On the fifth day of the Hunter Biden trial, the prosecution called its final witness, with several gun store employees and one of Biden’s daughters taking the stand for the defense.
‘It’s elementary’: After a few more witnesses, prosecutors finish their indictment
The final few witnesses testified for the prosecution, perhaps the most notable of these witnesses being the DEA agents who examined text messages Biden exchanged in 2018 during the alleged height of his drug addiction.
“This is not my investigation.”
Special Agent Joshua Romig alleged that these messages, allegedly exchanged with drug dealers, contained “standard code words and phrases” for cocaine, such as “baby powder” and “something really soft.”
“That’s elementary,” he argued.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Abe Lowell questioned Romig about whether he knew the recipients of these text messages. When Lowell asked Romig if he had ever investigated any of these recipients for drug trafficking, Romig denied it.
But he also argued that there was a good reason not to investigate them: He wasn’t in charge of the Hunter Biden case.
“This is not my investigation,” he said. AP.
The prosecution finished its testimony after Romig finished.
‘Information is lacking’: Defense Department grills gun shop employees
The first three witnesses called by the defense all worked at StarQuest Shooters, the Delaware gun shop where Biden bought a Colt revolver on Oct. 12, 2018. Prosecutors argue Biden bought the gun there illegally because federal law bars drug addicts from purchasing firearms.
CNN reported that Turner was “unhappy” with Lowell and the way he was being questioned.
The employee’s testimony may seem a bit confusing because it had to sidestep one key issue: the paperwork Biden filled out was altered three years after he bought the gun because he didn’t provide the store with a second form of identification in addition to his passport, as required by law. Sunday Introducing that information could “unfairly prejudice, confuse the issues, or mislead the jury.”
Federal law requires gun buyers to provide a second form of identification, such as a utility bill, if they present only a passport, but StarQuest owner Ronald Parimere testified that he gave his employees the authority to process Biden’s purchase without the second form of identification.
“We were trying not to delay the sale,” he explained.
Jason Turner, a former employee of StarQuest, the company that ran Biden’s background check, testified that Biden’s ATF form “was missing information.” Turner also acknowledged that he later added Biden’s vehicle registration number to the form, but that the registration number was not listed on the form shown in court.
“There is no such reference,” Lowell pointed out.
“It should be,” Turner countered.
CNN Turner said he was “irritated” by Lowell and his questioning. The Associated Press similarly called Turner “irritated.”
Biden’s daughter takes the stand
Biden’s lawyers have repeatedly argued in court that Biden did not lie on his ATF documents about his drug use because he was not actively using drugs at the time of the purchases and therefore did not consider himself an addict. To underscore that premise, they called Biden’s 30-year-old daughter, Naomi, as a witness.
Naomi claimed she couldn’t remember when she first learned about her father’s drug problems, but that “things got worse” shortly after the death of her brother Beau in 2015.
“Dad, I’m so sorry. I can’t take this.”
In 2018, Naomi was dating the man who is now her husband, and the couple had social interactions with Biden and were ostensibly able to speak about his drinking levels.
During a trip to Los Angeles in August of that year, Naomi met for coffee with her then-boyfriend, her father, and his “sobriety coach.” “I told him I was so proud of him,” she testified.
“He was just a really great guy.”
Then in October 2018, the same month that Biden purchased the gun, Naomi drove her father’s truck from Washington to New York. She claims she never saw any drugs or drug paraphernalia in the car.
Biden visited New York that month and spent little time with his daughter, though he did send text messages that suggested he was feeling upset.
According to messages read out in court, at about 2 a.m. on Oct. 17, five days after the gun purchase, Biden texted Naomi to ask where he left his keys and whether he could swap cars with his then-boyfriend.
“Now?” she texted back.
“Dad, I’m so sorry. I just can’t accept this.”
Prosecutor Leo Wise asked Naomi: “Do you know what your father was doing at 2am and why he asked you for a ride at that time?”
“No,” she replied, adding that she was “remaining hopeful” because her father “still seems to be doing well.”
anything else?
The defense argued it has at least one more witness to call on Monday: James Biden, President Joe Biden’s brother and Hunter Biden’s uncle. The defense has not said whether Hunter Biden plans to take the stand.
Early Friday morning, Lowell filed an oral motion for acquittal and promised to file a written version of that motion at a later date.
“Thank you for letting me know what’s going to happen,” Judge Noreika responded.
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