vagueness. that's something that could be raised in the course of the appeal. >> quickly, lisa, as we await this press conference and remarks from special counsel david weiss, in any moment, what will you be watching for? >> i will be watching to see if they stay as civil minded about their responsibilities, as joyce predicted they would be. and whether they confirm that an individual situation can be tragic and the rule of law prevailed. that's a duality that some have difficulty challenging. this case was brought and it was justice. >> lisa, joyce, thank you so much. that's going to do it for us this hour. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern. much more breaking news next with chris jansing reports, right now. ♪♪ good day. i'm chris jansing, live at msnbc

headquarters in new york city. 2:56. that's the length of the deliberation by hunter biden's jury to convict him on all three felony counts, tied to lying on a federal form about his drug use in order to get a gun. any moment now, special counsel david weiss will speak about the verdict and we will have that for you live. now, the question facing the president's son, the same one facing joe biden's political opponent, donald trump. will he be sentenced to time behind bars? and the other big question -- what will president biden say about all of this? although he released a written statement saying he accepts the outcome of the case, the president will have his first chance to respond on camera later this hour, when he talks about gun safety in washington, d.c. big picture, this has been a trial defined not just by the law but by what it says about the criminal justice system and what it says about the biden family and close friends. as many as 15 supporters showing

up on any given day, including the first lady of the united states on five of those days. our team inside the courtroom, that hunter biden nodded as the verdict was read. he hugged his attorneys and kissed his wife, before leaving with her and the first lady about 90 minutes ago. the judge set a sentencing date with possibility of time behind bars. but the certainty this verdict will resonate beyond the courtroom, into the living rooms of millions of americans who know themselves or through family and friends, the devastation of addiction that was at the heart of this case and notably into a presidential campaign that's unprecedented on so many levels. let's begin with the legal questions. i want to bring in ken dilanian outside of the courthouse in wilmington, delaware. andrew weissmann is a former senior member of the mueller probe.

and katherine christian in studio. ken, what happens now? >> as we await remarks from the special counsel, we have a statement from abbe lowell, the lead defense attorney. he said we're disappointed by today's verdict. we respect the jury process and we will pursue all the legal challenges available to hunter. through all these been in recovery, including this trial, hunter is grateful for and blessed by the love and support of his family. hunter biden released a statement saying he was more grateful for the support he's gotten from friends and family than he is chagrinned by the verdict in this case. what's next, obviously, is a sentencing date that the judge will set a certain point from now, some time within 120 days. and this case, the conviction here, chris, significantly complicates his situation in the trial that he's facing in september, which, arguably, is the more serious of the two

felony cases against him. the multiple tax felony charges. if he is convicted in that case, he will no longer be a person without a criminal record. that could significantly impact his sentence in that case, in the tax case. lots of repercussions stemming from the felony conviction of hunter biden, chris. >> katherine, what's your reaction? and what's your take on how and why it came down so quickly? or maybe in a case it is not quick but felt like it to us. >> our reaction is it's a fair and justice verdict, but a sad verdict. they offered hunter biden a diversion program and they were going to dismiss the charges. it's sad because of the fact of the case. it's quick because there was no defense other than, he wrote this book about being an addict. you heard him on the book tape, saying he was an addict. but at the time he checked it off in his head, he didn't believe he was one. that was all they had. and the jury did their job.

