Hunter Biden gun crime trial reveals more evidence of addiction as Beau's widow testifies
Hunter Biden returns to the Delaware federal courthouse for the fourth day in his federal gun crime trial Thursday. Proceedings will begin with the cross examination of Gordon Cleveland, the gun store employee who sold Biden the revolver in 2018. The prosecution says they have six additional witnesses to call.
Coverage for this event has ended.
The surveillance footage of Hallie Biden throwing Hunter Biden's gun away and later going back to look for it on October 23, 2018, has been released by the court.
One clip from Janssen's Market showed Hallie pull up to the store in a BMW and retrieve the gun, which had been placed in a small "gift bag," from the back seat. She then walks to the front of the exterior of the store and placed the bag in an outdoor trashcan.
A separate clip showed Hallie return to the store to frantically search for the gun, which was nowhere to be found at the time. She testified that she asked store employees whether the trash had been taken out.
Hallie testified Thursday that she was cleaning Hunter's car and found the gun, bullets, and remnants of what she believed to be drugs. Hallie described feeling "panicked" and "wanted to get rid" of the gun because she "didn't want him to hurt himself."
"I realize it was a stupid idea now, but I was panicking," Hallie said Thursday.
After finding out what happened, Hallie said Hunter told her to go to the store, look for the gun, and if it wasn't there to file a police report since it was registered in his name. She later filed a police report at Janssen's Market.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and Valerie Biden Owens leave the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 06, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The fourth day of Hunter Biden's trial for federal gun charges has concluded.
Court adjourned for the day around 4:45 p.m. ET. Hunter departed the courthouse at 4:53 p.m. ET.
The prosecution called several more witnesses to the stand Thursday, including Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden and Hunter's ex.
During her testimony, Hallie recounted a June 2018 trip to Los Angeles to meet Hunter at the Roosevelt Hotel, where she used drugs, specifically crack cocaine. She testified that Hunter introduced her to and gave her the drugs. She said she continued using drugs until August 2018, the same month she revisited Hunter at a treatment facility.
Asked about her and Hunter's relationship, Hallie testified that they were romantically involved from late 2015 through 2016 and it was at that time that she learned about Hunter Biden's drug use. Hallie testified that she watched Hunter Biden obtain crack and that his behavior was agitated and high strung.
According to her testimony, Hunter visited Hallie on October 22-23 of 2018. She testified that Hunter came to the house, and that he seemed exhausted. She said that he could’ve been on drugs at the moment. When Hunter went to bed, Hallie decided to clean out his car. She said she had done this before to see if there were any remnants of potential drug use, or alcohol.
When prosecutors asked what she had found, she testified that she found remnants of crack, cocaine, dirty clothes, trash, and the gun.
Prosecutors then pulled out the actual gun that Hunter purchased and brought it to the witness stand. They asked Hallie to identify the firearm, and she said it looked very similar to the gun that she had seen in the car.
Others who took the witness stand Thursday include: Delaware State Police Senior Cpl. Joshua Marley, who responded to the incident at Janssen's Market, the location where Hallie disposed of Hunter's gun; retired Lt. Millard Greer, who offered testimony on how police discovered the gun at the center of the case; and Edward Thomas Banner, the man who recovered Hunter Biden's gun from a dumpster.
Fox News' Aubrie Spady contributed to this update
Edward Thomas Banner, the man who recovered Hunter Biden's gun from a dumpster, took the stand Thursday in court.
Banner, 80, wore a blue suit jacket with a light blue undershirt and glasses to court and had trouble sitting in the witness chair, so Judge Maryellen Noreika helped him. Banner said he served in the Navy for four years, and has been married to his current wife for about 11 years.
Banner had trouble hearing, so prosecutor Derek Hines delivered his questioning next to the witness stand.
Hines asked Banner about his recycling hobby. Banner said he did it to make money, adding "especially now with gas prices."
Banner said he remembered the day when he found the gun, though he didn't remember the exact day.
Surveillance footage played in court showed Banner retrieving the gun from the trash can outside of Janssen's Market.
Hines asked Banner if anyone in his house used cocaine, to which Banner said no.
During cross-examination, Banner was asked by Lowell about specifics from the day when he found the gun. Lowell then asked if the gun was kept in a sock after officer Millard Greer testified in court that the gun was in a sock when Banner gave it to him.
