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CNN International: Hunter Biden Guilty on All Felony Counts; Delaware Jury Convicts Hunter Biden; David Weiss Reacts to Hunter Biden Verdict; Biden Accept Outcome of Son's Case; CNN Speaks to Juror on Hunter Biden Trial Following Conviction. Aired 1-2p 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]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: We are coming on the air now with the breaking news. The jury in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial has found him guilty on all three felony counts. This is the first time that an immediate family member of a sitting U.S. president has been found guilty of a crime. Joe Biden's son was convicted of lying in order to obtain a firearm, lying on a firearms form, and breaking the law that bars drug users or addicts from owning guns.

CNN's Marshall Cohen, he's live at the courthouse outside now. He was inside that courtroom earlier. Tell us how the jury came to this decision.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Jim, it was a powerful moment in the courtroom, in the federal courthouse right behind me in Wilmington, Delaware, where the Biden family has been so well known for decades, and now they're known for something rather infamous. Hunter Biden is a convicted felon, and the president -- for the very first time, the president of the United States has a family member of his who went on trial and has now been convicted.

So, three hours, that's all it took for the jury to deliberate and reach that decision. One hour last night, two hours this morning, approximately. Our colleague, Hannah Rabinowitz actually spoke to one of the jurors who reported to us that they were pretty split last night when they took their initial vote. When they came back this morning, there was just one holdout. They kept on talking, working through the evidence and eventually reached those three unanimous verdicts.

So, as you mentioned, Jim, he has been found guilty of lying about his drug use on a federal background check and possessing a gun while addicted to drugs. It's against federal law for drug users or drug addicts to buy guns in this country or to possess guns. That means he could face up to 25 years in prison for these crimes.

That is highly unlikely. Every legal expert we speak to says that as a first-time offender, he will probably get a much smaller sentence, perhaps even just probation. The judge did not set a date for the sentencing hearing.

And, Jim, just to give you a little bit of color from the courtroom, Hunter Biden, on his way out, he actually briefly flashed a smile to his attorneys. Obviously, he's not pleased with this verdict, but perhaps he was in a state of shock a little bit. He gave them both big hugs, pats on the backs. And then as he slowly walked out of the courtroom, it was almost like a receiving line because there were so many friends and family members there to give him support. So, one by one, he went down the line.

But I should note there was one person who was actually not in the courtroom and that was First Lady Jill Biden. She did not make it back in time for the verdict to be read. She arrived about six or seven minutes later. She has been a fixture at this trial here almost every day to support her son, but it came down very quickly and so she missed it.

But obviously, a very painful conclusion to this difficult chapter for the Bidens. But, Jim, it's only half time. Hunter Biden has another trial scheduled for September on federal tax evasion allegations. So, if they think this is bad, it very well might get worse later in the year, especially as that campaign season is picking up. Jim.

SCIUTTO: Marshall Cohen, thanks so much. And in a short time, the special counsel who led the prosecution of this case, David Weiss, he will be speaking at that podium. And when he does, we'll bring you those comments live.

Meanwhile, let's bring in our legal panel to speak about this case. Joining me now to break it down, Former New York Prosecutor Jeremy Saland, criminal defense attorney, former New York prosecutor as well, Bernarda Villalona, and Former Federal Prosecutor Michael Zeldin. Good to have all three of you here.

Michael, it's been said, frankly, in both the Trump case and the Hunter Biden case, that had their names not been Trump or Biden, that they were unlikely cases to have been prosecuted and charged. And I wonder, as you look at this guilty verdict here, do you think that that's a fair assessment of this case, rarely charged, rarely prosecuted for these kinds of crimes, independent of other crimes?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I do. In the Biden case in particular, this should have been a pretrial diversion, which was the original plea agreement that failed. The fact that they went to trial on this, I think was a result of political pressure and the fact that Biden was named Biden.

[13:05:00]

But I also think, Jim, to your setup comment that the same could be said for the Trump case. I think that in that case as well it could have been settled separately, civilly with fines and other penalties, but that's not the reality of the world in which we live. And so, each will have to go forward. They both have viable appeals to be made here. Biden on the Second Amendment in particular, and Trump on the use of the statute in the way that the prosecutor set it up.