they did not let sympathy, you know, get in the way. >> we look what is happening now. the former president had his information interview. that's going to go for hunter biden, as well. give us a sense of how sentencing will unfold. >> it's very similar. even though the donald trump case is a state case, as catherine has noted in our office, this is a federal case. but the two systems in maine work similarly, in that there is an interview by the probation department that looks at characteristics of the offense and characteristics with respect to the offender. the fact it's a first-time offense, whether there's any mitigating circumstances. and then, what is the offense

about? the same way that was done with respect to donald trump, it will be done with respect to hunter biden. both sides will get to weigh in and be heard by the judge. the defendant in both cases get to be heard by the judge. and then, the judge makes a decision as to what this sentence will be. we know there is a date with respect to donald trump. it's july 11th. this will take a couple of months at least for the probation department and that process to be undertaken with respect to hunter biden. i do think when you pull back, chris, and look at the two cases. one, as catherine said, you have an example of jurors in both systems, not really caring about whether it is the son of the president or a former president, and not being moved one way or the other, in terms of favor and just doing their job. you see the rule of law in this

country at its best. and you also have the way in which the defendant and the defendant's family has responded to that rule of law. and there couldn't be a greater contrast there. that is where i think the biggest, to me, the biggest impact, the import of what we are seeing, is that contrast between the current president and his family, including the defendant, hunter biden, accepting what happened, not attacking the jurors, not attacking witnesses, not attacking the judge. you have a president who could have told the justice department not to go forward, who could have pardoned his son. none of that is happening. all of it is a respect for our institutions. and with respect to the former president, it's anything but that. >> the jury, andrew, obviously they have been able to look aside, or not consider, this was the son of a president of the united states. but you can't ignore the

political implications in all of you that are in this business know what these last several years have been like, in terms of attacks on the system. we're getting a ton of them already, reaction, saying this was essentially illegitimate. for example, senator tom contin, hunter may be guilty of these crimes but so are joe biden and d.o.j. of political corruption. i'm looking at the podium and i want to ask you about special counsel david weiss. he made history as the first person to testify before a congressional committee in the midst of a probe. he was appointed to lead the ongoing criminal investigation into hunter biden. now, we are waiting for him to speak, andrew. what do you think he is going to say? and are you surprised he is going to say anything? >> great questions. let me take the last question first. the unusual nature of his speaking now, is that this

prosecution is not over. there are charges, tax charges, that are pending that are going to be tried in september. and so, it's going to be very important for the special counsel, not to be commenting in any way, shape or form, on that part of an ongoing criminal case. he has to be very careful in terms of what he says here because of the ongoing nature. the second, going to the propriety. there's no question that there was a very strong case. that's why the jury came back so quickly, as catherine correctly observed. there wasn't much of a defense here other than really jury nullification. and the jury did their job here. but there's two issues when you're a prosecutor. one is can you bring a case? does this -- do the facts warrant it? but the more important question is, should you bring a case?

so, that is the one where even if you do have the proof, you don't bring every case that could be brought. and there's lots of reasons for that. since is this the crime that you would routinely bring? are you bringing it or in any way influenced by the name of the person? those allegations were made with respect to dch. you don't want to bring a case just because it's donald trump. the same way you don't want to bring charges because it is hunter biden. i think those are legitimate questions i think are always asked and should be asked when you're bringing cases with respect to political figures or family members of political figures because it's incumbent upon the department of justice to act without fear or favor. there's no question on the underlying facts, the jury's conclusion here is one that no fair-minded person could say, that it's not based on the facts and the law as it currently

exists. >> we're getting our first view inside that jury deliberation room, catherine. cnn was able to speak to one juror anonymously. here's what they said about the process. >> yesterday, when the case was handed over to us, we went to the deliberating room. we weren't there that long to late in the evening. so, we just decided, okay, the first thing we're going to do is let's vote now and see how the count was. we voted and it was 6-6. now, i don't believe that any of them were trying to change their minds. we weren't trying to change anybody's mind. it's just the fact that i think they said no because they want more information. they want to talk more about the case. >> so, they came back today.

