Prosecutors must prove Hunter Biden “knowingly” committed gun crimes, attorney Abe Lowell argued in opening statements Tuesday.
Lowell’s insistence on the word “willfully” appears to be a defense premised on portraying Hunter as a victim of substance abuse, a self-described drug abuser who said he was sucking on Parmesan cheese.
“We need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the hunter knowingly violated the law.” Said According to a court reporter, Lowell Focus on it Hunter has experienced “trauma” as the son of a sitting senator, vice president and president.
“He has abused alcohol since he was a teenager and drugs as an adult, like literally millions of people in this country,” Lowell said.
Hunter Biden is charged with one count of making a false statement regarding the purchase of a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user or addict of a controlled substance, and one count of making a false statement regarding information required to be kept by a federally licensed firearms dealer.
Hunter was found dumped in a public trash bin next to a school when he bought the gun, and various photos on his abandoned laptop suggested he was using crack cocaine at the time. The Secret Service is said to have been involved in the investigation.
Lowell said Hunter Biden did not have a credit card at the time he purchased the gun in 2018 and purchased it with cash. Prosecutors said text messages and cash withdrawals prove Hunter Biden was using drugs at the time of the purchase.
According to CNN, Lowell admitted to jurors that he drove “his father’s black Cadillac” to the AT&T store on the day Hunter bought the gun.
Prosecutor Derek Hines delivered a scathing opening statement telling the jury “no one is above the law” and “it doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is.”
Hunter “chose to illegally possess a firearm,” he said, adding, “We are here because he chose to lie.”
“Gordon Cleveland, who sold guns to Hunter Biden at StarQuest Shooters, will testify at trial,” Judge Hines said in court, adding that several other witnesses would also testify, NBC News reported.
Hines said both Hallie Biden and Zoe Kestan, a woman who was romantically involved with Hunter Biden, will testify under immunity agreements.
Prosecutors also plan to call Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Katherine Buhl, who has three daughters with him but does not use drugs herself, but will not testify under an immunity agreement.
Judge Hines listed three charges against Hunter, and as for the third charge, possession of a gun for 11 days, he emphasized that Hunter did not voluntarily give up the gun: “The only reason he had the gun in his possession for 11 days was because Harry took it from him,” he said.
The judge has banned television, audio and Slack messages during Hunter’s trial, forcing court reporters to rely on “notes, runners or reporters coming out of the courtroom in person,” CNN reported.
This incident United States v. Hunter Biden, Case No. 24-1703 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Wendell Fsebo is a political reporter for Breitbart News and a former Republican War Room analyst. The Politics of Slave MoralityFollow Wendell “Bat” @WendellHusebø or The truth of society @WendellHusebo.