SCIUTTO: Bernarda, we've learned, as Marshall was saying a couple minutes ago, that initially, in their initial vote, as jurors often do, it was 6-6, six for conviction, six acquittal. By this morning, it was 11-1 for conviction, and they worked on that one holdout and came to a unanimous decision here. Is that a frequent dynamic that you hear inside jury rooms? And are you surprised to hear that it went from what I think you could describe as skepticism then of a conviction here to a unanimous verdict in a short period of time?

BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND FORMER NEW YORK PROSECUTOR: No, I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised, first off, that the verdict came back so quickly just because of the strength of the case from the government, the prosecution. But I think in terms of the split were really affected it. And I think what those jurors have to think about is that, do I have to put my emotions aside? If I set aside my emotions, and if the defendant's last name wasn't Biden, would I find him guilty?

And I think with those jurors sleeping on it and thinking about independently about the strength of the case and what was presented by the defense, and that they swore an oath that they will follow the law just has the judge gave it to them and put emotions aside that that's how they were able to come back today with a guilty verdict.

We had that one juror who was still on the fence this morning. But remember, they only had that one hour yesterday and two hours today to finally talk among each other, the 12 of them, about the evidence itself. That's why I'm not surprised as to the split yesterday. And then, today, having to speak to that one additional juror about the evidence and why they should find Hunter Biden guilty. Another sad day in this country. Unfortunately, drug addiction was put on trial. But if you look at the facts and the evidence as it was presented, the verdict was guilty and it should have been guilty.

SCIUTTO: We're showing that empty podium there because shortly, the special counsel, David Wise, who led the prosecution of this case, he will be speaking. We'll bring those comments live once they begin.

Jeremy, I'm curious, do you think, based on the evidence as presented, that this was a fair verdict?

JEREMY SALAND, FORMER NEW YORK PROSECUTOR: Fair is a relative term. Based on the evidence, correct. Based on the law, correct, though there is, you know, rounds or -- pardon me, ground potentially appeal in terms of the vagueness of the statute. And there's been similar questions in the past, what comes to mind is in the 5th circuit.

But it is a real sad state of affairs because I think it's fair to ask would someone else be charged with this crime is relative standalone especially in the light of the fact that there was an agreement that was already in place where he would avoid an incarceration and that would have wrapped this up along with the tax crime.

So, ultimately, on the evidence, yes, it was fairly straightforward. This was not a complicated matter. This was not anything like that we would see in a white-collar case. And unlike what we were referencing just moments ago, the Trump case, and unlike what we're going to see in the tax case, it doesn't pull at your heartstrings. This is not an emotional component. People don't get upset, and you don't have a split jury over the sort of whether or not, you know, the tax issue or falsifying business record issues hits home.

But when you have something involving drugs, we all know somebody, either directly or indirectly, or a family member. But if you look back at the case, facts are facts, evidence is evidence.

SCIUTTO: Yes, and that very issue came up during the jury selection and several of the jurors who ended up on a jury reference that they had addiction issues within their family.

Michael Zeldin, sentencing would come if we follow the judge's timeline here, usually 120 days following a verdict, mid-October. Do you expect him to face prison time given he's a first-time felon in this case?

ZELDIN: He shouldn't. As I said, I don't think the case should have been resolved with a criminal conviction, and I think the judge should recognize in the sort of normal course of these cases, even when you go to trial, when it's not used, the gun in a commission of a felony, or that the possessor is not themselves a felon. This is a perfect case for probation. And that's what the judge should do. And if the judge doesn't do that, I would think that maybe politics is featuring into the judge's calculus.

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SCIUTTO: Bernarda, 120 days, we should note, would be mid-October, right before election day. Might the judge change that sentencing schedule given that or do they just plow forward and say, hey, this is the way the schedule is, we're going to stick to it?