Banner couldn't recall the gun being in a sock, saying, "I don't know nothing about no sock."
Fox News' James Levinson and Aubrie Spady contributed to this update
Former Delaware State Trooper Millard Greer, who now works an investigator for the Justice Department, testified Thursday about the alleged incident in which Hunter Biden's gun was thrown in the trash.
Greer testified that he reviewed the security footage on site and for several days after receiving a USB with the footage.
That footage, which was played in the courtroom, showed an elderly man driving up to the Janssens Market trash cans and looking through the trash before eventually finding a gun.
Greer testified that he interviewed people at the market and was told that the man would often rummage through the trash for recyclables.
Greer said he was then able to locate the man, who locals called "Ed, himself and interviewed him, with the man telling Greer that someone left behind something they shouldn't have in the trash can.
Greer testified that he then went to the man's house to retrieve the gun, and Ed told the trooper that the pouch with the gun contained chapstick, a speed loader, and a box of bullets. Greer said all of the items were taken into evidence.
Greer then testified that he called Hunter Biden to ask if he would like to seek prosecution, to which Biden answered no.
The "Russian information operation" narrative that was pushed by dozens of former intelligence officials and amplified by the Biden campaign a couple weeks before the 2020 election took a major blow this week when the federal government entered Hunter Biden’s laptop into evidence for his gun trial.
After years of the authenticity of the laptop being downplayed by former intel officials, prominent Democrats, and the White House, Hunter’s laptop was officially entered into evidence by Biden's Department of Justice and is being used to attempt to prove that Biden was addicted to drugs at the time he purchased a gun in 2018, a violation of federal law.
The laptop was introduced by prosecutor Derek Hines and handed to FBI agent Erika Jensen, who explained earlier this week how the FBI authenticated the laptop and extracted data. For the gun trial, she testified about dozens of text messages, metadata, photos and short videos found on phones and iCloud accounts belonging to Biden.
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A second state trooper, Lt. Millard Greer, retired, took the stand in the Hunter Biden gun trial.
Greer is expected to testify to how police discovered the gun at the center of the case.
Delaware State Police Senior Cpl. Joshua Marley testified Thursday in court about his response to the incident at Janssen's Market and his interactions with Hunter Biden, who he considered to be a victim of a gun crime at the time.
Marley's testimony lasted for less than 30 minutes as he answered questions from both the prosecution and defense.
Marley gave his account of What happened on the day he received a call and reported to Janssen's on October 23, 2018 – the day Hallie Biden disposed of Hunter's recently purchased firearm in a trashcan there.
When Marley was told what happened about the missing gun, he searched the trash cans and found nothing related to the gun or the gun itself. Hunter then showed up and they interviewed him.
After continuing to search, they had no luck locating the firearm. At this point, Hunter was considered the victim of a crime, and Hunter did not know the serial number of the gun in question when he was asked for it.
Under cross-examination, defense attorney Abbe Lowell attempted to double check the sequence of events.
Marley said he did not remember seeing Hallie at all after completing what he had to do at the grocery store. Marley said he then went to Starquest Shooters and Survival Supply to get the serial number to put into the NITC system in case the gun was used in a crime.
Lowell asked Marley if he ever saw the ATF Form 4473 that Hunter had filled out when he purchased the firearm, but the officer did not ask the store owners for it.
Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this update
Hallie Biden, the sister-in-law who eventually became romantically involved with her brother-in-law, Hunter Biden, has concluded her testimony.
Hallie Biden left the stand and then immediately left the court following the testimony.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell sought to enter certain text messages between Hallie Biden and Hunter Biden into evidence, confusing the jury and others in court.
Lowell and the defense team are trying to introduce some new texts into evidence. Leo Wise and the prosecution team are complaining because they only got notice about these texts at 11:07 p.m. last night, and they haven’t had time to review them, and don’t know the source, other than they came from the 18,000 pages worth of data from the laptop.
It seems Lowell and his team thought the government had everything and knows where everything is, when it comes to the laptop. Wise explained that’s not the case, the data goes through a filter team, and it’s possible that the defense team has texts that the government has not even seen yet.
Wise wants to know where these texts are in the laptop. Judge Noreika peppered the defense with questions about this before the jury came in this morning. That process went on for nearly 30 minutes. Lowell and his team are scrambling to get that information to the prosecution, but they said they won’t have it today and Judge Noreika is not waiting on anything to keep the case moving forward.