they talked more about the case. i think it is always interesting to people who are not part of the system to know that you can go in, 6-6, and a couple of hours later later you come in with everybody finding him guilty on all three charges. i wonder what you make of this. i think the jury really wanted to talk about the case. that's taking that seriously. we just got the case. let's give it more time and let's discuss it. we know where we want to vote but let's make sure we're on the same page. this is a guilty verdict. this is a big deal. that's what they did. they took their oath seriously. sad verdict. but legally correct verdict. they followed the law. >> i think we're probably getting close because they're testing the mics. i may have to interrupt you. i'm curious, catherine, i would be surprised for exactly the reasons that andrew pointed out, if david weiss took any questions. he is probably going to make a

statement. that will probably be it. if there was a question, given the atmosphere surrounding hunter biden and this case and the criticism that came quickly despite of the guilty verdict, what's your question for him? >> i would -- first of all, he shouldn't answer any questions. if he did, i would sort of, you know, erase this thing that this was the prosecution that was selective or it should have been, you know, harsher. he shouldn't answer that question. if he wanted to erase that, he followed the facts, the rule of law, and that's why he brought this prosecution. he shouldn't answer any questions. and the reality is, the d.o.j. right now, downtown manhattan, there's a democrat who is a senator, on trial. so, to say the biden and d.o.j. is only going after trump and republicans is inaccurate. >> ken, ken dilanian, to say this is tricky stuff, maybe understates it. >> you know, that's a great point that catherine just made. we cannot say enough that this is the biden justice department.

it's independent. but it's part of the biden administration, that prosecuted the son of the president. and they are prosecuting other democrats right now. it's ironic that just today, attorney general merrick garland has an op-ed in "the washington post," really pushing back hard on unfair demagoguery and criticism of the justice department. suggesting it was corrupt. >> i need to interrupt you. david weiss. >> i'm david weiss. i'm special counsel. earlier today, hunter biden was convicted of two counts of lying on a form submitted to a federal firearms dealer about his addiction or use of crack-cocaine and possessing a firearm while a user or addict. there have been two overarching themes emphasized by the prosecution during trial. this defendant's illegal choices and the rule of law.

first, while there has been much testimony about the defendant's abuse of drugs and alcohol, ultimately this case was not just about addiction. a disease that haunts families across the united states, incluing hunter biden's family. this case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction. his choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun. and the choice to then possess that gun. it was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs, that made his conduct dangerous. second, no one in this country is above the law. everyone must be accountable for their actions, even this defendant. however, hunter biden should be no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of this same conduct. the prosecution has been and will continue to be committed to

this principle and to the principles of federal prosecution in carrying out its responsibilities. i want to thank the jury for their service. there are few civic responsibilities more important than jury service. 15 delawareans came to court each day and performed their responsibilities in a professional and conscientious manner. we thank them. i want to thank derek heinz and the special counsel team. i'm so proud of this group of attorneys, agents and litigation professionals. this is a difficult assignment. these folks have been working seven days a week for the last couple months, litigating a variety of issues in district and appellate courts on two coasts. they have given their heart and soul to this work. they represent the best that public service has to offer.

i am incredibly grateful. finally, i want to thank attorney general garland for providing the support necessary to fulfill our mission, ensuring we have the independence to appropriately pursue our investigations and prosecutions. as you know, we have additional trials and investigative work to be done. so, i will not entertain questions at this time. our work continues. thank you for your consideration. >> the reporters are trying but special counsel david weiss came to say what he wanted to say, that no one in this country is above the law. and jurors who worked hard on this case found hunter biden guilty on three counts, two related to lying on a government form, one on obtaining a gun while he was in the throes of addiction or under the influence of drugs. and he made it clear, this was

not a kals that he said is about addiction. it was about the illegal choices that were made while in the throes of addiction. i want to bring in msnbc justice and legal affairs, anthony coley, senior adviser to merrick garland. lisa rubin is also here on-set and back with us. former fbi general counsel, andrew weissmann and msnbc legal analyst catherine christian. anthony, i want to start with you. i'm looking at some of the reaction that we just heard from members of congress. that includes this from andrew clyde. hunter biden's verdict is an attempt to create the illusion of equal justice. don't fall for it. eric burleson from missouri. while a step in the right direction, he, meaning joe biden -- or hunter biden --