VILLALONA: Oh, no, the judge is going to go forward with whatever sentence that he sets. He's not going to give a sign that he's adjourning the sentence having to deal with politics because politics should play no role in his sentence.

I think what may happen is that the defense team will probably ask for an adjournment. And for the reasons why is because they want to see what happens with that tax cut case. See if they can try to put both of the cases together, see if that tax case is going to be a trial or whether they can resolve it with a plea. But either way, it's going to have an effect on the sentence of this conviction. So, they need to be able to package it up to get the best possible outcome. But it's all going to be up to the judge's discretion as to whether he'll grant any adjournment.

SCIUTTO: Again, we're waiting for comments from the special counsel who will be walking out to that podium shortly. Jeremy, last year a federal appeals court struck down a decades old law barring users of illegal drugs from possessing firearms. I wonder, given the circumstances of this case, how that case might affect any outcome here potentially on appeal?

SALAND: I think it's relevant, and I think that door is open. And we found that there's some interesting bedfellows from what I've read that are on Biden's side that you might not normally expect. You know, you're criminalizing the addiction, and I understand why you want to protect the people from having firearms -- meaning the public, from someone having a firearm in the event that they're addicted and what that might cause in terms of risks.

But, you know, let's just look at it facially, you know, it was raised, I thought, very fairly well by low on the defense. You know, I'm Mr. X and I'm an addict and I may not have, you know, used alcohol or drugs in 10 years, but I'm an addict. Even though I'm sober. So, am I -- what -- how do you define that in the law? How do you define that outside of the law in terms of science? And then determine users -- the term is generally used.

So, I think it's a real question. I understand the intent of the statute. I understand why, but it has to be constructed in such a way that I, as the person who ultimately gets that firearm, understands what -- when I can and when I cannot. And one last thing I'd point out, what was referenced in that -- by the defense as well, it's one thing to say, am I now an addict or have I ever been, or I've ever been a user?

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SALAND: And then, actually, I have one more thing and I apologize. We talk about marijuana being legal in some states and not legal in others, but from the federal government's perspective, it's a controlled substance. There's so many moving pieces here, it's hard to really figure out what the right thing is. And I think it's grounds.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And listen, it requires, based on that question, the form, self-assessment, right? Are you an addict? Do you consider yourself an addict? To your point. And would that be based on current use or past use? It's an open question.

Michael, this, of course, as we were just discussing one of two trials, Hunter Biden faces this year. The second case, this is tax evasion. And as I understand it, typically in cases like this, they are also rarely charged if the person has paid back those taxes, which Hunter Biden, I believe, has here. So, would you put that tax evasion case in the same category you put this drug case is one that would be for most people under most circumstances unlikely to be prosecuted?

ZELDIN: The tax case is a little bit closer to cases that do get prosecuted. I think that in the ordinary course, Jim, the package of the tax case and the gun case would have been resolved pretrial by a guilty plea and some sort of agreed upon sentence.

But as a standalone, the tax case is not really completely out of the mainstream of what the tax division and prosecutor --

SCIUTTO: Michael, hold that thought. Let's listen in, Special Counsel David Weiss.

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. This case was about the illegal choices defendant made while in the throes of addiction, his choice to lie on a government forum when he bought a gun, and the choice to then possess that gun.

[13:15:00]

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. Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Weiss, would you entertain a plea deal in the California case? I'm a witness to Joe Biden being a criminal in Air Force One.

SCIUTTO: Brief statement there from David Weiss, the special counsel who prosecuted Hunter Biden. He said in his comments there that no one should be more accountable than any other citizen for alleged crimes, referencing the case of Hunter Biden here. He also thanked the authorities, the Justice Department, and others for the independence he had to carry out this prosecution.

Still with me now, our legal commentators, Michael Zeldin, Bernarda Villalona, and Jeremy Saland. Michael, as you heard that comment there, he said quite explicitly something that we've heard even from the president's own comments, president saying, one, he would not pardon his son if he were to be convicted, and two, he would respect the jurors' finding here, and you hear David Weiss there saying, indeed, he had the independence to prosecute this case. Your reaction to that statement?