During his cross-examination of Hallie, Lowell attempted to suggest that Hunter was lying to Hallie when he said on October 13, 2018, (the day after he bought the gun) that he was behind Blue Rocks Stadium “waiting for a dealer named Mookie…” and the next day when he texted Hallie that he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack…”
Lowell introduced the texts from Hallie that preceded both of those texts. On the 13th, Hallie texted Hunter – Why won’t you answer my calls? Where are you? Are you with someone? Hunter replied with the now infamous text about waiting for the drug dealer named Mookie.
Did you think he was with a dealer or a woman, Lowell asked. “A woman,” replied Hallie.
Do you know if he was there? “I do not," she said.
On October 14, 2018, Hallie texted Hunter: I called you “500 times” and you don’t answer. “Practice what you preach.” Hunter replied with another now infamous text that claimed he was sleeping on a car smoking crack.
You have no idea if he was actually there, asked Lowell. “Correct,” Hallie answered.
Lowell sought to suggest that Hunter was lying to Hallie and that he wasn’t actually smoking crack on either of those days, and therefore maybe wasn’t “addicted” to crack cocaine when he bought the gun on October 12, 2018.
During cross-examination under questioning by the defense, Hallie appeared confused after Lowell handed her a binder of texts to and from Hunter. Hallie was to only examine the binder if she could not recall a specific question Lowell asked her about her exchanges with Hunter back in 2018. She sometimes looked at the binder without being instructed to do so.
When answering Lowell, she often appeared hesitant to respond – slightly shaking her head no while speaking. The judge jumped in to explain the legal process.
Hallie was unsure when she should look at the binder. When Lowell directed her to look at the binder, he told her the wrong row number at least twice, compounding the confusion.
The judge rolled her eyes at Lowell at one point, when he asked if he could read in one of Hallie's texts.
Fox News' Emma Colton and Jake Gibson contributed to this update.
Court sketch of Hallie Biden testifying (William J. Hennessy Jr)
Defense attorneys have attempted to cast doubt on text messages that Hunter Biden seemingly indicates he was doing crack or readying to meet a crack dealer.
The defense focused on two texts from October 13th and 14th, around the same time Biden allegedly lied to purchase a gun from a Delaware gun store, noting that Hallie Biden texted Hunter to ask if he was with someone, which Hallie confirmed she suspected could be a woman.
Hunter Biden responded that he was waiting for a dealer named Mookie, but the defense attempted to cast doubt on the idea, arguing that Biden would have actually been with a woman.
The defense also brought up the October 14, 2018 text in which Hunter told Hallie he was sleeping on a car smoking crack, with the defense asking if she actually knows that Biden was actually engaged in that activity at the time of the text.
Hallie Biden responded "no" to the defense question.
Fox News' Aubrie Spady contributed to this update
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley joined "America's Newsroom" on Thursday to discuss what he believes to be "astonishing" about Hunter Biden's gun case and answer why he believes the president's son has not pleaded guilty.
Turley, a Constitutional law professor, said he believed the prosecution in Hunter's trial was doing an "amazingly good job"
"This is a very disciplined case. What's really astonishing is how fast all of the defense's put forward by Abbe Lowell collapsed within 48 hours," Turley said. "There was a long argument that the laptop was tampered with. [The prosecution] put on an agent who said there's no tampering here, this is real and authentic."
"[The Defense] said that Hunter Biden wasn't doing drugs when he signed that [gun form]. They have a text from him the next day trying to score drugs from a guy named Mookie, and the day after that doing drugs on the hood of a car, according to texts."
Turley also referenced the gun shop employee who testified that Hunter Biden filled out the gun form and said, "So, all of these defenses collapsed shortly after they were stated by the defense."
"That leads to this question of why isn't he just pleading guilty. This is an open and shut case. It's obvious he was doing drugs and signed the form falsely," Turley said. "That might keep him out of jail, it would've certainly avoided an embarrassing trial."
"The answer is: This is Biden town. This is a Biden who is standing trial in his hometown and this is the opposite of Manhattan," Turley added. "Here, the jury pool could not be better for the defendant, and I think the defense is using a nullification strategy."