needs to answer for the many crimes he and his father have committed. bob goode, hunter biden is convicted of an actual crime. donald trump was railroaded by a political prosecutor and a bias judge. i can go on and on and on. and i want to get your reaction as you watched somebody who put a good bit of his life on hold to become the special prosecutor in this case. the jurors, who put their lives on hold, to adjudicate, help come to a decision in this case and listened very carefully. did, frankly, what the prosecutor asked them to do, ignore the people who are sitting out there watching, which included the sitting first lady of the united states. and came to what they believed was a justice verdict. i want to get your reaction to what the reaction has been from the right. >> well, chris, i was at the justice department when the attorney general made two out of

the three special counsel appointments. he did so in each of the instances to reassure the american people that whatever decision was appropriate, that it was undisputedly determined by facts and the law. that's how we got here. and to those people who, some are saying this was a political prosecution, if this were a political prosecution, then david weiss would have brought these charges when he was a trump-era u.s. attorney. this is what following the facts and following the law looks like. but i'm going to step back and do big picture for a moment. if we really want to -- we really want to take a look at how this is really going over, i'm mindful that hunter biden is not running for president. joe biden is running for president. and i'm more concerned, quite frankly, and thankful, for his reaction to this case. he's reacted, number one, as a

father. we would all be so lucky, chris, if we had a father who loved us unconditionally, despite all of our flaws, through the ups and downs of whatever problems we face in our lives. and then, as president, what is so striking, and andrew weissmann alluded to this a couple moments ago, joe biden said he will not pardon his son. to me, that rebuilds the character of a man. and it also rebuilds his respect for the rule of law. in another world, before donald trump entered the scene, all of these republican congressmen, the quotes you just mentioned, they would respect the rule of law. it's a shame that so many people speaking out in this way. what's disheartening is so many moderate and conservative republicans who say they are pro-democracy and

pro-constitution, they remain silent while othes on the right, are speaking out in this way. that's disheartening to me. their silence in this moment, against these attacks, is a sign of complicity. >> lisa, there is something else that david weiss said. no one is more accountable than any other citizen. there's people on the other side of this who would argue, that's not true. most cases, correct me if i'm wrong, catherine -- most cases are not brought to trial. most cases are, in fact, finished with a plea agreement of some sort, which is where this one seemed to be headed. is this a case where someone was no more accountable than anyone else? >> i'm not sure that's historically accurate. at least when we think of who has been charged and brought to a jury verdict on charges like these. these are rarely charges that are brought on a standalone

basis. the associated press reported last week, of people that are applying for gun permits, less than one-tenth of 1% of people who apply for gun permits are denied those on the basis of the answer of the question at issue here. are you a user of or are you addicted to a controlled substance, a narcotic, a stimulant. that shows how rarely people are denied to own a gun on the basis of this question. i think the point that david weiss is trying to make, is about the sentencing about this conviction. i think what he is trying to convey to people is, we're not going to go for blood here. we're going to be proportional. even though we brought this case, to trial. when it becomes time to sentence hunter biden, we're going to be measured, proportional and take account how these charges are traditionally punished in our system. if someone gets them through a

plea or jury verdict, we're going to be measured appropriate. we're not going to try to sentence this guy to ten years, which is the statutory maximum. we're going to think of the other factors that would go into a sentencing recommendation, under the federal sentencing guidelines, that might knock him down to a year or less, or a recommendation of no jail time at all. hunter biden is now married. he's reportedly clean. he's raising a young son. and he is trying to make his living as an artist. by all accounts, his life today is remarkably different than the life he was leading at the time that led to these charges. that's what i thought david weiss was trying to convey in his statements today. >> i think there's another affect of this, catherine, which is remorse. that may be part of it, certainly when the conversations have with the probations officer. i want to ask you the idea of proportion. one thing that has been talked about in the case of donald trump is, he's 77 years old. he has no criminal record. it was a nonviolent crime.