SALAND: Yes. So much for the weaponization of the Justice Department to go after just the enemies of the other side. I think this is testament to the fact that the Justice Department under Garland is trying its very best to steer straight down the middle as it should bring people to trial that it thinks it worthy of prosecution.

And so, I think that Weiss' comment, thanking the Justice Department for giving him the leeway to do this, should undermine any political comments that there is something nefarious going on here and the Justice Department is out to get enemies and protect its friends. And we see this in this case, we see this in the prosecution of Menendez and the possible prosecution of Cuellar. It's an important point that Weiss made.

And I understand where Weiss is. I was an independent counsel, Jim, as you know. I prosecuted the case of George Herbert Walker Bush. It didn't end up in criminal court. We found no criminal responsibility there. But the pressure you feel in that job, investigating a president, is enormous. And I think he's done the best he can under the circumstances.

SCIUTTO: Let's be frank. That weaponization allegation is insatiable and immovable by the facts, right? I mean, you heard about lots of complaints about the prosecution of Trump. No mention of the DOJ's prosecution of Bob Menendez, Democrat, Henry Cuellar, Democrat, or the own -- the sitting president's son here who's now been convicted. And even today, you're hearing from some in the right-wing world that, well, this, this conviction here is just to cover up other crimes based on, I don't know what, but it's an insatiable argument.

Bernarda, he said there, the special counsel, David Weiss, that this demonstrates that no one should be more accountable than any other citizen for alleged crimes. But do you believe that's a fair statement? Do you believe, as Michael said earlier, that frankly, charges like this or cases like this are rarely prosecuted?

[13:20:00]

VILLALONA: So what David Weiss is trying to tell the people that no one is above the law, so with him saying that no one is above the law and that no one is pulling his strings, is that he was independent in the sense that he saw that a crime was convicted -- a crime was committed, and because a crime was committed, he decided to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor, and that's why he went after Hunter Biden.

But the question, for me, as a former prosecutor of 16 years, a case like this, even though you know that a crime was committed, even though you know you can get a conviction, is it the right path for you to go forward with a trial or would it be in the best entrance of the defendant as well as the people of trying to get some kind of program or drug treatment for a person that you know what led up to the crime and the basis of the crime was a drug addiction, especially since you know that he has been clean for so many years.

So, it wasn't the best outcome for me as a former prosecutor. It's not the way I would have went forward. But again, he's special counsel. He was under the Donald Trump reign. He had the option of trying to either just put out a report at the end of his investigation, but instead, he went forward with deciding to pursue charges against Hunter Biden.

SCIUTTO: Jeremy, just quickly before we go, chances that Hunter Biden faces jail time for this conviction?

SALAND: I would think that in light of the fact that only months or however long ago it was, there was a global disposition covering everything and there was no incarceration and this is not associated with a shooting or other crime or drug crime that there is an addiction issue. And I did think it was somewhat rich that Special Counsel Weiss pointed out that addiction is a disease only to turn around and say, well, he made his choice.

But nonetheless, I don't see this as an incarceratory sentence. It's not a mandatory, even though you're hearing these numbers of 10, 10 plus five, in terms of a potential sentence in the jail. You know, I think that sounds, for lack of a better term, sexy, but the reality of it is, this is something probationary. This is something where if he has any continued issues, meaning Hunter Biden, he should get the help he needs.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SALAND: I really do question, just because you can, doesn't mean you should. But ultimately, he's been convicted, but incarceration is not the answer, and I don't see that.

SCIUTTO: Yes. To your point, too often the maximum sentence is mentioned, even though the maximum sentence very rarely, particularly in a case like this, will be imposed. Jeremy, Bernarda, Michael, please stand by and thanks so much for your help putting this into perspective.

President Biden will be speaking soon at an event with a group advocating tougher gun laws. We're going to take you there once he begins. He did respond to Hunter Biden's conviction this morning with a written statement saying, once again, he respects the verdict and he is proud of his son for overcoming his battle with addiction.

