In purchasing the gun, he had to fill out a form for a federal background check. In response to a question on the form about whether he was using drugs, he said he was not — an assertion that prosecutors successfully persuaded the jury was false.
Hunter Biden convicted of all 3 felonies in federal gun trial
The first two crimes are essentially the same — that he lied about his drug use to illegally obtain the weapon, and that he falsely claimed that he was not “addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance” on the federal form, known as a 4473.
The third conviction, illegal possession of the gun while under the influence of drugs, stems from the time he had the weapon. Hallie Biden, his brother Beau’s widow — and his romantic partner at the time — eventually discovered the gun and threw it into a dumpster.The section of federal law cited in the indictment, 18 U.S. Code § 922, is the main statute used to define who can and cannot possess a firearm. It bars drug users, people convicted of felonies whose punishment exceeds a one-year prison sentence, fugitives from justice, people judged to be “mentally defective,” and those receiving dishonorable discharges from the military.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
