take questions. We are obviously waiting to see what the appeal process may look like for Hunter Biden on this particular one.

But when you say there are questions lingering over this that have to do about whether this case should have been brought and -- whether it should have been brought -- pardon me -- and whether there are legal questions about this particular statute that was used, I mean, whether or not he's going to take that question, talk a little bit more about that, because that is a question that, if he would take some, would be asked.

[13:10:12]

PEREZ: Right, exactly.

And I think, obviously, there is -- there are a couple of appeals right now that are pending before the Supreme Court that could have an impact on this very law that was used to prosecute Hunter Biden, the question of whether -- if you were using drugs or abusing drugs and then you became clean, whether you ever, ever are able to buy a firearm, whether that -- your Second Amendment rights are completely gone as a result of that.

I think those are some pending questions that, certainly, from a conservative Supreme Court standpoint, could be up for debate, I think, over the next few months and years. So that's one of the parts of this that I think is still pending.

The other issue, obviously, is that this investigation lasted so long, for six years. And the special counsel tried to make a plea deal with Hunter Biden last year. That fell apart inside that very courtroom just last summer.

And the allegation that the Democrats have made, that supporters of President Biden have made is that, basically, the special counsel caved into pressure from Republicans, who were wanting a lot more tougher action Hunter Biden.

And so those questions lingered. The politics of this obviously are not going to go away, especially because we have a presidential election pending in the next few months. But, yes, those are the questions that I think David Weiss eventually will have to answer. He -- remember, he was appointed a special counsel by Merrick Garland just last year.

And the reason for that is because he said he wanted to make sure that he could write a report at the end of this investigation. That's one of the reasons why he asked the attorney general to make him a special counsel. Until then, he had been a U.S. attorney who had been appointed by Donald Trump.

So that is clear that he knows there are questions, that he wants to try to get to those eventually.

We got -- just got a two-minute warning. So we will be hearing from David Weiss in the next two minutes.

KEILAR: In the next two minutes, all right, so that soon.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we should be hearing from the special counsel.

As we wait, let's quickly bring in the panel. Elliot Williams is with us, CNN legal analyst.

And, Elliot, I saw you nodding when Evan alluded to that Supreme Court case. What could happen if the Supreme Court rules that someone like Hunter Biden was within their right in owning a firearm, as the jury determined that he probably shouldn't have, given his drug use?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hard to tell.

But I think it's unlikely that the Supreme Court specifically rules that someone like Hunter Biden would have been permitted to possess a firearm, only because the case before the Supreme Court right now specifically deals with people with domestic violence orders and their prohibition against owning firearms.

Now, the Supreme Court, particularly Justice Thomas, has expressed great skepticism about some of these gun possession prohibitions that exist in the law. Now, Hunter Biden, as we know, was convicted of possessing a firearm while under the substance of or addicted. Now, it's the same law, ultimately, but a different provision of it.

We will see. And I think Hunter Biden does have a decent challenge here. Shermichael and I have talked about this in the context of a general skepticism that you find in the court about gun possession laws. And this is one that it's much harder to make a case that the individual with a nonviolent drug conviction -- or nonviolent drug history poses a threat to society in the same way that domestic violence does.

So our own article, CNN's article on this said, it's unlikely that the Supreme Court will clear up the quagmire and confusion about gun possession in the country because there's all these different laws and different prohibitions that we have.

But this one's on the table, and I would be certain that Hunter Biden and his team would make the appeal on the basis of saying that the law itself should be struck down.

KEILAR: Let's listen in.

DAVID WEISS, SPECIAL COUNSEL: Good afternoon. My name is David Weiss. I'm special counsel.

Earlier today, Hunter Biden was convicted of two counts of lying on a form submitted to a federal firearms dealer about his addiction or use of crack cocaine and possessing a firearm while a user or addict.

There have been two overarching themes emphasized by the prosecution during trial, this defendant's illegal choices and the rule of law. First, while there has been much testimony about the defendant's abuse of drugs and alcohol, ultimately, this case was not just about addiction, a disease that haunts families across the United States, including Hunter Biden's family.

