OAN’s Brooke Mallory
Tuesday, June 4, 2024 4:14 PM
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday portrayed President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, as a manipulative drug addict who knew what he was doing when he lied on federal documents in 2018 to buy a gun.
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Hunter Biden’s lawyers say the president’s brother, James Biden, is expected to be called as a witness. Hunter and James are reportedly very close, and the uncle has been helping his nephew through his rehabilitation so far.
“You’re going to find him innocent,” Hunter’s lawyer, Abe Lowell, said.
“Abe Lowell is a white-collar lawyer with a long history of representing Democrats and Republicans alike. He represented Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.” USA Today report.
Hunter Biden, who previously wrote a memoir detailing his crack addiction, was indicted on three felony counts related to his gun purchase: falsifying information on an application to show he was drug-free, lying to a federally registered gun dealer and unlawfully possessing a firearm for 11 days.
During opening statements, prosecutors told jurors that Hunter Biden was still planning to buy a gun just days after he lied on paperwork and told his brother’s widow in a message that he was waiting for a drug dealer. Jurors were also played audio excerpts from his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” in which he talked about returning to Delaware during the gun-buying period.
At one point, Lowell tried to argue that the president’s son did not consider himself a drug user at the time of the purchase, and told jurors he had no doubt Hunter “knowingly” broke the law.
“No one should be allowed to lie like that in a federal filing, not even Hunter Biden,” said federal prosecutor Derek Hines. “He crossed the line when he chose to purchase a gun and lied about a federal background check. The defendant’s choice to purchase a gun is why we’re here.”
Prosecutors don’t even have to prove the defendant was using drugs that day because “at the time the defendant filled out that form, he knew he was a drug addict,” Hines added.
The trial is currently underway after an agreement with prosecutors that would have prevented a trial spectacle fell apart due to the proximity of the 2024 election.
Hunter Biden maintained his innocence and said the Justice Department was unfairly targeting him after Republicans criticized the now-void plea deal as preferential treatment for the Democratic president’s son. This comes after Biden’s family mocked former President Donald Trump, who made the same argument regarding his New York prosecution.
“Prosecutors presented records showing Hunter Biden withdrew more than $150,000 between September and November 2018, including $5,000 on the day he bought a gun. Prosecutors suggested the cash was used to purchase drugs…” ABC News report.
In recent years, under the Biden administration, the Justice Department has been accused of going after conservative interest groups, such as: Moms for Freedomincluding prominent Republicans who support Donald Trump, such as Steve Bannon, making Hunter’s excuse that the Justice Department was unfairly targeting him confusing.
The Department of Justice does not appear to bear any grudge against Hunter Biden or the Biden family, having asked a New York district court in early April to impose a four to 10 month prison sentence on the woman who found and removed a long-standing diary that Biden’s eldest daughter, Ashley Biden, had left at her former home.
As opening statements began, Hunter was rejoined by First Lady Jill Biden and First Lady Ashley Biden, who were in court Monday.
Additionally, expected testimony from Hunter Biden’s former partners will reportedly include intimate and disturbing details about his addictions and “party boy” lifestyle.
Hunter Biden is also due to go on trial in California in September for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes, as is Ashley Biden in the past.
White House officials who spoke to reporters recently said aides were concerned about the impact the trial would have on President Biden, who has been concerned about his surviving son’s drinking and will now watch as Hunter’s misconduct is publicly investigated.
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