BOSTON (WHDH) – Former federal prosecutor Evan Gotlob shared his reaction to Hunter Biden’s conviction in his federal gun trial Tuesday, saying he was not surprised by the verdict.
Gotlob was an assistant US attorney in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the District of Massachusetts from 2015 to 2023.
Speaking with 7NEWS, he said the prosecution’s case against Biden was “pretty much a slam dunk case.”
Gotlob said he was actually surprised the jury did not return a verdict more quickly.
Biden was charged with lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on an application and illegally having a gun for 11 days after he bought a revolver in 2018. Prosecutors argued Biden lied on a gun purchase form when he said he was not illegally using drugs or addicted to drugs.
The jury returned its verdict after deliberating for roughly three hours over two days.
Biden showed little emotion as the verdict was read, according to courtroom reports. After hugging his attorneys and kissing his wife, Melissa, he soon left the courthouse with Melissa.
Neither Hunter nor Melissa spoke to reporters before getting into SUVs and driving off, the Associated Press reported.
Members of the Biden family, including Hunter’s mother and First Lady Jill Biden, were a fixture in the courtroom throughout Hunter’s trial.
Though the judge instructed the jury to pay no attention to the family’s presence, Gotlob said “the jury is human, just like all of us.”
“You see the first lady there and the family of any defendant, you’re influenced no matter what,” he said. “Obviously, this is more extreme in this case because you’re talking about the son of the president of the United States. But in any trial that I’ve done in the past or anybody has done, you always pay attention to the family.”
After some speculation, Biden did not testify in his own defense.
Gotlob said the decision may have been a strategic one as Biden’s team sought to avoid a potentially tougher sentence.
“If he would have said anything that they thought was obstructing justice or not truthful on the stand, there is an escalator of two points in the guidelines which could have added as much as a year to two years on the sentencing guideline sentence that could affect him,” Gotlob said.
Biden could face up to 25 years behind bars and a fine of up to $750,000. But Gotlob said the actual sentence will likely involve a shorter prison term and a smaller penalty.
“In cases like this, usually they get 18 to 24 months,” Gotlob said.
“The fines are usually on the lower end,” he added.
The judge in Biden’s case did not set a sentencing date on Monday.
Biden’s conviction comes shortly after a jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial last month.
Where Trump’s conviction was the first of a former US President, Biden is the first child of a sitting president to be found guilty.
“As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
Joe Biden said he will accept the outcome of his son’s case “and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”
“Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support,” he said. “Nothing will ever change that.”
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