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from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/11/hunter-biden-felony-conviction-guilty-verdict-president-campaign/74004595007/

Hunter Biden guilty verdict adds to president's distractions ahead of
Trump debate
Sarah D. Wire
Phillip M. Bailey
USA TODAY

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

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

Hunter Biden was found guilty in the trial over whether he lied on a
federal gun form in 2018 that asked if he was addicted to drugs.

Trump has avoiding talking about the trial, but whether he will continue
that is unclear. The two men will face each other for the first time in
a presidential debate June 27.

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa
Cohen Biden, depart the federal court during his trial on criminal gun
charges in Wilmington, Delaware.
The more than a week-long trial laid bare graphic details of Hunter
Biden’s years long 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.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where
they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Throughout the the trial, the White House and Biden's campaign team
refused to discuss what they call an internal family matter.

Joe Biden 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. He said in a
statement the first day of the trial that it would be inappropriate for
him to talk about the case, but that he loves his son.

“I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and
we are so proud of the man he is today,” the statement read. “Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to
his recovery are inspiring to us.”

He said halfway through the trial that if convicted, he would not pardon
his son.

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 his business
dealings by House Republicans who were looking for a reason to impeach
his father.

Republicans largely avoided discussing the Delaware case, with some
saying Republican voters were already up in arms about former President
Donald Trump's 34-count felony conviction and they didn't want to change
the topic. Their investigation has largely stalled ahead of the
election, though Reublican 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.

When asked to comment on the trial on Fox News, Trump 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.

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

The spectre 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.

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.

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.

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


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

An October 2023 AP-NORC poll found 68% of U.S. adults think President
Bided 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.


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