Hunter Biden may reasonably hope for a hung jury in his federal gun trial, but an acquittal is likely "out of reach" according to former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy. 

Prosecutors have used embarrassing photos and videos from Biden's notorious laptop to show that he lied about being addicted to drugs when he bought a firearm in 2018.

Odds of Biden acquittal

The prosecution rested Friday after days of testimony from Biden's former romantic partners, including his sister-in-law Hallie Biden, who was in a relationship with Hunter Biden when he owned the gun.

“Aside from trash and clothes, I found remnants of crack cocaine, paraphernalia — oh, and the gun, obviously," Biden said.

Some legal analysts, like Jonathan Turley, have speculated that jury nullification is a possibility, given the trial's location in Wilmington, Delaware, a Democratic city where the Bidens have long resided.

Despite the "daunting" evidence against him, Biden may be hoping for one or two sympathetic jurors to "resist conviction," McCarthy said, adding an acquittal is probably "out of reach."

“Obviously, Hunter hopes that even though the evidence seems daunting that he can convince a juror to perhaps resist conviction," he said.

"I don’t know, an acquittal may be out of his reach, but really they are teeing up their appeal here," he said.

Biden's ironic appeal argument

The judge in the case, Maryellen Noreika, rejected Biden's efforts to dismiss the case on Second Amendment grounds.

Biden's lawyers have cited the Supreme Court's landmark Bruen case, which held that gun regulations must be rooted in the nation's "historic tradition."

It's an ironic appeal argument, seeing that Biden's father has waged a war on gun ownership. But Biden's defense lawyers will likely make gun rights the center of an appeal, McCarthy said.

"I think they are expecting that we are going to get another Supreme Court case this term, perhaps with more clarity about the viability of long-standing federal restrictions on people who are allowed to have firearms based on certain disabilities like narcotics addiction," McCarthy said.

Even if Biden is successful on the Second Amendment claim, it may have no impact on felony charges for lying to a federal gun dealer and lying on a gun form, McCarthy said.

Biden is also facing charges in September for cheating on his taxes. His father Joe Biden has claimed he would not issue a pardon.