Trump was hoping for a slam dunk. But Hunter Biden’s trial has only highlighted his father Joe’s dignity | Emma Brockes

A lie is a lie, but the president's support of his son - and of the legal system - has been moving to see

If you didn't know better, you might think the jury that found Hunter Biden guilty this week knew precisely what they were doing. The evidence against the president's son - that he lied about his drug use on a firearms form six years ago - was overwhelming, but so too was the impression of a trivial, overegged charge. But, by finding him guilty, the jury in this area of solid Democratic support have potentially done more injury to his father's political rival than if they had found him not guilty on all counts.

For those of us watching, the entire spectacle has at times been an uncomfortable exercise in flushing out biases. Like the Trump children, Hunter Biden has the demoralised air of a scion struggling to escape his father's shadow, albeit in a different style. If the Trump boys are chinless dimwits, Hunter has about him the seedy air of a second- or third-tier Hollywood actor, clamped behind aviators and accompanied seemingly everywhere by his much younger wife.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

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