what would the considerations here be considered for a sentence that does not include incarceration? >> well, as lisa said, it would be penalizing going for the trial, when last year they offered him a diversion program. the only thing that has changed from last year today, he's an artist, he's a father, he's still, from all appearances, in recovery. he is still an addict, in rehabilitation. he's not using anymore. so -- and i think he's 54 years old. he's not a kid. those for me, argue why there should not be an incarceration sentence from the facts. >> the statement from abbe lowell is just respecting the verdict, respecting the process. through all this, he says hunter -- through all that hunter has been through in his

recovery, including this trial, he has felt grateful for and blessed by the love and support of his family. that echoes what the president said. it echoes what we saw in the first lady, what we saw in family members and friends who showed up day after day in court. usually, we expect an appeal. are there strong grounds for an appeal that you see at all, andrew, in this case? >> quickly, i want to look at something that david weiss said that i took note of. he said, i'm not taking questions because of two things -- he said, there is another trial. and he said, and investigation. that issue of whether there was a spending investigation, is part of what scuttled the plea deal a year ago. there was a kerfuffle where the

defense said they thought they were buying complete peace if they pled guilty to resolve everything. and david weiss' office said, no, there's still an ongoing investigation. his language was interesting because it didn't preclude that ongoing investigation. and we heard republicans talk about a foreign agent registration act investigation. i prosecuted that statute. i have to say, it's a serious matter. but it doesn't carry with it any sentencing guideline that would be remotely comparable to the crimes that are charged in the september case or the ones he was just convicted of. that was just a note to me. on the issue to directly answer your question, i think the main issue on appeal is going to be the constitutionality of these provisions, where a number of conservative justices and

analysts have the view these are unconstitutional restrictions, on the second amendment. in other words, that just because you're using drugs or had an addiction, even if that was a term that was sufficiently defined and not vague, an issue that lisa has flagged for us, that issue is one that is inappropriate to preclude you from owning a gun, they say is protected under the second amendment. and amy coney barrett has issued a decision and opined on this in the court of appeals, prior to becoming a justice on the supreme court, very sympathetic to that argument. that you have to pay attention to the second amendment right to own a firearm. that's a pure legal issue. you may see a marriage of hunter

biden's defense team and conservative jurists and thinkers. not a natural alliance. but if you think the statute is unconstitutional, it's for one or all. it doesn't matter if you like or dislike the defendant. that will be the main issue on appeal. >> a juror pointed out that hunter biden has an unlikely fan base, that are people that fight for fewer gun restrictions. there's one with a youtube channel with millions of viewers who has suggested what is happening to hunter biden is unconstitutional. not really fans of his father. a lot more to come on this. andrew, catherine, lisa. anthony, you're going to stay with me. we're waiting for president biden to speak at an event on guns. will he speak about his son's guilty verdict? you're watching "chris jansing reports" only on msnbc.

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in just minutes, we may hear from president biden at a long-scheduled gun safety event. now, of course, it is his first chance to comment publicly on his son, hunter's, felony conviction, if he decides to do so. i want to bring in mike outside of the courthouse. parker is an msnbc political

analyst. anthony coley is senior adviser to merrick garland. he's also an msnbc justice and legal affairs analyst. i know you've been covering joe biden since what? 2007, when he was still a senator. tell us about his relationship with hunter biden and what we might hear from him today if he decides to talk. >> president biden talks about how that accident when hunter biden wasn't even 3 years old, changed the father he was and changed the public servant he was. just weeks after he had been elected to the senate for the first time, he lost his wife and infant daughter and saw his sons injured in that accident. rather than move his family to washington, he was commute on amtrak every day, to and from wilmington to be with his boys.

