Trump campaign calls Hunter Biden verdict ‘a distraction’

Former President Trump’s campaign on Tuesday dismissed Hunter Biden’s conviction on federal gun charges as “a distraction” from more serious allegations of corruption.

“This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 

“Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5th, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit,” she added.

Trump himself did not immediately weigh in on the verdict.

Trump and his allies have for years claimed President Biden profited off of his son’s business dealings, though there has been no concrete evidence to support that claim, and a House GOP impeachment inquiry focused on the matter has stalled.

A jury found Hunter Biden guilty after roughly three hours of deliberation on three felony counts alleging he lied about his use of illicit drugs when obtaining a gun in 2018, and then unlawfully possessed the firearm for 11 days.  

Hunter Biden’s trial, which lasted just over a week, spotlighted his addiction to crack cocaine at the time he checked “no” on a federal gun purchase form questioning whether he unlawfully used or was addicted to narcotics or other drugs. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a top Trump ally, called the verdict “kinda dumb.”

The trial and subsequent verdict took place just days after Trump’s own trial in New York, in which a jury found him guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to an alleged hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign.

Trump has railed against the judge and prosecutor in the case and claimed the trial was “rigged” and a “sham.”

President Biden, who has admonished Trump for undermining confidence in the legal system with his claims of a rigged trial, issued a statement Tuesday saying he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial.

“Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that,” Biden said.