Texts between Hunter Biden and Hallie Biden shown at trial (U.S. government)
During Hallie Biden's testimony, the prosecution referenced an evidence exhibit showing text messages between her and her Hunter in 2018.
Messages from Oct. 13, 2018:
Hallie: "Why won't you answer my calls. Where are you? Are you with someone?"
Hunter: "Yes Bernard who hangs at 7/11!on Greenhill and Lancaster I'm now off MD av behind behind blue rocks stadium waiting for a dealer named Mookie."
Hunter: "His brother L is getting in car now. I'm"
Hunter: "He has my money mad I'm getting pissed"
Hallie testified that she understood Hunter was buying "crack cocaine" at the time this message was sent.
Messages from Oct. 14, 2018:
Hallie: "I called you 500 times in past 24 hours"
Hallie: "And you no answer"
Hallie: "Practice what you preach"
Hunter: "I was sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th street and Rodney."
Hunter: "Where are you"
Hunter: "There's my truth"
Hunter: "Where are you"
Messages from Oct. 15, 2018:
Hallie responds: "I just want to help you get sober. I'm afraid you're going to die."
Prosecutor Leo Wise asked Hallie if she was scared Hunter would hurt himself. Hallie responded "maybe OD (overdose)" or "suicide."
Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this update.
Court sketch of the surveillance footage, shown at trial, of Hallie Biden tossing Hunter's gun into dumpster (William J. Hennessy Jr)
During court Thursday, Hallie Biden recalled the day of October 23, 2018, when she found the gun in Hunter Biden's car and threw it in a trash can outside Janssen's Market.
Hallie said that she was cleaning Hunter's car and found the gun, bullets, and remnants of what she believed to be drugs. Hallie described feeling "panicked" and "wanted to get rid" of the gun because she "didn't want him to hurt himself."
The gun Hunter had purchased from Starquest Shooters and Survival Supply in Wilmington, Delaware, was shown to Hallie in court. She confirmed it looked the same as the one she found that day.
Upon finding the gun, Hallie went back into the house to look for something to put it in. She found a small "gift bag." Hallie then found the brown leather pouch and put the gun inside, then put the pouch with the firearm in it and the bullets in the shopping bag.
Asked what Hunter would normally keep in the brown leather bag, Hallie said "Sometimes business cards, sometimes drugs."
Hallie said she took the gun to the Janssens Market up the road and threw it away in a trash can outside the store, a claim that was backed up by surveillance footage shown in court.
Surveillance footage from October 23, 2018 was played for the court showed Hallie drive up in a BMW. The footage showed her getting out of the car, grabbing the bag with the firearm in it from the back seat, and throwing it away in a trash can. She keeps walking and goes into the grocery store.
"I realize it was a stupid idea now, but I was panicking," Hallie said.
After finding out what happened, Hallie said Hunter told her to go to the store, look for the gun, and if it wasn't there to file a police report since it was registered in his name.
Surveillance footage played for the court showed Hallie going back to the Janssen's Market to look for the gun. Hallie was seen quickly getting out of her car and walking very fast to the trash can. The gun was not there. She was then seen running around looking for the gun. Hallie said she went into the grocery store and asked if the trash had been taken out. Hallie said she then filed the police report at Janssen's Market.
The Colt Cobra that Hunter Biden allegedly lied to purchase on Oct. 12, 2018 (U.S. Government exhibit)
Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden’s ex-lover and widow of Hunter’s brother, Beau, testified Thursday that she thought Hunter may have been on drugs around the time he purchased a firearm.
According to her testimony, Hunter visited Hallie on October 22-23 of 2018. She testified that Hunter came to the house, and that he seemed exhausted. She said that he could’ve been on drugs at the moment. When Hunter went to bed, Hallie decided to clean out his car. She said she had done this before to see if there were any remnants of potential drug use, or alcohol.
When prosecutors asked what she had found, she testified that she found remnants of crack, cocaine, dirty clothes, trash, and the gun. Prosecutors then pulled out the actual gun that Hunter purchased and brought it to the witness stand.
They asked Hallie to identify the firearm, and she said it looked very similar to the gun that she had seen in the car.
Hunter Biden purchased the Colt Cobra pistol on Oct. 12, 2018, and Hallie found the gun and attempted to throw it away over a week later.
