Taking a Deep Dive Into This Week's Political Headlines

It was a busy week on both the national and global scale across the political landscape. From the conviction of Hunter Biden to former President Donald Trump making an appearance on Capitol Hill, here is a look at the top political headlines this week.

Hunter Biden Found Guilty on Three Federal Felony Gun Charges

It took a jury only about three hours of deliberations to find Hunter Biden guilty of the three federal felony gun charges brought against him by a special prosecutor. The son of U.S. President Joe Biden was found guilty of being in violation of the laws put in place to prevent those with a known drug addiction from buying and possessing firearms. The conviction came a little over one week after the trial began in Wilmington, Delaware. This was the first time in U.S. history that a child of a sitting president has been found guilty of a federal crime.

While President Biden was not in the courtroom when the verdict was handed down on Tuesday morning, he traveled to Wilmington to be with his family later in the day. Hunter Biden was surrounded by many friends and family on Tuesday and in the days preceding the verdict. First lady Dr. Jill Biden was in attendance throughout the trial to offer her support.

The president's son faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to 750,000. However, legal experts say that he will likely receive a far lesser sentence as a first-time offender. No sentencing date has been announced but the judge said to expect this to happen in approximately 120 days.

President Biden Confirms He Will Not Pardon His Son Hunter

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to reporters at the G7 summit on Thursday, confirming that he will accept the decision of the jury to convict his son on three federal gun charges. This marked the first public comments made by the president in response to the Tuesday conviction of Hunter Biden. The president also confirmed that he will not pardon or commute the sentence. President Biden took the opportunity in front of the media in Italy to add that he is proud of Hunter Biden for overcoming his drug addiction.

The U.S. law dictates that presidents have the executive power to pardon or reduce sentences. Hunter Biden will receive his formal sentence in about three months.

Donald Trump Returns to Capitol Hill for the First Time Since January 6, 2021

Former President Donald Trump spent part of the day Thursday on Capitol Hill meeting with leaders of the GOP, marking his first return to the legislative branch's home since the events of January 6, 2021. Trump met with House GOP members behind closed doors, discussing a variety of issues and how to approach the upcoming presidential campaign. According to reports coming out of the meeting room, Trump focused a good amount of time on the controversial issues of abortion. The former president advised party leaders to not take their foot off the pedal on the issue, following their convictions but being willing to allow the practice in times of rape, incest, or when the health of the mother is threatened.

The meeting reportedly lasted for slightly over an hour. During this time, Trump leaned on a variety of topics, including why pop star Taylor Swift would want to endorse President Biden.

While the meeting with GOP House members was reported to be contentious at times, the Republicans took time to sing happy birthday to Trump and to give him a game ball and bat from Wednesday's congressional baseball game. Trump turns 79 years old on June 14.

Trump also met with GOP leaders in the Senate a few hours later at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the meeting was positive. Pictures from the meeting show the former president and McConnell shaking hands. This is significant as the two have sparred in recent years, leading to a distant relationship between the pair of party leaders.

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Allowing Mifepristone to Stay on the Market

The U.S. Supreme Court gave a win to the pro-choice movement on Thursday when it rejected a lawsuit challenging the approach of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the abortion pill known as mifepristone. The unanimous decision means that the drug will remain on the market. The highest court in the land ruled that the physicians and pro-life groups that challenged the access to mifepristone did not have the required standing to bring forth a lawsuit. By dismissing the case on what is largely considered to be a technicality, more challenges could come forth in the future.

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000 as one part of a two-drug regimen used to end a pregnancy. The drug is also often used for miscarriage treatment. Access to the drug has become more important following the overturning of Roe v. Wade two years ago. Thursday's ruling is a meaningful setback for the pro-life movement.

House GOP Holds U.S. Attorney General in Contempt

Members of the House GOP voted on Wednesday to hold current U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. The overwhelming majority of the GOP believes that Garland should be held in contempt because he did not provide the audio recordings of the interviews conducted by former special counsel Robert Hur and President Joe Biden about how the president handled classified information.

Republicans in the House believe that the audio recordings were necessary as they conducted the impeachment inquiry into the president. The U.S. Department of Justice continues to maintain that the written transcripts that they delivered should be enough that the audio files are unnecessary.

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