Who is Hunter Biden?
The full name of Hunter Biden is the Robert Hunter Biden who is the second son of the U.S. President Joe Biden. He works as an American attorney and a businessman. Prior to his current occupation, he held positions as a banker, a lobbyist, and a legal representative for lobbying firms.
He has previously also worked as a hedge fund principal, a venture capital and a private equity fund investor.
Allegations on Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden has been accused of having connections with China as he was the founding board member of the BHR partners, a Chinese investment company in 2013. With the rising tensions between China and United States, his relation with Chinese companies is questioned.
His father, Joe and him has also been accused of corrupt activities concerning Ukraine as he served on the board of Burisma Holdings, one of the largest natural gas producers in Ukraine, from 2014 to 2019, when his term expired.
It has been said that the father and the son were favoring Ukraine for personal reasons and for personal business interests.
What happened in 2020?
In 2020, the New York posts published an article in October about a laptop which had previously belonged to Hunter Biden.
The article revealed that the laptop contained about 129 thousand emails and other materials which exposed the corrupt practices of his father, Joe Biden.
However nothing has been proved and the New York Post which published the story didn’t provide the details of the material they had found to other media outlets or any other agency for investigation.
Due to this, other media outlets declined to publish the same story because there was no proof of it.
Previously, Biden has been accused of evading taxes and has been under federal investigation since 2018.
He also has a bad record of drug and alcohol abuse. Even though he pleaded not guilty on all Tax evasion charges, the special counsel indicted Biden on various counts of tax evasion on 7th December, 2023.
Recent conviction of Hunter Biden
During his tax evasion trials, Biden admitted to illegally owning a gun while being under the influence of drugs.
Although he vehemently denied using drugs while applying for a gun purchase permit. Following the failure of the plea agreement, a special counsel in Delaware indicted Biden on three federal crimes involving weapons.
One of these allegations was having a gun for approximately eleven days while being aware of his drug use. All three of the felony counts against Biden were found guilty in June 2024.
Joe Biden’s reaction
The president and his father Joe Biden reaffirmed his position as a parent who is striving to provide assistance to his son following the sentence.
“As mentioned previously, I hold the position of President, but I also fulfill the role of a father.”
“Jill and I have a deep affection for our son, and we are exceedingly pleased with the person he has become,” he expressed.
What are the charges on Hunter Biden?
The initial two charges were for providing false information regarding his substance abuse on a federal background check document, while the third charge was for the possession of a firearm while being addicted to or using illicit substances.
The judge stated that the customary timeframe for setting a sentence is 120 days after a decision is reached. Hunter Biden may potentially be sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in jail and be subject to a fine of up to $750,000.
However, considering that he is a first-time offender and a influential man, it is probable that he will receive a far lesser punishment.
The reactions on Hunter Biden’s trial
There is mixed reaction in public. While some support Biden and his trauma which he felt after the death of his brother Beau’s untimely death in 2015 due to brain cancer, on the other hand people and several media outlets accuse him and his father of using their political influence and money to divert the case and ease up the judiciary on him.
One juror even developed sympathy for him and remarked that – “I really don’t think that Hunter belongs in jail.”
The juror emphasized their primary attention on evidence rather than Hunter Biden’s lifestyle, affirming that political matters were not discussed.
The juror stated that the other jurors expressed remorse for the summons of Naomi Biden, Hunter’s daughter, to provide testimony. According to him, he believed it was an error to have her testify in court.
Some people also believe that he has been unduly punished for being famous and son of the President of the United States.
Whatever be the case, the recent conviction of Hunter Biden is definitely going to make an effect on the upcoming US elections, 2024.