[13:15:05] This case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction, his choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun and the choice to then possess that gun. It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous.

Second, no one in this country is above the law. Everyone must be accountable for their actions, even this defendant. However, Hunter Biden should be no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of this same conduct.

The prosecution has been and will continue to be committed to this principle and to the principles of federal prosecution in carrying out its responsibilities.

I want to thank the jury for their service. There are few civic responsibilities more important than jury service; 15 Delawareans came to court each day and performed their responsibilities in a professional and conscientious manner. We thank them.

I want to thank Derek Hines, Leo Wise, and the entire special counsel team. I am so proud of this group of attorneys, agents, and litigation professionals. This is a difficult assignment. These folks have been working seven days a week for the last couple months litigating a variety of issues in district and appellate courts on two coasts.

They have given their heart and soul to this work. They represent the best that public service has to offer. I am incredibly grateful.

Finally, I want to thank Attorney General Garland for providing the support necessary to fulfill our mission, ensuring that we have the independence to appropriately pursue our investigations and prosecutions.

As you know, we have additional trials and investigative work to be done. So I will not entertain questions at this time. Our work continues. Thank you for your consideration.

QUESTION: Mr. Weiss, would you entertain a plea deal in the California case?

SANCHEZ: Special counsel U.S. attorney David -- we have just been listening to David Weiss, U.S. attorney and special counsel, who oversaw the Hunter Biden gun case. He's also overseeing the tax evasion case out of California.

The top lines from David Weiss essentially saying that this case was not just about addiction, something that haunts many American families, but that this was about the illegal choices the defendant, Hunter Biden, made. He said, no one in this country is above the law. And he added no one should be more accountable than others convicted for this crime, clearly well aware of the political nature of the way that this conviction is going to be absorbed.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly, on both sides. I'm curious, Kate, if you can sort of just tell us your thoughts on

that. You are someone, I think, who is experiencing this in -- I mean, you see the political part of it, but also the personal part of it. For those who don't know, you have been in Biden world for years and years going back to the Obama administration when he was vice president, when he went into private life, when he campaigned in 2020.

And then you were the White House communications director. And I'm wondering, when you hear Weiss say no one should be above the law, but Hunter Biden should be no more accountable than others, what you think.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think there -- I think that's true.

And I think that the fact that he has gone through this process and has been found guilty by a jury of his peers and you, crucially, see President Biden refusing to put his thumb on the scale in any way, in very stark contrast to what we have seen from Donald Trump in his own legal setting, I think most people who see that would say, that's what I want to see from a president.

I want to see a president who says, I'm not going to in any way politically interfere.

I do think, as a -- I understand as a legal matter saying this wasn't about addiction, this is about illegal choices that he made while under the influence, I do think for most people who are watching this, they don't separate addiction from that.

And I think for people who have struggled with addiction in their own families or have watched loved ones make difficult choices, bad choices under the influence of -- under the -- in the grip of addiction, i think there is a sympathy there. And, obviously, that is -- that's different than a legal matter. That's maybe perhaps a more political matter.

But I think, as the average person is watching this, that's how they're absorbing it. They're seeing a family that struggled with addiction. I think there's probably not a person in this country who hasn't dealt with that in some personal capacity. So I think it's very relatable.

It's hard to watch. As somebody who was close to the Bidens, of course, it's hard to watch. And I think it's hard for the Biden family. Nobody wants to see their son, their brother, their uncle go through something like this.

[13:20:09]

But I think, ultimately, what you see on display from the Biden family is a lot of heart. And I think that that's how the average person -- to the extent that they're really paying attention to the ins and outs at all, which is another -- another kind of factor here. Most voters really aren't paying attention to the ins and outs.

But if they are, I think that's what they're taking from this.

SANCHEZ: Jamie, I asked you this yesterday, but now that we actually have a conviction -- President Biden is set to speak in roughly 10 or so minutes -- that was what was scheduled, 1:30 -- at an event promoting his passage of a gun safety law, bipartisan gun safety law.

Ironic that this now comes as his son is convicted for a firearms possession issue. How do you think he's going to approach it? Do you think he talks about it at this event?