CNN's Kevin Liptak joins me now from the White House. Kevin, do we expect the president to address the conviction when he speaks this hour? It's a gun event as it happens.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I'd be surprised if he talked about it at this event, just because he has been reluctant in the past to talk about this case publicly, but also the setting, there's no question. It's a little bit politically awkward. Of course, this was a fluke of scheduling, but he is there to tout a reduction in violent crime. He wants to talk about his administration's efforts to curb gun violence. And so, I don't think it would necessarily be a backdrop that he would want to talk about his son's conviction on federal gun crimes.

We did get a statement from the president a little bit earlier, which is how he has been responding to this throughout, is these written statements. He talks about how he is viewing this case as a dad, not just as a president. He talks about how he loves his son. And one of the things that I think is important in this statement is that they sort of connect it to the greater problem of addiction in the United States.

They say, like, so many people around the country who have had loved ones battle addiction, they understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out on the other side. And of course, the president does state very explicitly in this statement as well that he will accept the outcome of the case, of course, drawing a very clear distinction between what has happened today in Wilmington, Delaware, and Former President Trump's own conviction on federal felonies in New York. The president very clearly stating that he believes in the rule of law, that he doesn't believe that the system was rigged.

Of course, Jim, this does punctuate the end of quite a painful period for the Biden family, beginning really with the death of their son, Beau. That, of course, launched the addiction spiral around which this case revolved. There's no question that the president is -- this is weighing very heavily on him. It will be interesting to see sort of his demeanor, how he looks when he's speaking at this event later today.

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We do know that this has been something of a deep concern for the president as he's been traveling. He's due to travel again to Europe tomorrow for the G7. But certainly, this is something that is at the very, very forefront of his mind.

SCIUTTO: I'm sure. Quite personal. Hunter Biden. Thanks, Kevin Liptak, at the White House. Hunter Biden says for his own account, he's more grateful for the love and support of his family than he is disappointed by the outcome.

So, let's take a moment to look at the big picture, how the Biden family is reacting to this burden. Another painful moment for a president who has dealt with tragedy. Senior reporter Stephen Collinson joins us now. Stephen, this has been personal from the beginning. Of course, President Biden lost Beau Biden, his other son, Hunter Biden, as Kevin was mentioning there, part of the addiction spiral responding to that loss.

But at the same time, the president publicly separating that personal suffering from his official statement saying quite consistently as he has now with the verdict that he will not stand in the way, he will not issue a pardon, he respects the outcome. It's quite a line for the president to be walking.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Jim, for any parent to see their son convicted of a crime would be excruciating to do so in the full glare of the eye of the world when you're running in potentially the most contentious re-election campaign of any modern president is even more acute and painful for the present.

And as you and Kevin referenced, the appalling history of tragedy that Biden has had to deal with. He lost his infant daughter and his first wife soon after he was elected to the Senate in the early 1970s. As you mentioned, his elder son, Beau Biden, who he saw as the great political hope of the family, he died from brain cancer in 2015. And the grief from that, it's still raw. It often bubbles to the surface in a public event.

I think the position the president is in was encapsulated by his comment that, I am a president, but I am also a dad. That's the very poignant juxtaposition that he's facing. Presidents in history are generally remembered for only two or three things when they've been out of office for 10, 20, 30 years. I think today is going to be one of those moments. This is a president who had to watch his son convicted by the legal system of which he is the titular head. This is a president who came into office vowing to restore credibility in the legal system following the ructions of the Trump administration.

And he's running against a president who was just convicted, a former president who, less than two weeks ago, was convicted himself and is attacking the legal system. So, you throw all that together, we've never seen anything like this. And it is a moment when the president, despite his own personal feelings, is standing up for the rule of law and the integrity of the legal system at a moment when his opponent's party is trying to undermine that legal system.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

COLLINSON: To defend their own criminal former president, quite remarkable.

SCIUTTO: Noted. The personal aspect. We are learning that President Biden will travel to Wilmington later today. Our understanding he'll meet with his son following this conviction. To your point, Stephen, about that weaponization argument, as I noted earlier.

