05 June 2024 , 16:50
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Days after purchasing the firearm that landed him in legal hot water, Hunter Biden allegedly texted his brother's widow and told her that he was "sleeping on a car smoking crack," an FBI agent testified at his trial.
The groundbreaking admission was revealed amid the trial President Joe Biden's son faces for allegedly lying on a form concerning his drug use to purchase a firearm and ammunition back in 2018 illegally. Drug use generally precludes an individual from purchasing a gun.
At the time, Hunter had been struggling with addiction, but his defence attorneys argued that he was in recovery at the time of the purchase, meaning that he didn't lie on the form and that the purchase of the firearm was legal. The gun, a revolver, was allegedly purchased from a gun shop in Wilmington, Delaware, the same city his father made the base for his presidential reelection campaign this year.
READ MORE: Hunter Biden's firearms trial gets underway - what you need to know
Hunter Biden has been accused of lying on a form concerning his drug use to purchase a firearm (AP)FBI agent Erika Jenson read aloud the shocking text messages allegedly found on Biden's laptop, which had been left at a repair shop in Delaware and never picked up. Erika testified that the laptop had "evidence of addiction," with multiple references to crack cocaine using coded language.
'My son's a drug lord - he's threatened to kill me but I still love him'
There was also allegedly a conversation found on the device about purchasing drugs, Erika testified, with him telling Hallie Biden that he was "waiting for a dealer named Mookie" one day. He then apparently went off the grid for nearly 24 hours, with a text from Hallie stating, "I called you 500 times in past 24 hours."
He then replied less than a minute later that he was "sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th street and Rodney." He added, "There's my truth," Erika testified.
His gun trail started earlier this week (Getty Images)The shocking revelations came to light on Tuesday as both sides made their opening statements in the trial, kicking it off. Prosecutors attempted to paint the president's son as a deceptive man whose drug addictions control his life and started to affect family members, too.
The case is the first one to involve the son of a sitting president. If convicted, Hunter could face up to 25 years between all three federal charges he faces — which include an accusation of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application, and then illegally owning the gun for 11 days.
First Lady Jill Biden attended the first day of the trial, sitting in the front row for part of the day. James Biden, Joe's brother, is expected to testify, as he reportedly helped Hunter through a lot of the struggles he faced and was there for him during his rehab stints.
Hallie is also expected to testify. After Beau died in 2015, succumbing to his battle with cancer, Hunter reportedly had a fling with her, and she became addicted to crack cocaine during that period.
It was Hallie who reportedly took Hunter's gun away, tossing it into a dumpster outside a grocery store 11 days after he purchased it, as she was reportedly concerned with what he might do with it. Hunter pleaded not guilty to all his charges. He also faces trial in California in September on charges related to tax evasion, with him being accused of failing to pay around $1.4 million in taxes.