George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Tuesday that Hunter Biden should have pleaded guilty to federal firearms charges because he has “no defense.”
Biden’s trial on three felony charges related to his purchase of a .38-caliber revolver began with jury selection on Monday. Turley said Biden had little hope of avoiding conviction on the charges because he had sent text messages around the time of the purchase talking about using drugs, including crack cocaine. (RELATED: ‘Sawdust Lines’: Hunter Biden’s lawyer disputes cocaine was seen in photo used in gun charge)
“I don’t see any defense in this case,” Turley told Fox News host Martha MacCallum. “I mean, it’s like being locked in a bank vault and saying, ‘I got lost on my way to the bathroom.’ You can say that, but very few people are going to believe it. So that begs the question: why didn’t they plead guilty?”
“If he pleads guilty, it’s highly likely, and even likely, that he won’t get any jail time, and instead he’ll face a very embarrassing trial without a substantial defense. So they’re also suggesting that maybe he didn’t check the box, and the gun store owner standing there will explain that he did that.”
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Jonathan Turley says Hunter Biden should have pleaded guilty pic.twitter.com/3gPxv1Rf45
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Biden was indicted in September on felony charges of making a false statement when purchasing a firearm and unlawfully possessing a firearm while under the influence of drugs. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in October.
Turley said Biden’s lawyers may be trying to secure an acquittal by the jury.
“I think this looks like a jury nullification strategy. Jury nullification is ignoring the evidence and explicitly or implicitly encouraging injury, and this is the place to do it. Wilmington is Biden’s hometown,” Turley said. “This is a favorite son of a favorite son, and I think there’s some hope that, combined with sympathy for the addiction and maybe sympathy for the family, we can get a verdict mismatch or jury nullification, because that’s the only viable option I can see here.”
“I mean, do you really think that 12 people would say that a third party met these conditions for Hunter Biden, or that he had the world’s shortest sobriety period, which can be reduced to a few hours?,” Turley continued. “Of course, no one would believe that, so they’re relying on something else. They’re at least putting on a defensive front, but they’re actually hoping for annulment.”
McCollum then asked Turley whether she had a problem with President Joe Biden commenting on the trial or First Lady Jill Biden attending the hearing.
“There’s nothing wrong with a father speaking for his son,” Turley said, “but having Jill Biden in the courtroom is a reminder to the jury that this is Biden’s town and this is Biden’s case, and I think that’s frustrating for the prosecution.”
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