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's put out a statement earlier, which we have released.

And if he does what he did with the Trump verdict, there will be a little something in there that he will likely add to it.

I just want to talk about the words respecting the rule of law, which David Weiss mentioned. We have to contrast what happened here with what happened in New York and with the way Donald Trump handles it. It just couldn't be a starker difference.

Unlike the Trump case, which was a New York case, not a Biden Justice Department case, this was a federal case. And it was Joe Biden's Justice Department. You heard David Weiss actually thank the attorney general, Merrick Garland, for giving him every -- his team everything they needed.

There was no ranting about a corrupt judge from the Bidens. There was no talk about it being a witch-hunt or rigged or a weaponized Justice Department. There was apparently no interference at all. Quite the opposite.

KEILAR: I wonder, Shermichael, what you think as we await ultimately another piece of this, which will be, what might a sentence look like? A lot of legal observers think there is not going to be jail time, even though, when you look at the law, there could be jail time merited here.

I wonder how you think Republicans are going to respond if Hunter Biden does not, as expected, get jail time?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, if they are authentically conservative, they would agree that he should not get any jail time here.

I mean, to be transparent for our audience, I own a firearms company. I have spent a lot of times in a fire -- a lot of years in the firearms space and community. I was a competitive shooter for years. I'm an avid Hunter.

I don't think this case should have ever been brought, to tell you the truth, Brianna. I think, if he does appeal this case, I hope it goes up to the Supreme Court. I would love for SCOTUS to have a say on this. Hopefully, they overturn it.

I think about the many examples of men of color -- there are three at this table -- who have been pulled over by a police officer. The police says, well, we smell marijuana, get out of the car. You're all of a sudden arrested. Then they find a gun. So a simple charge of possession of marijuana now becomes a felony charge.

Many of those men are sitting in jail because the law states that you cannot use a controlled substance and be in ownership of a firearm. I vehemently disagree with that. I think you should be able to own a gun. A lot of people out there use marijuana for whatever purposes. A lot of veterans use marijuana for PTSD purposes.

Should they not have the right to own a firearm for protective purposes? I think they should. I think most Americans would agree that they should. So the politics aside from here, I think this is wholly unconstitutional, and I do hope SCOTUS has the final say.

BEDINGFIELD: I think this is an interesting illustration of how the politics are not clear on this, right?

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BEDINGFIELD: This is not something that is going to -- I would argue, is not going to immediately redound the Trump campaign's effect.

And I actually -- and I think -- unless Trump has put out a statement in the last couple of minutes, I don't think we have heard formally from the Trump campaign. I know they put out a statement and then retracted it and said they were waiting for Donald Trump to post on TRUTH Social.

It's been a while now. So they are clearly struggling with what they want to say and what Donald Trump wants to come out of the gate here saying. So I think, as a political matter, Trump and the Republicans have tried to make Hunter Biden a political liability for Joe Biden for five years now. It hasn't worked.

And I don't think that anything that happened in this case, where you saw, again, the struggles of a family put on display, is going to change that.

SINGLETON: I mean, look, this is tough.

A lot of 2A advocates for years have wanted SCOTUS to further lessen the restrictions on firearms ownership. And the irony here that Hunter Biden, the son of a Democratic president, may lead to the furtherance of those laws being changed is really ironic to me.

KEILAR: Let's get in a quick break.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: We're waiting to hear from President Biden. That should begin any moment.

[13:25:00] Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're following breaking news, as a jury finds President Joe Biden's son Hunter guilty of all federal gun charges.

Moments from now, President Biden is expected to deliver a previously scheduled speech touting his administration's efforts to curb gun violence.

KEILAR: We have CNN's Kevin Liptak, who is joining us live now from the White House.

And, Kevin, we understand that you have some new information about Biden's plans following this speech.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, the White House has just said that the president will return to Wilmington, Delaware, later this afternoon.

This had not been on his schedule before today's verdict. But, of course, that is where his son is, where his wife, Jill Biden -- and, certainly, President Biden will want to be around his family and surrounded by his family at this very painful moment.