Jurors in the Hunter Biden gun case have begun deliberating, and must now decide the fate of the US president’s son.
The 54-year-old is accused of lying about his drug use on a federal form while buying a weapon in 2018.
For days, prosecutors presented evidence to suggest that Mr Biden was in the throes of addiction when he purchased the gun in Delaware.
His defence team say he was in recovery and therefore not a drug user at the time.
Mr Biden, who did not testify, denies the three related charges.
If convicted, he could face up 25 years in prison.
“No one is above the law,” prosecutor Leo Wise said during closing arguments on Monday, as the first criminal trial of a sitting US president’s son drew to a conclusion.
He called the evidence against Mr Biden, which included evidence from multiple ex-girlfriends about his drug use, “ugly” and “overwhelming”.
Prosecutors have accused Mr Biden of lying on a form about his drug use when he bought the gun and ammunition on 12 October 2018 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Mr Biden’s defence team reject the claim that he was in the throes of drug addiction at that time.
His lawyers say he was in recovery, so was truthful when he indicated on the paperwork that he was not a drug user.
Mr Biden’s family members sat in the row behind him in Delaware’s federal court. Jill Biden – his step-mother and the president’s wife – has been in court for five of the six days it has sat.
The start of proceedings on Monday was focused on a legal technicality. Mr Biden’s lawyers wanted the 12 jurors to be told during jury instructions that he filled out the form “in good faith”. The prosecution disagreed.
The discrepancy is linked to the question of whether Mr Biden “knowingly” lied on the form.
Last week, prosecutors used Mr Biden’s own words from his memoir to argue that he knowingly misled the gun shop when declaring that he was not a drug addict.
Prosecutors played excerpts from an audiobook version in which Mr Biden talks about being addicted to crack cocaine for four years, a period which overlapped with his gun purchase.
The court also heard from Mr Biden’s ex-romantic partners, including Hallie Biden. Hallie – Mr Biden’s brother’s widow – testified she found “remnants” of crack cocaine in Mr Biden’s car in which she also found the gun.
However, during cross-examination, Ms Biden confirmed she had not seen him using drugs around the time of his gun purchase.
Throughout the trial, the defence has attempted to cast doubt on the memories of the prosecution’s witnesses, challenging them about their memories of events.