Naomi Biden’s testimony during her father’s testimony weighed on the jury as they deliberated Hunter Biden’s conviction.
“No daughter should ever have to testify,” an anonymous juror told CNN an hour after the verdict.
Hunter Biden was convicted of all counts in his felony gun trial in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday. Days earlier, on Friday, the defense called his daughter and the president’s granddaughter Naomi Biden to the stand.
Speaking to CNN after the verdict on Tuesday afternoon, an unnamed juror said he believed that it “was a bad mistake” to put the defendant’s daughter on the stand, adding that most of the jurors “felt sorry” for the 30-year-old.
When she took the stand, President Joe Biden’s granddaughter admitted she was “nervous” before proceeding to tell the court that “things got bad” after her uncle Beau died in 2015. She also testified that she never saw her father using drugs.
Hunter grew tearful as he listened to his daughter speak.
The anonymous juror also spoke about another “very sad” revelation that came up during the trial: “I did not know that Hallie also got addicted to crack.”
Hallie Biden, Beau’s widow who later dated Hunter when he bought the gun, testified that the president’s son had introduced her to the drug in 2018 and she quit abusing it later that year.
“It was a terrible experience that I went through,” she told the court. “I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed and I regret that period of my life.”
“It was very sad. Not that he was convicted of the crimes, but that his life had turned out the way that it did,” the juror told the outlet.
Twelve jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying on a federal gun form, lying to a gun salesman about his prior drug use and unlawfully possessing a firearm in October 2018. Tuesday’s verdict marked the first time a sitting president’s child was ever convicted of a crime.
Despite the high-profile nature of the trial — and the fact that the person on trial was the president’s son — the juror clarified that Hunter was treated like any other defendant: “No politics came into play. Politics was not even spoken about. The first family was not even spoken about. It was all about Hunter.”
The juror also said he doesn’t think Hunter should serve jail time.
The panel was initially split 6-6 after they took an immediate vote as they entered deliberations, the juror said. He explained that the initial “no” votes were because jurors “didn’t want to jump to conclusions right away.” By Tuesday morning, they took another vote and everyone agreed that the president’s son was guilty.
In the immediate aftermath of the verdict, Hunter said that he was “grateful” for the support of his friends and family although he is “disappointed by the outcome.” He added, “Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time.”
The sentencing date will be scheduled at a later date, the judge said on Tuesday.