Defense attorneys have tried to show that the prosecutors have not sufficiently proved Hunter Biden was actively using drugs at the time he purchased the firearm. He's charged with lying about being an active drug user or addicted on a firearm application.
Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this update.
Hallie Biden has remained stoic during her testimony so far, referring to Hunter Biden as her brother-in-law and giving brief answers while showing no specific signs of emotion.
Asked about her and Hunter Biden's relationship, Hallie Biden testified that they were romantically involved from late 2015 through 2016 and it was at that time that she learned about Hunter Biden's drug use.
Hallie Biden testified that she watched Hunter Biden obtain crack and that his behavior was agitated and high strung.
She also testified that they rented a house in Maryland in 2017 to 2018 and that Hunter Biden continued his drug use during this time, with Biden himself using the word addiction to express what he was going through.
Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this update
Hallie Biden testified in court Thursday that her brother-in-law, Hunter Biden, introduced her to crack.
Hallie recounted a June 2018 trip to Los Angeles to meet Hunter at the Roosevelt Hotel, where she used drugs, specifically crack cocaine. She testified that Hunter introduced her to and gave her the drugs.
Hallie continued using drugs until August 2018, she said, and reflected on the experience as one that was "terrible."
"It was a terrible experience I went through and I was embarrassed and ashamed, and I regret that period of my life," she told the court.
She later revisited Hunter at a treatment facility in August 2018.
Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this update
Hallie Biden, widow of Beau Biden and former girlfriend to Hunter Biden, arrives at court with her fiancé (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Hallie Biden, the widowed wife of Hunter Biden's brother, Beau Biden, has been called to the stand in Hunter Biden's gun trial.
Hallie Biden, who was romantically involved with her brother-in-law following Beau's death in May of 2015, is expected to testify that Hunter Biden stayed at her home during the fall of 2018 and that she and her children found drugs in his possession multiple times. Hunter Biden also recently generated controversy for visiting Hallie Biden just days before the trial began.
Prosecutors previously called FBI agent Erika Jensen, Hunter Biden's ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, Hunter Biden's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, and gun salesman Gordon Cleveland to testify.
Prosecutors have continued to build the case that Hunter Biden was addicted to drugs at the time he purchased a weapon and lied about his drug use on a federal firearms form.
If convicted on all charges, Biden faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the Normandy American Cemetery on the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 06, 2024, in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
First lady Jill Biden will not appear in court to support her step-son Hunter Biden on Thursday due to her trip with President Biden outside the country.
The first lady, who was in attendance for the first three days of Hunter Biden's gun trial this week, is currently in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The president and first lady were photographed touring the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, on Thursday.
President Biden's younger sister, Valerie Biden Owens, is in court Thursday amid the first lady's absence.
The jury was seated just after 9:30 Thursday and the defense continued their examination of gun store employee Gordon Cleveland.
Before the jury was seated there was an objection on the use of text messages between Hallie and Hunter Biden the defense was attempting to enter into evidence.
At issue was the way the texts were extracted from Hunter Biden's laptop, which varied slightly from the prosecution, who had limitations on what they could extract.
The decision was made that the prosecution will be able to check that each message the defense wants to introduce match what the government already has in their extraction report.
Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this update
Hallie Biden, widow of Beau Biden and former girlfriend to Hunter Biden, arrives with her fiancé John Hopkins Anning, at federal court during Hunter’s trial for criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 6, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden's sister-in-law, arrived to court Thursday morning for day four of Hunter Biden's federal gun crime trial.
Hallie is among several potential witnesses who are expected to be called by the prosecution to testify in Hunter's trial. The pair were in a romantic relationship in 2018.
Hallie observed Hunter Biden using drugs on multiple occasions, according to prosecutors, and she and her children discovered drug paraphernalia and drugs in his possession when they searched his bags, backpacks and vehicle in an effort to help him get sober.
Hallie, prosecutors said ahead of the trial, "observed that the defendant frequently lost phones and changed phones, which explains gaps in time where there are no messages, and she also had various text message exchanges with the defendant."
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this update
FIRST ON FOX: One of President Biden’s top former advisers, who has been a business partner of a wealthy Chinese businessman with multiple CCP ties for nearly a decade, appeared in the Delaware courtroom with Hunter Biden’s friends and family on Monday to support him during the jury selection process for his gun trial, Fox News Digital confirmed.