over the course of their time today, it was beau biden that seemed like it would he would inherit his father's family business and enter into politics. he was attorney general and planned to run for governor before he was diagnosed with cancer. hunter talked that he felt he was the one that had to bring in income, to work for the family. the death of beau did change so much. hunter wrote in that book, the book that has been part of the case here, introduced as evidence by the prosecution, where he talked about the fact that beau's death did affect him and his father in different ways. his father immersed himself in his work. he turned to addiction. and in the statement today, we see from president biden, speaking about the pride he feels seeing his son now come through on the other side. chris, we have new information worth sharing, as well. after the president delivers this speech at this gun safety event, the white house announcing that the president will fly up here to wilmington, to spend the rest of the day with the family. we know the first lady, dr. jill

biden is already here. she left the courthouse with her son earlier. the president used to take as a senator, amtrak to and from the train station that's named after him. it's the joseph r. biden jr. rail station. instead, he will be flying air force one to a national guard base that is named after his son beau biden. a poignant reminder of the toll that this family has been through over the years. tragedies that they had at a difficult moment, seeing his son convicted of three felony gun counts. >> ashley, we talked a lot about how millions of americans understand these kinds of difficult moments. they know addiction firsthand or through someone close to them. we also showed a poll earlier this week that indicated the one area where president biden gets his highest marks from the american people is compassion. i wonder if the political impact is less likely to be about how voters view this or his family's

reaction to it. and more the toll the conviction might take on the president himself, heading into the most intense period of a brutal re-election campaign. >> you saw that in the president's statement, talking about, yes, i'm president but i'm also a father. i'm so proud of my son who has struggled with addiction. but as anyone who has struggled with addiction themselves, or has a family member or friend who has struggled with it, it's not just that person struggling. it's everyone in their orbit. it's their family and friends. their partners. it's their colleagues. and so, this absolutely has taken a tremendous toll on joe biden and his family. not the president himself. but the biden family, including the first lady, were very present there. as mike can tell you in wilmington, in the courtroom, and in talking to biden's aides, even people with him when he was vice president, maybe no longer

in his white house, they said that one of the things that kept him -- them up at night was hunter. and how hunter was doing. more than a crisis in the middle east. and so, of course, this is going to take an emotional toll. >> on the other side, we got a statement from the trump campaign. it says, quote, this trail has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crime of the biden crime family, that raked in millions of dollars from china and ukraine. the crooked empire is coming to an end on november 5th. never again will a government sell access for personal profit. despite all of the investigations, house republicans looking, there is nothing. they found nothing. >> right. >> there is nothing to back up what the trump campaign put in that statement. that said, what do you think

this verdict might do to donald trump's political argument that the justice system has been weaponized against him? i'm not talking about his base. his base is not going to be proved. they're going to believe everything in that statement. i think in general, do you think there's some impact? ashley? >> well, you can -- you can -- it's pretty clear, obviously, that the biden justice department is behaving as a justice department should be, which is as an independent entity. do i think it will change things politically? it's hard to say. not necessarily, frankly, because as you point out, i think it's important that everyone understands this. everything that trump is claiming in that statement, there's no evidence. it's not true. that is trump's political superpower, his willingness to be shameless and to sort of muddy the waters by injecting things into the ether that

aren't true. and sometimes talking to voters, you know, i'll hear them mention, isn't there something about hunter? it's hard for voters to disentangle a son of a president struggling with addiction, that led to a conviction, to false claims or claims with no evidence, that a former president is making sort of a political aims to hurt his opponent. >> and this gives, anthony, the folks that are opponents of joe biden, a chance to go after him and after hunter biden, more broadly to go after the justice system again. justice department merrick garland have been punching bags for many republicans. as we were talking about with andrew, you got another tax case coming up, potentially another case involving hunter biden. and there's question about

