Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Wednesday, June 12, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, and we’ve got a verdict from the jury in Hunter Biden’s gun trial in Delaware, the judge in Florida rules against former President Donald Trump, and more decisions are set to be handed down as the U.S. Supreme Court wraps up its current term. Additionally, an activist recorded a few Supreme Court justices without their knowledge, and the Manhattan district attorney accepts an invitation to testify before Congress.
Jury Finds Hunter Biden Guilty on All 3 Charges in Gun Trial
The jury finds Hunter Biden guilty on all three charges in his federal gun trial.The case hinged on a Colt Cobra revolver that Mr. Biden bought from a gun store in October 2018, during a time prosecutors claim he was a crack cocaine addict. Authorities accused Mr. Biden of lying by illegally claiming on his application that he was not a drug user at the time of purchase and then unlawfully possessing the gun for 11 days. Mr. Biden, facing three felonies, pled not guilty to all charges.
It seemed like an open-and-shut case, but Mr. Biden’s defense argued that since he didn’t consider himself an addict when purchasing the gun, he didn’t “knowingly” lie on the gun application when he checked “no” on the question that asked if he was a drug addict. The defense also argued that Mr. Biden was receiving sobriety treatment in the months leading up to the gun purchase.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours before finding him guilty on all counts. The verdict was handed down after a weeklong trial that saw testimony from Mr. Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Biden, a former girlfriend, his sister-in-law Hallie Biden who was also his former girlfriend, his daughter Naomi, and others including the man who found the gun in the trash. Mr. Biden did not take the stand in his own defense.
Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, although first-time offenders typically receive less than the maximum sentence. You should also know that he is facing a September court date in California over felony tax evasion charges.
Judge Cannon Rejects Trump Request in Classified Documents Case
In his classified documents case, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon sided mostly with the government in rejecting former President Trump’s bid to have some charges against him thrown out, but she did order one paragraph struck from the superseding indictment in the case.The former president argued that the indictment, which includes some obstruction charges, failed to state an offense and should be dismissed. His attorneys argue in portions of the indictment that the special counsel wrongly charged former President Trump and his co-defendants with multiple offenses within a single count. Special counsel Jack Smith disagreed, saying the indictment only contained information relevant to the charges.
Judge Cannon concluded that the government published a “speaking indictment,” which includes various nonessential allegations. She described it as more of a narrative about the government’s theory of prosecution and said while there were issues with the indictment, it didn’t warrant dismissal of the additional charges.
Essentially, the judge is saying she could strike more passages from the document at a later time. She also said she would not rule on a challenge relating to information from the former president’s attorneys because that matter is the subject of a pending motion.
Supreme Court Set to Release Rulings on Major Cases as Term Nears End
The justices’ opinions are expected to affect the presidential race, government policy, and the personal decisions of many Americans. During the 2023–2024 term, justices heard cases on the abortion pill, social media, Second Amendment rights, environmental policy, and administrative power.One of the most anticipated cases is the court’s opinion in Trump v. The United States. That’s because the opinion could weaken special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution against former President Trump in his Washington trial. A related case—Fischer v. United States—involves the Justice Department’s use of a financial reform law to prosecute individuals who took part in the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Supreme Court is deciding the law’s application for a handful of defendants, but its decision could affect hundreds of other defendants, including the former president, whose Washington indictment utilizes that same law.
Meanwhile, the abortion issue before the court pertains to the deregulation of abortion pills. It follows the Dobbs decision that returned the authority to regulate abortion to the states. The FDA removed the requirement that the pills be dispensed in-person. A group of doctors sued, arguing that the FDA’s deregulation was unlawful and irresponsible. The federal government argued that the doctors lacked standing, or legal ground, for challenging the FDA’s decision. Several additional rulings are expected on a variety of issues including gun rights, environmental policy, and social media content restrictions.
Now, regarding administrative power, for decades, courts handled legal challenges to regulation with a level of deference toward how bureaucrats interpret their authority under laws passed by Congress. This doctrine, known as Chevron deference, has been used in thousands of cases since the 1980s. Two cases in particular, which the court is now hearing, are attempting to rein that in.
Historical Society Confirms Supreme Court Justices Were Secretly Recorded at Event
It happened at an event on June 3, hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society. A spokesperson from that organization says that Lauren Windsor is the activist who recorded interactions with Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Alito’s wife, and that she will be removed from the society. Ms. Windsor also approached Chief Justice Roberts, and told him it was a tumultuous time in the country and wanted his perspective on how to “repair the polarization.” When Ms. Windsor suggested that the High Court should guide America “toward a more moral path,” Justice Roberts said no and that the role for the court is deciding the cases.On the tapes, Ms. Windsor can also be heard telling Justice Alito that her husband wanted to come to the event but could not. She said her husband wanted to make sure to convey to Justice Alito “that he is a fighter” and then said she worried about political polarization.
James Defer, executive director of the society, says their policy is to ensure that all attendees are treated with respect. Attendees are told in advance that discussion of current cases, cases decided by this court, or a justice’s jurisprudence is strictly prohibited and that they condemn the secret recording of justices at the event.
Justices attended the society’s annual dinner on June 3. Seven days later, Ms. Windsor released the recordings on social media, stating she believes the Supreme Court is “an extremist court.” Ms. Windsor, who describes herself as an activist, has in the past worked for a consulting firm that worked to elect Hillary Clinton as president.
Manhattan DA and Trump Prosecutor Will Appear Before Congress in July, Source Says
Alvin Bragg will appear before the House Select Committee on Weaponization on July 12. He’ll be joined by Michael Colangelo, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) official who led the investigation into the former president. Several Republicans, including House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), claimed that the hiring of Mr. Colangelo, just months before the former president was indicted by Mr. Bragg’s office, suggests that the DOJ colluded with the Manhattan district attorney’s office in the case. You should know that the DOJ denies those allegations.In late May, Mr. Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments made to a adult performer during the 2016 presidential campaign. The former president denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying the prosecution was a political hit job. He is set to be sentenced on July 11.
Mr. Jordan has long been critical of Mr. Bragg’s prosecution of the former president, saying that he believes the Manhattan DA campaigned on a promise to prosecute the former president. Meanwhile, a DOJ review claims that it found no communications between the federal government and Mr. Bragg’s office related to the Trump case.
Our short time together went by far too fast today, so we’ll wrap things up and make that one our last story on the Wednesday edition of the Epoch Times News Brief—already halfway through the week. At some point today, we hope you’ll tell a friend or two about our program as we’re always trying to grow the News Brief Family.
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and we’re always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap things up with a very “notable” quote:
It was basketball great Michael Jordan who said: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
So you know, Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. I’m more of a Lakers fan, but the Bulls are pretty okay!
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas. We appreciate you starting your day with us, enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Thursday of the Epoch Times News Brief! Have an incredible day today.
