Hunter Biden, the eldest son, may testify at his criminal trial on Monday, according to his lawyers.
The fifth day of Biden’s historic trial over a 2018 handgun purchase, now underway in Wilmington, Delaware, could feature testimony from the man in question. His lawyer, Abe Lowell, said after a lunch break on Friday that he would decide over the weekend whether to call Biden to testify and would notify special counsel David Weiss’s office of his decision.
More details about the decision are expected to be made public after 8:15 a.m. Monday, when presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika asked the parties to appear at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
Prosecutors are trying to prove that Biden lied in October 2018 on a federal firearms declaration, known as ATF Form 4473, by checking a box that said “no” when asked if he was an unlawful firearm user or addicted to controlled substances. Hunter Biden bought the Cobra Colt .38 at a store in Wilmington called StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply.
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Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, arrive at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware on June 6, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Biden is charged with making a false statement regarding a firearm purchase, making a false statement regarding information required to be kept by federally licensed gun dealers, and possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
He pleaded not guilty The case marks the first time in U.S. history that the child of a sitting president has been put on trial.
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The maximum sentence for the three He could face up to 25 years in prison.Each charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years’ probation.
Hunter Biden’s legal team has not denied his oldest son’s drug addiction problems, detailed in his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” but has argued that Hunter did not believe he was using illegal drugs at the time he purchased the gun.
Testimony in court on Friday included FBI forensic chemist Dr. Jason Brewer, DEA Supervisory Special Agent Joshua Romig, Jason Turner, the gun store employee who conducted a background check on Biden for his gun purchase, Ronald Parimere, owner of the gun store StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply, and Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden.
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A courtroom sketch shows Hunter Biden wiping his eyes as he listens to Naomi Biden’s testimony during his federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, Friday, June 7, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Naomi Biden took the stand in federal court early Friday afternoon, dressed all in black with her hair pulled back, telling the courtroom midway through her testimony that she was “nervous.”Hunter Biden appeared emotional as his daughter first entered the courtroom, at one point taking out a tissue to wipe her eyes.
The first granddaughter told the court she knew her father was addicted to drugs but had never seen him use drugs, particularly crack cocaine.
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“Yes, I knew my uncle struggled with drug addiction,” she says. “After he passed away, it got worse…”
A courtroom sketch depicts Naomi Biden’s testimony at Hunter Biden’s federal trial, Friday, June 7, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Hunter Biden’s brother, Beau Biden, died in 2015, something Hunter Biden has previously said contributed to his worsening drug and alcohol addiction.
Naomi Biden described a trip she took to California to visit her father in rehab in August 2018. She had lunch at a coffee shop with Biden, who was her father’s sobriety coach, and her then-boyfriend and future husband, Peter Neal, and said she was proud of her father’s efforts to get sober.
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Prosecutor Leo Wise grilled Naomi Biden in mid-October 2018, specifically asking about her eldest son’s pickup truck, which she owned in New York City, where she was living at the time.
Earlier this week, the court heard that Hunter Biden had stored a Cobra Colt .38 calibre in the center console of his truck, but his sister-in-law and girlfriend, Hallie Biden, found the gun and threw it in a trash can outside a Wilmington grocery store.
President Biden’s granddaughter Naomi Biden and her husband Peter Neal arrive to attend a State Dinner at the White House on October 25, 2023. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
Naomi Biden testified that the truck was in good condition and had no drug or cocaine residue when she returned it to her father on October 19. Harry Biden testified that he found a gun in the truck on October 23, and that he also found gunpowder “sprinkled” in the truck on October 23.
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The gun was in a brown pouch, and Brewer, a chemical expert, testified Friday that a “white or off-white” substance found in the pouch tested positive for cocaine, the compound used to make crack cocaine.
A courtroom sketch depicts testimony at Hunter Biden’s federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday, June 7, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
During cross-examination, Wise presented Naomi Biden with printouts of numerous text messages she shared with her father in October 2018, including one that Hunter Biden sent to his daughter after 2 a.m. asking if her boyfriend could come over to his place in his truck at that time.
“Where are the keys to my truck? Peter bring the keys to 57th Street and 5th Avenue and we’ll trade cars,” the message read, as Wise read it.
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Naomi testified that she didn’t know what her father was doing at 2 a.m. or why he was asking for a ride in the middle of the night. Wise asked Naomi Biden if she knew if her father had met up with someone named Frankie that night. Hunter Biden’s former girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, a 24-year-old stripper who Biden met in 2017 when he was 48, testified earlier this week that Biden had met up with a drug dealer named Frankie in a hotel room during a stay in New York City in October 2018.
Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, walked out after testifying at Hunter Biden’s firearms crimes trial in Wilmington, Delaware on June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
“I can’t stand it. I don’t know what to say. I miss you so much,” she messaged Biden while they were discussing the truck replacement. Biden responded with an apology.
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Prosecutors had sought to prove to jurors that Biden was using crack cocaine just days after purchasing the revolver on October 12.
Hunter Biden kept his eyes glued to Naomi Biden as she testified, looking away from the stand only to look through a printout of text messages he exchanged with his daughter in October 2018. After she left the stand, Hunter gave her a hug and saw her off as she left the courtroom.
Photo evidence submitted by the prosecution showed the gun purchased by Hunter Biden. (US Government exhibit)
In addition to Naomi Biden and two expert witnesses, the court heard testimony from the gun store owner and an employee who was there on the day of Biden’s purchase. Jason Turner, the employee who conducted the background check, grew frustrated and defensive as Lowell peppered him with questions about the sequence of events, including when Biden selected his firearm on Oct. 12, when Biden filled out the federal firearms form, when Turner conducted the background check and when Biden actually purchased the firearm, before giving blunt answers to the defense on Friday.
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Hunter Biden arrives at the federal courthouse in Wilmington on Monday, June 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“You don’t understand what life is like in a gun shop,” Turner told Lowell, noting that buying a gun takes time and that people who frequent gun shops often spend their time talking about sports and engaging in conversation with the store staff.
Lowell and Turner would frequently interrupt each other, with Noreika stepping in to tell Turner to wait until Lowell had finished asking a question before responding, and then telling him to respond when Turner had answered, or else Noreika joked that the court reporter would be “mad” for not being able to record their comments.
First Lady Jill Biden leaves the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“Go ahead and be mad at me,” Turner joked to a court reporter, drawing laughter in the courtroom.
“He was angry at me throughout the trial,” Lowell replied lightly.
If Biden testifies, direct testimony and cross-examination could take up much of the day, and prosecutors have said they may call rebuttal witnesses if Biden testifies, which could lengthen the trial timeline.
If Judge Lowell does not call Biden to testify, the court could hear closing arguments, give jury instructions and begin jury deliberations as early as Monday. The trial was initially expected to last a week or two.
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First Lady Jill Biden was absent from court on Thursday because she was visiting Normandy, France with President Biden to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, but was back in court on Friday with her son-in-law. Standing in the courtroom alongside the first lady were her daughter-in-law, Melissa Cohen, wife of Hunter Biden, and President Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden.
