Many prominent reporters and pundits were supportive of Hunter Biden this week after the first son was found guilty on all counts by a Delaware jury.
Hunter Biden was convicted after Special Counsel David Weiss charged him with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a licensed firearm dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. A date has not yet been set for sentencing for those charges.
Here are five sympathetic media reactions to Hunter Biden’s conviction:
‘Unbelievably Tragic’
MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin said the verdict wasn’t a surprise, but added, “there’s something unbelievably tragic about the entire trajectory of the case.”
“Not only is Hunter Biden someone who has very publicly struggled with addiction, but the way in which these charges came about was through the finding of the gun. 11 days after he purchased it, the gun was tossed by his then-girlfriend and his sister-in-law Hallie Biden,” Rubin continued. “He immediately took steps for it to be retrieved, that ultimately led to the charges.”
‘Sad’
MSNBC legal analyst Katherine Christian said the verdict was “sad” because it went to trial after the initial plea agreement fell apart.
“He is a very sad figure, as are many people throughout this country, and he will now be, when he is sentenced, a convicted felon. There, in my humble opinion, is no need to incarcerate him,” Christian said.
“He should get the same diversion program. Once an addict, always an addict. I’m assuming he is in recovery, but it will help him… the sad part is that he went to trial. It would have been a miracle if there was an acquittal,” Christian continued. “It would have been the jury doing nullification, saying we are sympathetic to him, which you are not supposed to do. But some jurors do that. It’s not an unfair verdict. They followed the law. But it’s a sad verdict.”
American families can relate
ABC News correspondent Terry Moran suggested that the political consequences of the trial may be tempered by the fact that addiction has touched many American families.
“It reminds us that for all of the major implications of the first conviction of the child of a president, this trial inside the courtroom, like virtually every criminal trial, was a personal story of personal tragedy, a family tragedy, and the guilty verdict that the jury has handed down on Hunter Biden were verdicts not just on his conduct under law, but on his collapse into drug addiction and the consequences of it,” Moran said Tuesday. “So many American families understand that.”
Moran continued: “Now the first family has gone through it as well… the political consequences of it may be tempered by the fact that this is a scourge that has touched so many American families, even the president’s.”
Trump was not ‘sympathetic’ enough
CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes said she found it interesting former President Trump was not “sympathetic” to Hunter Biden. Trump, who doesn’t drink or smoke, has discussed his older brother Fred’s alcoholism that contributed to his death at age 42.
“Donald Trump has not seemed sympathetic at all about Hunter Biden‘s addiction issues… he himself has come from a family that had addiction issues and has talked openly about it,” Holmes said.
“One of the things we‘ve talked about is how many Americans find this case to be sympathetic in some ways,” Holmes added. “Donald Trump himself does not seem to be one of them.”
