Hunter Biden's guilty verdict in his trial on gun crimes Tuesday prompted a range of responses.
Politico judicial reporter Kyle Cheney pointed out that some thought that, because of the power of the Biden family combined with the fact that the trial was in their home state of Delaware, Hunter would get a pass.
"Once again, tropes about juries and the general politics of the place they inhabit prove to be unreliable indicators of anything," he posted on X.
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MSNBC's Chuck Todd said, “He was held more accountable for who he is than less.”
"He got convicted by a jury in Delaware, okay?" Todd said. "Biden is the first — they are arguably the most well-known family in the state of Delaware, and perhaps responsible for so many things that Delaware has from the government today. The location of this guilty verdict, I think, mattered."
"It's possible that there's a contrast here that the public may see how [Donald] Trump and his partisans handle the rule of law versus Biden and how his partisans handle the rule of law," Todd continued. "This is one of those cases where I don't think it's brought if Biden is not president of the United States. This is one of those things where, if Biden had chosen not to run in 2016, I doubt Hunter Biden's ever prosecuted for something like this."
Hunter Biden was found to have violated the law when he filled out a form to buy a gun and swore under penalty of perjury that he was not addicted to drugs at the time of the purchase.
Others pointed out that the verdict puts a kink in the argument that President Joe Biden is using the Justice Department to go after his political enemies.
"Not for nothing, but Joe Biden kind of stinks at weaponizing the justice system," said MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen, who is not the former Trump lawyer with the same name.
"Hate to say it, but Hunter Biden's conviction is politically useful to Dems. Makes it much harder for Trump to argue the system is rigged against him," said Edward Luce.
Others remarked on the gun aspect of the case.
"Rest of planet stunned to learn that the US even has gun laws," said David Frum, former George W. Bush speechwriter.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) agreed that the conviction was "kinda dumb."
"Ask yourself how Republicans will spin this GUILTY Hunter Biden verdict into their MAGA cult conspiracy theories? They for SURE will. Because cults can’t accept a win—they require a constant, paranoid grievance state. Watch," said Jonathan Perkins of the "Beware Performative Activism" podcast.
Former Clinton staffer Keith Boykin suggested that Biden and other Democratic officials' reaction would be the opposite to that seen from Trump and his allies regarding the former president's conviction.
"Whatever the verdict in the Hunter Biden trial, I can assure you that President Biden and the leaders in his party will not attack the judge, the jury, and the judicial system just for prosecuting the president’s son," he said.
There were then those who compared it to Donald Trump's conviction more directly. Allison Gill of "Mueller, She Wrote" fame, said that Hunter Biden has been found "guilty on 31 fewer counts than Trump."
She also pointed out, "Garland could have fired Weiss. POTUS could have pardoned Hunter. Left wingers could have doxxed the jury. Hunter could have attacked the judge and her family every day on the courthouse steps. None of that happened."
In a statement from the White House, President Joe Biden said he respects the justice system.
See the video of Chuck Todd below or at the link here.
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