Hunter Biden jury begins deliberating after shock testimony about his drug use

10 June 2024 , 13:14
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President Joe Biden confirmed that he will not pardon his son if convicted
President Joe Biden confirmed that he will not pardon his son if convicted

JURY deliberations have begun in the gun trial against Hunter Biden.

The fate of the president's embattled son is now in the hands of the jurors following five days of testimony where a federal courtroom heard shocking claims about Hunter's drug addiction.

Hunter Biden returned to federal court on Monday for day six of his gun trial eiqkiqktihuprw
Hunter Biden returned to federal court on Monday for day six of his gun trialCredit: Reuters
The jury was handed the case at around 3:30 pm on Monday
The jury was handed the case at around 3:30 pm on MondayCredit: Getty
President Joe Biden previously said he will not pardon his son if convicted
President Joe Biden previously said he will not pardon his son if convictedCredit: AP

Hunter, 54, declined to testify in his defense. He faces 25 years in prison if convicted.

The Biden family, including First Lady Jill Biden, watched from the first row of the gallery as prosecutors and the defense delivered their closing arguments.

Prosecutor Leo Wise underscored Hunter knowingly provided a false statement on a federal firearms form when he purchased a gun in October 2018, knowing he was addicted to drugs.

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"It started years before [the gun purchase] and continued for months after," Wise said of Hunter's drug use.

"He had lost control," the prosecutor added, calling Hunter an "addict."

"There is no evidence that anyone else possessed the gun from October 12 [2018] to October 23, other than the defendant," said Wise.

No one is above the law.

Prosecutor Leo Wise.

Prosecutors used Hunter's own words against him, quoting titles from his memoir, Beautiful Things, like "Drug messages October 2018" and "Addiction messages October 2018."

Wise gestured to the Biden family in the courtroom and asked the jury not to let them influence their verdict.

"People sitting in the gallery are not evidence," Wise said.

"You may recognize them from the news or the community, but respectfully, none of that matters.

"All that matters is the evidence that was introduced during the trial. No one is above the law."

Meanwhile, defense attorney Abbe Lowell called the prosecution's case a "magician's trick."

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Lowell argued that the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hunter knew at the time he bought the gun that it was illegal.

"They spent hours, I mean literally hours, recounting Hunter Biden's terrible journey with alcohol and drug use," the defense attorney said.

Lowell said prosecutors misinterpreted Hubter's "intentions at the time of the purchase with what he was admitting after the fact" in his book.

"Pay close attention to the real timeline," he added.

NO PRESIDENTIAL PARDON FOR HUNTER

President Joe Biden, who was in Wilmington, Delaware, for the majority of the day on Monday, did not attend the closing arguments in his son's trial.

The president, 81, confirmed to ABC News that he would not pardon his son if convicted.

During the first week of the trial, the jury heard testimony from three of Hunter's exes and his oldest daughter, Naomi, 30.

Hunter's ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, told the courtroom in explicit detail how she uncovered crack pipes and drug paraphernalia in their home in Washington DC and her ex-husband's pickup truck.

Buhle, who was married to Hunter from 1993 to 2017, first learned Hunter back on drugs in July 2015 after finding a crack pipe in an ashtray on the porch of their home.

"He acknowledged smoking crack," Buhle, 55, said, describing Hunter's demeanor while using drugs as "angry and short-tempered."

Buhle testified how she would routinely search Hunter's vehicle to protect her daughters.

At times, Buhle said she would find broken crack pipes, white powder, white crystal remnants, pipe cleaning products, and other drug paraphernalia, including in 2018 when he was suspected of buying the Colt Cobra .38 revolver.

Hunter's ex-lover and former sex worker, Zoe Kestan, also detailed for the jury his shocking drug use.

Kestan, who goes by the name "Weedsl*t," testified how Hunter smoked crack up to every 20 minutes from the moment he woke up and had wild hotel binges.

She told the courtroom how she observed Hunter chipping off small crystals from an enormous rock of crack, which she described as the size of a ping-pong ball.

The 30-year-old former sex worker said she first met the "charming" Hunter in December 2017 at a strip club in New York, and the two started an off-and-on relationship.

I realize it was a stupid idea now, but I was panicking.

Hallie BidenHunter Biden's ex

Hallie Biden, the widow of his brother, Beau, told jurors how Hunter introduced her to crack during their brief relationship.

"It was a terrible experience that I went through, and I'm embarrassed, and I'm ashamed of that period of my life," a regretful Hallie, 50, said.

The mother-of-two described her relationship with Hunter as "volatile" and "on and off."

Hallie said that Hunter would be unreachable for weeks at a time and that she would search through his truck for drugs or alcohol to shield her children.

She went into detail about the October 23, 2018, date when she uncovered the revolver in a leather pouch inside his pickup truck.

"I panicked, and I wanted to get rid of it," she told the jury.

The federal courtroom was shown a surveillance video of Hallie disposing of the gun in a trash can at a grocery store about a mile away from her home.

The video showed Hallie exiting her BMW as she arrived in the parking lot of Janseen's Market in Delaware on October 23, 2018.

Hallie is pictured with a purple-colored shopping bag in her hand, which she later disposes of in the trash can.

"I was afraid to touch it. I didn't know if it was loaded," she said on the stand.

"I realize it was a stupid idea now, but I was panicking."

'HE CROSSED THE LINE'

A second clip showed Hallie returning to the grocery store and searching for the bag inside the trash.

"I'll take the blame," Hallie texted Hunter as she called the police and filed a report on the missing gun.

Hunter is charged with three firearms-related charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors accused Hunter of purchasing a gun in October 2018 and lying in a federal firearms form when he wrote that he was not an active drug user.

"No one is allowed to lie on a federal form like that, even Hunter Biden," prosecutor Derek Hines said during opening statements.

"He crossed the line when he chose to buy a gun and lied about a federal background check. The defendant's choice to buy a gun is why we are here."

Hunter's defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued that the gun purchase was an "impulse buy."

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.

Israel Salas-Rodriguez

Delaware, Courts, Hunter Biden

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