Francis "Fran" Person, who served in the Obama administration as an adviser to the elder Biden and a special assistant to President Obama between 2009 and 2014, was spotted sitting with Hunter Biden’s family and friends, which included first lady Jill Biden, his sister, Ashley Biden, his wife, Melissa, among others.
Person, who was described in a 2014 Politico profile piece as the elder Biden’s "confidante" and "like a son to Joe and me," according to Jill Biden, has been close friends with Hunter for over a decade and was often his point of contact in the VP office when Hunter was trying to reach his dad. The elder Biden also praised Person in the profile piece highlighting his departure from the White House to South Carolina, saying, "People know that he has my ear whenever he wants it."
Less than six months after Person’s White House departure in the summer of 2014 Person helped launch Harves Global Entertainment, a Washington, D.C.-based affiliate of the China-based Harves Century Group, a multi-billion dollar real estate development firm.
Person, whose sister worked for Hunter Biden's now-defunct Rosemont Seneca Partners firm before joining Biden's VP office in 2014, frequently emailed with Hunter and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, then-president Rosemont Seneca, about business dealings associated with Harves Entertainment and other D.C.-based Harves affiliates in 2015 and 2016.
He also made multiple visits to the White House during that time, including attending a White House holiday reception in December 2015 with Bo Zhang, his Chinese business partner, according to visitor logs reviewed by Fox News Digital. Person previously told Fox News Digital the White House visits were "personal in nature" and that he was "visiting with old colleagues and friends."
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller
Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen (Getty Images)
Hunter Biden arrived to the Delaware courtroom for the fourth day of his federal gun crime trial Thursday.
As with previous days, Hunter entered the court alongside his wife, Melissa Cohen and his lawyer, Abbe Lowell. Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden and ex of Hunter Biden, also arrived to the court.
Thursday's proceedings follow continued testimony from FBI special agent Erika Jensen Wednesday and from Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, his ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, and gun shop employee Gordon Cleveland, as prosecutors worked to prove to the jury Biden lied about his drug addiction when he filled out a federal form to buy a Colt revolver gun in 2018.
Biden is facing charges of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally-licensed gun dealer and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
The total maximum prison time for the three charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
Dulcie Lou Morris is the daughter of Democratic donor and lawyer Kevin Morris.
According to the New York Post, Morris accused Hunter Biden of “taking advantage” of her millionaire father and taking millions of dollars for his legal bills.
The Post reported that the lawyer began paying Hunter Biden’s bills weeks after meeting him at a fundraiser in 2019.
Fox News previously reported that Morris loaned Hunter Biden approximately $6.5 million, over $1 million more than was originally estimated and discussed.
Morris reportedly told lawmakers in January that "With respect to the loans, I am confident that Hunter will repay. I did not and do not have any expectations of receiving anything from Hunter's father or the Biden administration in exchange for helping Hunter, nor have I asked for anything from President Biden or his administration."
Jurors in first son Hunter Biden’s federal gun case in Wilmington, Del. were asked a variety of questions as they sat before Judge Maryellen Noreika this week.
Some of the questions had to do with their thoughts on gun ownership and whether people in their family or close to them ever struggled with substance abuse.
Another question focused on potential politics behind the charges, and one juror was dismissed because she believed she could not be impartial toward the defendant due to how media reports shaped her view of him.
Some people in the jury pool spoke about their connections to or struggles with drug addiction, including a man who broke down in tears while discussing his nephew and brother-in-law’s past addictions.
A woman interviewed as part of the jury pool said she had previously been convicted of credit card fraud and drug charges but had since been clean.
Another man’s brother had spent time in rehab for an opioid addiction, according to the BBC.
In remarks to the Huffington Post, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a self-described longtime friend of the Biden family, commented on Hunter Biden as his Delaware federal trial was underway.
Graham told the outlet that any average American who filed their taxes in the way Hunter Biden had would have “probably faced prosecution.”
“I don’t think the average American would have been charged with the gun thing. I don’t see any good coming from that,” he said.
In an official statement, President Biden said he is both the president and a father:
“Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
“Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. A lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean.”
Hunter Biden was born to Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter Biden on Feb. 4, 1970.
Neilia, as well as Hunter Biden’s younger sister, Naomi, were killed in a car crash on Dec. 18, 1972. Both Neilia and Naomi were pronounced dead on arrival at the Wilmington General Hospital at the time.