whether these are the kind of statements that could potentially influence future jury pools. talk about what we're hearing now. not just from his supporters but from the trump campaign itself and the potential impact of that. >> well, chris, it's more of the same. i will start with the following fact. one of the first actions that house republicans took, when they assumed control over -- over the house, in january of 2023, they stood up this brand-new committee, that was meant to look at the weaponization of the biden administration. and in particular, the justice department. after a year and a half of hearings and document requests, they have nothing, they have zero. that's because there is no weaponization of the justice department. we don't have to look any further than what happened today with joe biden's justice department prosecuting joe

biden's son. that throws it out the window. there is a small sliver of republicans who, no matter what, they are in this ecosystem. they are going to believe what donald trump says. what we have seen in recent polling, roughly three of four out of ten independents, they don't know what to believe about this type of stuff. so, it's important, incumbent upon the biden campaign and others, to draw the contrast, between joe biden and his vision for the future. he is fighting for people around the country. donald trump is fighting for himself. he is fighting to stay out of jail. we know from history that incumbent presidents tend to win re-election when that contrast

is made clear. when the race is not a ref run dumb on them, but a vision between two distinct ideologies. that's what is incumbent upon the white house to do at this moment. that's going to be leading into the first debate later this month. >> i want people to know because we've been watching on the left side of this screen, this gun sense university, this everytown group, having this conference. joe biden, long scheduled to speak about something that has been important to him for a very long time. now, the motorcade is rolling to that event, that was scheduled to start a few minutes ago. as we wait for that, i want to bring this a republican strategist and msnbc analyst, susan del persio. susan, good to have you here. with all of this going on in the

presidential campaign, or with joe biden, most immediately, is facing an inconsequential debate at the end of the month, the biden campaign believes that gun control could be a motivating issue this year, particularly for suburban educated, college educated women. i wonder what motivates them. it hasn't happened, to the extent that a lot of people thought it would, for example. in the aftermath of newtown, when a lot of children were killed. name any of the other ones, whether it's uvalde, a concert, in las vegas, i could go on and on, about mass shootings in this country. is this going to be a political issue this year? >> i don't see it having any real decisive impact on the campaign. there's always ways of targeting certain people, certain communities. whether it's women in the suburbs, where there's a lot of gun violence, where we've seen

pick up in certain states. that, you can target. overall, i don't see it competing with the issues of democracy and abortion, frankly. there's only so much messaging you can do. broadly, we'll probably see joe biden wants to protect democracy. he wants to protect a woman's right to choose and he wants to protect your children. that could be part of a theme. the gun safety event, i hate to say it right now but in some ways, it's checking a box. it's important, don't get me wrong. and joe biden passed some of the most important -- it wasn't huge gun legislation, but the first time it happened in 40 years. bipartisan gun safety legislation, which was really meaningful at the time. and sadly, as you said before, we see so much gun violence in this country. if we see a mass shooting, god forbid, closer to election, that could change things. >> let me ask you about the reaction of republicans and the

messaging going on in this. and there's people who, what they have said, about the biden family. nothing is surprising. they talked about it before. the justice system found hunter biden guilty on all counts has not changed their messaging at all. do you think it will silence some of the middle? and do you think there's danger for republicans who are in tough fights? that they need to stay away from this? >> well, it's interesting. a not guilty verdict would have been better for hunter biden. but a guilty verdict negates where trump and some of the republicans can go on this, as far as weaponizing the justice system. if trump goes too far, the suburban women we talked about earlier, they are going to be turned off about this. one thing is clear -- today, and in donald trump's case, our justice system is working the

way it should. and i don't think people want to hear that it should be underminded, that you shouldn't trust it. it's one of the pillars of our country. we want to have faith in it. we want to have faith in our democracy. i believe that pushing too hard, it won't -- it could backfire. it certainly won't help. >> one of the things the republicans have been pushing hard on and donald trump in particular, is crime and crime statistics and misrepresenting what the statistics say. the latest fbi stats highlight a huge drop in crime. and the campaign, the biden campaign, is using that to hit back on donald trump. quote, president biden has worked hard to clean up his mess, meaning donald trump's mess, and it's working. crime has fallen drastically in the first quarter of 2024 across all major indicators. that's not the crime by the biden campaign. those are the statistics that actually reflect what's going on. but can they really push back on

