WILMINGTON, Delaware — A former gun store clerk defended his sales practices as he was grilled by Hunter Biden‘s attorney during the first son’s trial on Wednesday.
Gordon Cleveland, who sold Biden a revolver in 2018, testified that he was more interested in selling customers “quality” items than expensive ones.
Prosecutors called Cleveland, a trash truck driver and onetime employee of Starquest Shooters & Survival Supply, to the stand to testify about the interaction he had with Biden at the time of the purchase.
Special counsel David Weiss has alleged Biden lied about his drug use on a federal form to purchase a Colt Cobra and that he illegally retained the firearm for 11 days.
Cleveland testified that he watched Biden fill out the form, which prosecutors displayed as an exhibit to the courtroom. The form featured Biden’s signature and showed the first son had checked off “no” in response to a question about whether he was an unlawful drug user or drug addict.
He said Biden filled it out at a normal pace “like you would do with any form.”
Cleveland recalled how Biden had driven up to the store in a black Cadillac, walked into the small shop, and told the clerk he was looking for a revolver.
The former store clerk said he proceeded to show Biden the Colt Cobra line, which he said was a nicer brand that does “a lot of high-end things.”
Derek Hines, a government prosecutor, then presented to the courtroom the gun Biden had purchased. It had a dark wooden handle and featured Colt Cobra insignia. Hines walked the gun, fastened to the inside of a cardboard box, over to Cleveland to verify it and then displayed it for jurors.
A receipt for nearly $900 entered into evidence showed Biden purchased with cash the revolver, ammunition, a BB gun, a speedloader, and two other items unrelated to guns from Cleveland’s shop on Oct. 12, 2018.
Cleveland said he explained the differences in full metal jacket and hollow point ammunition to Biden. He said the first son then chose the latter, which was better for self-defense.
“But to be clear, you’re the one who explained the various kinds of handguns?” Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell asked on cross-examination.
“Yes, I did,” Cleveland replied.
Lowell then asked if Cleveland was “familiar with the phrase ‘whale hunter,’” prompting a hearty laugh from the witness. “Whale hunter” is a nickname for hungry salespeople who seek out high-revenue customers.
“I wouldn’t sell you something that is terrible and waste your money,” Cleveland said.
He also noted that his sales did not affect his pay.
Upon Lowell suggesting Cleveland urged Biden to purchase the ammunition, Cleveland said he did because he always does when a customer wants a gun.
“‘Cause what are you gonna do, throw it at somebody?” he asked rhetorically.
Lowell asked Cleveland twice about his grand jury testimony, during which the witness had said he tried to “sway” customers to “higher-end firearms, a bit more expensive.”
Cleveland replied that he did that because he did not want to sell customers low-quality products.
Cleveland will return to the stand Thursday morning for more cross-examination, and Lowell has signaled he plans to explore deeply certain rules surrounding the gun form with the witness.
Prosecutors plan to call several more witnesses to the stand, but they said they could rest their case as early as the end of the day on Thursday. At that point, the trial would flip to Biden’s defense team to present its side of the case.
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In addition to Cleveland, prosecutors have so far called three other witnesses to the stand, including Biden’s ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend, both of whom testified about his past drug use.
Zoe Kestan, with whom Biden was in a romantic relationship, was particularly candid and testified Wednesday that she saw Biden using crack frequently, including in September 2018, one month before the gun purchase.
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