Katherine Firkin: US Correspondent on the Hunter Biden verdict and his likely appeal

Yesterday saw another historic ruling in the United States, as Hunter Biden was found guilty in his federal gun trial. 

The conviction makes him the first child of a sitting President to be found guilty of a crime. 

He was convicted of three gun offences for lying about drug use while illegally buying and possessing a gun in 2018. 

US Correspondent Katherine Firkin told Mike Hosking that several legal experts have already suggested that there are several avenues of appeal that Biden could take. 

She said that the most likely route is that the defence will argue that under the Second Amendment, Biden has a constitutional right to own a firearm. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Later on. Meantime, it's go to the stage. Catherine Ferkins,
what's Catherine. Very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hi, They good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
So he's appealing or not, We don't know yet.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Well, we don't know if he's appealing, but I think
we're almost certainly going to see it, you know. Of course,
yesterday Hunter Biden had that inauspicious honor of becoming the
first child of a sitting president ever to be convicted
on criminal charges. The jury took just three hours to
find him guilty on federal gun crimes, and essentially the
case spoiled down to the fact that he was using

(00:29):
drugs at the time he purchased a firearm in twenty eighteen.
He didn't disclose that condition when making the purchase, and
that's something that's illegal here in the US. But whether
this conviction stands will be an interesting test of the
justice system now because many legal experts suggest there are
several avenues of appeal that Hunter Biden could take now.

(00:50):
Already we've seen his attorneys file three motions for acquittal,
which the judge has yet to rule on. But separately,
he may be able to use some constitutional arguments to
dablished disappeal. I think the most likely avenue we're going
to see is that the defense will argue the charges
are not constitutional under the Second Amendment. Essentially, he's going

(01:11):
to say that Hunter has a constitutional right to own
a firearm. They could also look at the sixth Amendment,
which guarantees defendants certain rights in criminal proceedings. That's essentially
going to be a technicality argument, But either way, there
is a lot at stake for the President's son here.
Not only is he facing potentially twenty five years jail,

(01:31):
he's also facing fines of up to seven hundred and
fifty thousand US dollars. That's over one point two million
New Zealand dollars. And of course this is a shocking
look for the Biden family during such a crucial year.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Right to the war. The person I feel most sorry for,
the person with the job you wouldn't want, is Blink.
And of course, who's god knows how many miles he's
wracked up going back and forward and back and forth.
Where are we at with a so called.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Ceswy Well, you're absolutely right, and he's actually in the
region at the moment, still pushing for this new US
back ceasefire. But unfortunately he says, basically, they've reached a
bit of limbo. He says that it's now her Mass
that continues to keep changing its demands. In fact, he
said that they continue to move the goalposts of this
original US batch proposal. Initially, on May six, Hamas claimed

(02:18):
to agree to a ceasefire deal, and at the time
they were pushing for what would be in effect about
a twelve week pause in fighting before a permanent ceasefire.
That situation would have effectively prevented Israel from being able
to recommence military operations at all. And this is all
happening now at a time when I'm sure you've seen,
we've just had the release of the United Nations first

(02:40):
in depth investigation into the October seven attack and the
ensuing conflict. That report has found that both Israel and
Her Mass have committed war crimes and grave violations of
international law. And all of this back and forth now
with the negotiations whether we're going to get this ceasefire
deal done, all happening is The UN also says that
we've now got more than a million Palestinians who are

(03:03):
set to face starvation as early as next month. So
it just couldn't be a more urgent situation. But unfortunately,
as you say, it doesn't seem to matter how many
miles Blinkin does or what the US does here. A
Cespy deal just doesn't seem like it's happening at the moment.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Good to catch up, Katherine, appreciate it well, see you
next week, Katherine Fokin out of the States.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
For more from News Talks ed B listen live on
air or online, and

Speaker 1 (03:26):
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