So, here you have a trial of the sitting president's son prosecuted by a special counsel under President Biden's DOJ and now a conviction. Even with that, now the new response from Trump and some of his followers is that, well, this is to cover up for something else. I mean, the fact of the matter on that weaponization argument is that the facts don't stand in the way of it, right?

I mean, whether it's the prosecution of the president's son or the prosecution of a sitting Democratic senator, and quite a prominent one in Robert Menendez or a sitting Democratic congressman that it's an argument, and they're sticking with it, no matter what.

COLLINSON: And the sad truth of the Trump era is that the truth doesn't really matter anymore because of these narratives that the former president has created. Millions of Americans now believe that the 2020 election was stolen because the former president claimed it was. Even though his own Justice Department said it wasn't. Had Hunter Biden been acquitted, the argument would have been, well, this just proves that the Justice Department -- that the justice system is biased and corrupt. And the jury voted to acquit him for political reasons.

Now, that he's being found guilty, they're saying, well, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It proves there is a Biden crime family. And in some ways, this is all a sideshow from the real crime, which they claim is President Biden profiting off his son's business ventures. There is no evidence to show that it's the case at all. The Republican attempt to impeach President Biden has failed, because they haven't found that evidence.

[13:30:00]

But the truth doesn't really matter. We're in a post-truth age in presidential campaigns and this is going to have very little impact on the media narrative, of the conservative media industrial complex that is backing up Trump.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And to your point about the election lie, that followed a similar pattern as each claim about the election -- it was stolen for this reason or that reason, as each claim fell, just came up with new reasons, supposed reasons. And as you say, people still buy it, or at least many do. Stephen Collinson, thanks so much for joining.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, we're going to have insight from one of the jurors in Hunter Biden's trial. You're going to hear from a juror on that decision to convict the president's son. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Any moment now at that podium there, U.S. President Joe Biden will speak set to address a gun safety conference during a speech in Washington. A short time ago, the president said he will continue to respect the judicial process, respect the verdict after his son, Hunter, was convicted on federal gun charges. We'll bring you those comments live as they come.

A juror in the Hunter Biden trial spoke to CNN just in the last hour. He was juror number 10. He spoke to our colleague Manu Raju about how and when they arrived at their decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: What happened behind the room and what ultimately convinced the jury to convict?

JUROR 10, JUROR IN HUNTER BIDEN CASE: OK. So, yesterday when the case was handed over to us, we went to the deliberating room. We weren't there that long because it was getting late in the evening. So, we just decided, OK, the first thing we're going to do is let's vote now and see how the count was. So, we voted and it was six to six.

[13:35:00]

Now, I don't believe that any of them were trying to change their minds or we weren't trying to change anybody's minds. It's just the fact that I think they said no because they wanted more information. They wanted to talk more about the case. So, they don't want to jump the conclusions right away and say yes, he was guilty.

RAJU: So -- and then --

JUROR 10: I believe that's why --

RAJU: And then, this morning, you guys came back in and it was no longer six to six. Is that right?

JUROR 10: That's correct. Yes.

RAJU: And talk to me about how that played out.

JUROR 10: Just -- OK. So, we took each count and we went over the evidence for each count. And once our foreman had the black and white board and we decided, OK, let's go through each count. So -- and then we went around the table.

And on the first count, we all said we agreed for number one. We agreed for number two, and we agreed for number three, but number four was a holdout. OK. So, then we talked about a little bit longer about the question on the first indictment. So, then we talked a little bit about it, and then we said, OK, let's go back to that.

Now, let's go to the second indictment --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Motion.

JUROR 10: -- motion, yes, or the second conviction, what he was convicted -- what he was going to be convicted for. So, went to the second one and that came back anonymous. We all -- everybody agreed.

RAJU: Was there any indication why that juror changed to convict? What was the reason?

JUROR 10: No, no, no, We never got -- you're getting ahead. We skipped that one. There is three charges against him. So, now, we're working on the second charge. So, we skipped the first charge because somebody was not totally convinced on the fourth question. So, we moved on to the second indictment.

