After having a plea deal rejected last year and in the wake of the, shall we say, controversial trial of Donald Trump, accused felon Hunter Biden went before a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, to begin his own trial, with jury selection completed late yesterday — on Jill Biden’s birthday.

Unlike Donald Trump’s trial, which involved dubiously inflated misdemeanor counts that somehow magically turned into felonies and was placed in the middle of a population that detests him, the younger Biden’s jury for these felony counts — as dictated by the U.S. Code — has been selected mostly among a city of Wilmington population that voted 87% for his father in the 2020 election. (Surrounding New Castle County “only” supported Biden with 65% of their vote.) As one prospective juror noted, “Wilmington is a small place.” The jury includes a woman who volunteered that she was a donor to Barack Obama but does not include a prospective juror who donated to Trump, a juror who was excused.

Initially, the prospective plea agreement rejected last year by federal Judge Maryellen Noreika would have excused Hunter Biden with a slap on the wrist for these charges, which involve him stating on a federal gun purchase application that he was not addicted to drugs, then having his gun disposed of in a dumpster near a school days later by his former sister-in-law-turned-lover. While Biden is now staring at a prospective 25 years in the clink, it’s doubtful he’ll serve anywhere near that long if found guilty. (This writer guesses that, if convicted, Hunter will be given probation for some medium length of time, like 18 months to two years.)

Regardless, the six men and six women, plus alternates, will hear a case that seems fairly cut and dried but has the additional attraction of having the freedom of the president’s lone surviving son at stake. This has given Joe and Jill Biden the opportunity to play the role of caring, doting parents who aren’t actually using Hunter to buy influence. Whether it’s bike rides in Rehoboth Beach, invites to state dinners, or commemorating the passing of Hunter’s brother Beau last week, the family has been relatively inseparable the past few weeks. “I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” said Joe Biden. “Our family has been through a lot together, and Jill and I are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support.”

However, according to NBC News, after this initial burst of activity, the Biden family will maintain radio silence. “There won’t be any rapid-response statements coming from the Wilmington headquarters about developments inside the federal courthouse,” they claim, adding that the Biden campaign wants to avoid the appearance of impropriety. (Seems a bit late for that.) Helping in that regard is that the trial commences just days before Joe Biden begins a trip to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and returns to Europe later this month for another summit before the first presidential debate on June 27, so those items can fill the news cycle. Hunter’s trial should be “old news” by the time his dad debates Trump, as the proceedings are expected to last two weeks.

Even if Hunter Biden skates on this charge, though, his legal troubles aren’t over: He still has a trial scheduled for September in Los Angeles on the more potentially explosive counts of tax evasion, a charge that could bring items like “ten percent for The Big Guy” into play just as the election heads into the home stretch. It’s more than likely that the Biden defense team will try to push such a trial safely beyond the election, despite the fact its judge, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, informed the Biden defense team in that case that there would be no further delays unless a higher court dictates one.

Since it’s unlikely any of the remaining Trump trials will be proceeding prior to the election, voters will be able to compare and contrast the New York Trump trial with all its faults to how the justice system treats Hunter Biden. Worth noting, though: Both Judge Noreika and Judge Scarsi are Trump appointees, a distinction sure to be played up by media and Democrats as revenge for Trump’s conviction should the younger Biden be found guilty in either case.

And we thought we’d have a nice, quiet summer since the presidential field has been set for a while.