Hunter Biden and his older brother, Beau, were injured as result of the automobile crash, but survived the incident.
Neilia Biden was a teacher and the second wife of Joe Biden. Her death took place six weeks after Joe Biden was elected to represent Delaware in the U.S. Senate.
Neilia Biden met Joe Biden in Nassau, Bahamas, during a spring break trip in 1964. Shortly after that trip, Joe Biden, then a college student, moved to Syracuse to attend law school, where he could be closer to her. The pair got married in August 1966.
Shortly after Joe Biden graduated from law school, the couple moved to Wilmington, Del.
During Biden’s initial Senate campaign, Neilia was described as the “brains” of his campaign by The News Journal.
Hunter Biden's memoir, “Beautiful Things,” has come into focus in his federal gun crime trial in Delaware.
In the memoir, which was released in 2021, Hunter Biden openly acknowledges his past struggles with drug addiction.
The memoir took center stage Tuesday as prosecutors played excerpts from the audiobook, which is narrated by Hunter Biden, in the courtroom.
The excerpts detailed anecdotes such as how he linked up with a female drug dealer he nicknamed, "Bicycles," who sold him crack cocaine on the streets of Washington, D.C., how he could serve as a "crack daddy" to dealers due to his spiraling addiction, and how he took cocaine from a stranger in a hotel bathroom in Monte Carlo.
Though the excerpts from the book contained salacious details, jurors reportedly appeared to lose interest at points while prosecutors played roughly an hour of tape. Jurors were seen yawning, placing their heads in their hands, and even two jurors throughout the day appeared to close their eyes briefly as testimony continued.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this update
A Cobra Colt revolver is the firearm reportedly purchased by Hunter Biden in October 2018. He is accused of lying on a federal form to buy the gun at a gun shop in Wilmington, Del.
He is alleged to have made a false claim on the application that he was not a drug user and that he had not been under the influence of drugs when he bought the weapon.
Biden’s defense team has said his purchase of the Cobra Colt .38 revolver in October 2018 was a hurried purchase promoted by employees at the gun shop – StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington – who wanted to make a quick sale.
His lawyer said the firearm Biden was a "small gun" that was never used in the 11 days Hunter Biden had it in his possession.
A few common threads arose during the first few days of the Hunter Biden gun trial, during which the court selected a full jury and learned the following:
- The jury is made up of equal parts women and men, with seven Black jurors and five White jurors. But holding the trial in Delaware has made it difficult to assemble a purely unbiased jury, as many of the jurors have either met the Bidens or have had a longtime familiarity of the family.
- Many family and friends attended the trial in support of Hunter Biden, including President Joe Biden’s longtime friend, Richard Smith, president of Delaware’s NAACP branch.
- The case will hinge on whether Hunter Biden knowingly lied on a federal gun application, which prompted prosecutors to heavily refer to his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” and play numerous excerpts from the audiobook as the only testimony from Hunter Biden that the jurors might hear.
Details about Hunter Biden’s relationship with a 24-year-old stripper, his need for crack cocaine every 20 minutes and how his spiraling addiction torpedoed his first marriage were on full display for the jury as it considers the first son’s three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018.
"He would want to smoke the second he woke up," Biden's ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, testified Wednesday. She met Biden when she worked at a gentleman’s club in New York City when she was 24 and he was 48.
The court heard continued testimony from FBI special agent Erika Jensen Wednesday and from Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, Kestan and gun shop employee Gordon Cleveland, as prosecutors worked to prove to the jury Biden lied about his drug addiction when he filled out a federal form to buy a Colt revolver gun in 2018.
Biden is facing charges of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally-licensed gun dealer and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Biden pleaded not guilty in the case.
The total maximum prison time for the three charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
Kestan detailed in her testimony that she met Biden in December 2017 after he booked a private room for 30 minutes at the strip club where she worked, ultimately sparking a relationship with the man she described as "charming and charismatic."
Kestan, who testified under immunity, walked the jury through Biden’s rampant drug abuse throughout the course of their relationship, including him smoking crack in hotel rooms, stealing away to public bathrooms to smoke crack and even how she helped pick up drugs for him. She said the crack cocaine he purchased often was the size of a "ping pong ball," which he broke into pieces and lit up in glass pipes.
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