Once we went over the second indictment, it was unanimous and we all agreed. Then we moved on to the third. And once we started going over the third, there was also four questions on that. So -- and so, we had to be unanimous on all four questions. And that was unanimous, the result. Everybody voted to agree -- to -- guilty. So --

RAJU: I wonder what -- this is obviously a case that involved addiction. There were a lot of stories, sad stories, frankly, about the issue of addiction, Hunter Biden's drug use. How much did that impact the jury? As you guys were processing the evidence and we're here -- we learned about his addiction use of crack cocaine, how did that play in the jury room?

JUROR 10: I'll tell you, it was -- I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself. Like it was very sad that he was being -- not that he was being convicted of these crimes, but that his life had turned out the way it did. So --

RAJU: So did you -- was there a lot of discussion about that or did the -- did you -- was it really just looking at what the prosecution and the defense lay down?

JUROR 10: There wasn't a lot of discussion about his lifestyle. We're -- it was just the evidence that we're listening to. We didn't discuss a lot about Hunter's lifestyle. And like I said, it was very sad. And when Hallie testified, I mean, that that was -- for me, that was a very sad time because I did not know that Hallie also got addicted to crack.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: The voice there of Juror Number 10 in Hunter Biden's trial. Of course, they've now found him guilty. The jury unanimously of all three felony charges.

Coming up, we're going to have political reaction as it pours in from Capitol Hill. We'll take you there right after this break.

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SCIUTTO: We are following the breaking news that President Biden's son has been found guilty of three felonies connected to his purchase of a handgun in 2018 took about four hours of deliberations for the jury to convict him. The panel of 12 concluding Hunter Biden violated laws intended to prevent drug addicts from owning firearms. The judge did not set a sentencing date, but indicated it would probably happen in about four months.

Any moment now we are waiting for President Joe Biden to speak, set to address a gun safety conference during a speech in Washington. After his speech, he is heading to Wilmington, Delaware to be with his son.

Joining us now to bring in reaction from Capitol Hill, Lauren Fox. We've heard Former President Donald Trump's reaction to this. How are lawmakers reacting on the Hill from both parties?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, so far, we have not seen much Democratic reaction here on Capitol Hill, but we are getting a few members who work in the judiciary and oversight space as they have investigated Hunter Biden and his father, Joe Biden, over the course of the last two years.

[13:45:00] They are reacting this statement from Matt Gaetz, who said, "The Hunter Biden gun conviction is kind of dumb. TBH." Meaning to be honest. Obviously, he's arguing there that this case is maybe wouldn't have been brought if this weren't Hunter Biden. But, you know, he -- that is a really interesting comment, given the fact that he is one of those who has been arguing that the justice system is not fair.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, James Comer, said that Hunter Biden's sweetheart plea deal was smoked out after scrutiny by a federal judge. Today's verdict is a step forward in accountability. But until the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved in the Biden's corrupt influence peddling scheme that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden family, it will be clear that department officials continue to cover for the big guy, Joe Biden.

Now, we should know that the Oversight and Judiciary Committees have been investigating the Biden family for years now. They have yet to show any direct evidence that Joe Biden benefited in any way from Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings and that anything illegal had occurred. In fact, they are still stalled out in their impeachment investigation. That still has not actually gotten a vote on the house floor.

So, that just gives you a sense here right now, Jim, of this initial reaction for Republicans. But again, we have yet to hear from Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill.

SCIUTTO: So, just to put a finer point on it, Comer there is repeating an allegation of crimes by the sitting president, has had multiple opportunities to show evidence of that, and has found and presented none of that evidence to the point where he abandoned his own effort to impeach him.

FOX: Well, I mean, exactly, Jim. I mean, one thing to keep in mind here is that. House Republicans don't have the votes to move forward with impeachment. That is part of the reason that leadership has not moved forward with that in the House of Representatives.

SCIUTTO: Despite the fact that House Republicans have, of course, a majority in the house, though a small one. Lauren Fox, thanks so much.

