Justice, privilege and tragedy | The Press

(Wilmington) Hunter Biden turned to his lawyer. He smiled. He even hugged him. This guilty verdict was obvious to him as well as to everyone in this small courtroom where there were less than 80 of us.

Obvious for the jury too: it deliberated for three short hours.

Proof that “no one is above the law,” special prosecutor David Weiss told us two hours later. Adding that “no one should be held accountable for their actions either”. As if to defend himself from having put too much against the famous 54-year-old accused.

It’s true and it’s not. Hunter Biden’s life is a compendium of privilege and tragedy. And he had to be accused by federal justice, during his father’s presidency, which is not famous for appearances or for legal settlements.

Yes, the man is undoubtedly one of the most privileged men in this country. A Yale graduate, lawyer-lobbyist-businessman, he made millions through contacts inseparable from his last name.

This verdict is also the distant echo of a family tragedy which dates from December 18, 1972. His father Joe had just been elected to the Senate at the age of 30 and was setting up his team in Washington. His mother, Neilia Hunter, went to buy a tree with her three children. Beau, 3 years old, Hunter, 2 years old, and Naomi, 1 year old. A truck hit the car. The mother and her daughter are dead. Both boys survived their injuries.

Throughout his adult life, Hunter was addicted to drugs and alcohol.

His brother Beau seemed to follow in his father’s footsteps. Elected attorney general of Delaware, then mobilized in Iraq, then re-elected with an overwhelming majority. As if Joe Biden hadn’t experienced enough drama, Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, at age 46. Hunter fell completely into crack at this point.

An investigation is opened into tax evasion (we are talking about 1.4 million) by Hunter. Federal agents also discovered that he lied about using “illegal drugs” when purchasing a gun in 2018.

All this is not the crime of the century, and had to be settled last year: an agreement was reached between his lawyer and the federal prosecutor. In exchange for an admission of guilt, he got off with a fine and probation. Except that the judge considered the immunity granted to Biden Jr. for undiscovered crimes exorbitant.

Hunter’s lawyer wouldn’t give up that part of the deal. Hence this trial, which should never have taken place as the facts are indisputable and the law is clear.

In the political and legal circumstances, under the sometimes furious eye of the public, it was clear that the special prosecutor would not make any new deal in exchange for a new admission of guilt.

The defense therefore pleaded on Monday what we plead when there is no defense: just… “reasonable doubt”. There was, however, no doubt: just the day before, Biden wrote in very vague words to his girlfriend at the time (Beau’s widow) that he was waiting for his dealer at the convenience store. So he lied on the form. Point.

We said that no one is above the law. All right. But the federal state had to display its absolute rigor. In this sense, Hunter Biden suffered more. If he had not been the president’s son, this case would not have resulted in a trial.

We won’t cry in the cottages for a guy who spent millions partying. The average crack user does not benefit from a well-stocked ATM, high-end legal services or a caring entourage dragging him from clinic to clinic.

Hunter won’t cry about it either. He passed without apparent emotion in front of us between the rows, surrounded by the Secret Service and his close guard, including the steadfast Uncle Jim, who escorted him to the armored vehicles.

He knew it very well and did not try to explain himself to the jury.

For the father, although he is president of the United States, it is another blow to the heart. After losing the mother of three of his children, a baby and his eldest, he saw his other son declared a criminal by the justice system of his country.

It’s not over yet. There will be the sentence. Technically, Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison, but in reality it will be probation or a light sentence. The Colt was never used. He was thrown away by his partner, in panic, when she discovered him in her car. We are therefore not faced with a case of a drug addict who acquires a weapon to commit crimes.

There is also the trial for tax evasion in California on September 5.

And on Tuesday, Prosecutor Weiss told us that he would not answer any questions in particular because “the investigations are not completed”.

For Republicans, there are not many political advantages to be gained from this trial, considered “a diversion”. The Trump camp’s conspiracy theory is that the trial serves as a smokescreen for the real crime: the president’s connection to his son and nebulous acts of corruption.

Several investigations took place in Congress and even under the leadership of the Republicans, we searched to the point of absurdity: we found no proof of this.

Furthermore, many Republicans would like to see this type of questionnaire for obtaining a weapon disappear. It is difficult to rejoice too loudly at the condemnation of a political opponent “because of the form”.

On the merits of the matter, unless they were acting in very bad faith, everyone could see that Biden’s son was treated unceremoniously.

The two prosecutors appointed by Weiss, Leo Wise and Derek Hines, are the almost caricatured incarnation of the “American federal prosecutor”: 6 feet 2 inches, stiff in their suits, no smile, the situation is serious, the law is the law, weapons in the hands of a drug addict are dangerous, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

We had to see on Monday how pugnaciously they made their indictment, and especially the murderous reply to the defense lawyer’s pleading. Only crumbs remained.

Judge Maryellen Noreika, moreover, was appointed by Donald Trump, which does not make her a “Trump judge”, as the former president would say.

We repeat perhaps a little too much that Americans no longer have confidence in their justice system.

When it is carried out expertly and efficiently by a competent judge; when the file is assembled with mastery; when the accused has the means of defense; When randomly selected citizens take jury work seriously, in the wood-paneled cocoon of a courtroom…it happens to be the most admirable branch of the American state.