something that donald trump has been going on about for a very long time, with facts? it sounds like a ridiculous question. but it's a serious question. >> donald trump doesn't deal with facts. he won an election in 2016 by not dealing in facts. and one of the things he talked about back then, when he came down the escalator was crime and migrants. and make no mistake about it, that's where he is going again. and while the biden campaign can give -- the administration is give all of the statistics you want, when you see these instances, very few and seldom. but migrant crime -- and those that are here illegally, commit crime and it makes the front page of "the new york post" or gets a splashing news headline, people think of migrant crime as an issue. in suburbs, like on long island, it is, in fact, an issue. we have -- there is a lot of gang violence from south american countries gang members

that have come in there. it does resonate. and you can't tell someone to feel safe with a statistic. they have to feel that way. just like what we saw in new york city with subway crime. people saw police and started to feel safer. >> one of the things that you'll hear almost certainly, or certainly that you have heard in the past, is that fewer guns make us more safe. we're going to wait to hear -- hear what president biden has to say, as a prepared speech. will he speak on what happened with his son, hunter biden, and the three felony convictions that were just announced in court in delaware? a quick brea back with that live event after this. back with that live event after this oooh! i can't wait for this family getaway! shingles doesn't care. shingles is a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. ahhh, there's nothing like a day out with friends.

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we're getting new reaction

from capitol hill after hunter biden was convicted on all counts. julie, what are you hearing? >> reporter: you have republicans who are pointing to this verdict saying this is a good thing he was charged in this case. they are also pointing to the upcoming tax case in california. just a couple of moments ago in the rules committee for the garland contempt resolution, the case to hold attorney general in contempt of congress for not turning over those tapes of president biden's interview with the special counsel. jim mcgovern and jamie raskin brought up the fact that hunter biden was charged this morning, the republicans can stop saying the department of justice is being weaponized against conservative. i wanted to ask the question to the congressman i'm with of tennessee. what's your reaction to the verdict, charged on all three felony counts in that gun

possession case? >> well, since the jury came back so fast, it was pretty evident. was he on drugs or not on drugs when he obtained a federal fire arms license. the jury found the right thing. the real test is going to be the punishment that's doled out and the conservatives will tell you trump was charged with a misdemeanor changed to a felony, but this is clearly a felony. i don't think either side is ever going to be happy. >> mcgovern said in the rules committee, why are republicans saying the trump conviction is not warranted, that is political, but in this case of hunter biden, the verdict is justice? >> well, under the trump case, it was, they changed the statute of limitations and again, it was a misdemeanor and they changed it to a felony. in my opinion, it was a bookkeeping error. he was president of the united states. his accountant or bookkeeper put

something in one column where it should have been in another. all the details have nothing to do. those were not the crime. they're claiming the crime was the moving from one category to another. so and then the other hand, you're talking about a firearm. it's apples to oranges. >> reporter: do you think the department of justice is still weaponized against conservatives? >> absolutely. when they tell school moms they're domestic terrorists because they don't like what's being taught, we can go into it, but yes, ma'am. >> reporter: clearly, you see here republicans still think the department of justice is weaponized against conservatives. democrats have tried to draw clear contrast in that because hunter biden was charged today in this gun case and donald trump also charged in his case as well here. so there you go, chris. >> yeah, i want to mention that

dan ebb r heart just told nbc news this undercuts the argument of the justice department. he thinks they should be focusing on the economy, not court cases, but we'll see how this all plays out. thank you for your reporting. we have much more coverage still to come on the hunter biden guilty verdict at the top of our next hour. more chris jansing reports just after this. more chris jansing reports just after this sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand. and wakes up feeling like himself. get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪ nothing dims my light like a migraine. with nurtec odt, i found relief. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt.

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