We do continue to follow the breaking news that President Biden's son, Hunter, has been found guilty on all three felonies connected to a purchase of a gun in 2018. CNN's Marshall Cohen, he's been following the trial since the beginning. Was inside the courtroom this morning.

Marshall, tell us what happens now, because we understand the President Biden is going to be traveling to Wilmington following his comment shortly in Washington, traveling to Wilmington to be with his son?

COHEN: Dave -- sorry, Jim. Yes, that is what we heard that the president will come here to Wilmington after he is ironically at this gun event in Washington on gun safety. That's the theme of the day, I guess, Jim, guns. But Hunter Biden now is a convicted felon, as we've all been discussing for the last few hours, guilty on all three charges relating to the possession and purchase of a firearm in 2018. It's against federal law for someone who's a drug user or a drug addict to buy a gun or possess a gun. And that is what the prosecutors charged him with. That's what he is now guilty of.

And you heard earlier in this hour from Special Counsel David Weiss and his team of prosecutors, they have been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018. It's been a long running investigation. They have a massive victory today because they were able to earn three convictions from the panel of 12, ordinary Delawareans who judged that Hunter Biden was guilty of this crime.

But the special counsel, Jim, said that this was a victory for the rule of law. Hunter Biden shouldn't have been treated any harsher because of his famous family, but he also shouldn't have been treated any easier either. So, they framed this as upholding the rule of law.

Others on the other side, Jim, have said that this was kind of an abuse of the law. Hunter Biden's defense attorneys argued over and over and over before the trial that these charges were motivated by politics, that prosecutors have caved to some of those Republicans that Lauren was just mentioning on Capitol Hill who are thrilled by this verdict.

But look, the judge let this case move forward to the jury. They heard the evidence and they reached their verdict. And that's how it goes.

SCIUTTO: And we should note, I mean you mentioned the jury pool there, there was a lot of claims by Trump and others that the jury pool in New York was fundamentally skewed against him. He, of course, was convicted there.

Here in Wilmington, Biden family, quite prominent for decades, we should note, given his position in the Senate, vice president, and now president, and yet that jury pool in well, three to four hours decided to convict, decided unanimously, of course, as required to convict the sitting president's son.

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COHEN: Yes, you know, if there's anyone out there who's peddling the talking point that the Justice Department and the justice system is being weaponized against Republicans and only against Donald Trump to try to help Joe Biden, then what the heck happened here in Delaware? Because you are exactly right, Jim, the 12 residents on the jury, the 12 Delaware residents on the jury, convicted the president's son.

Look, Delaware is a pretty interesting state. It's a small state. People tend to know people in this state. But the jury pool hailed from the entire state. Parts of Delaware, Sussex County, in the southern parts of the state, is very rural. Now, people should not just assume that everyone came from the Wilmington area here in the Philadelphia suburbs. So, you had folks, some of them were strong believers in gun rights. They were asked during the jury selection process about this. There were folks that watched Fox News and Newsmax. So, it wasn't just a bunch of Biden loyalists. This was a truly -- it appeared to be representative sample of the state.

And before I give it back to you, Jim, I do want to point out that many of those jurors said during the selection process that they had been touched personally by addiction in terms of loved ones, that struggled with alcoholism, friends who died of overdoses. This is a common story in America.

They were asked, despite those experience that you've witnessed with your loved ones, can you judge this case fairly and impartially? They all swore that they could do it, and this is the verdict that they reached today.

SCIUTTO: Marshall Cohen, thanks so much. Please do stay with us. We'll be back quickly on the breaking news right after a short break.

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SCIUTTO: We continue to follow the breaking news. The president, Biden's son, Hunter, has been found guilty of three felonies connected to his purchase of a handgun back in 2018. It took to about four hours of deliberations by the jury to convict him.

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The panel ultimately concluding that Hunter Biden violated laws intended to prevent drug addicts from owning and possessing firearms. Any moment now, we are waiting for President Joe Biden to speak, set to address gun safety during a speech in Washington. After his speech, we're told he is heading to Wilmington, Delaware to be with his son.

We'll continue to stay on top of all developments in the story. Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. "Isa Soares Tonight" is up next.

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