First son Hunter Biden could testify in his criminal trial on Monday, according to his defense team.
Day five of Biden’s historic trial in Wilmington, Delaware, regarding the purchase of a handgun in 2018 could include testimony from the man in question himself. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell was heard saying following Friday’s lunch break that he will take the weekend to decide if he will call Biden to testify, and that he will notify Special Counsel David Weiss’ office of the decision.
Details surrounding the decision will be made public some time after 8:15 a.m. Monday, when presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika requested both legal parties report back to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
Prosecutors are working to prove that Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018 when he ticked a box labeled “No” when asked if he is an unlawful user of a firearm or addicted to controlled substances. Hunter Biden purchased a Cobra Colt .38 from a store called StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington.
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Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, arrive to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 6, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Biden is facing charges of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
He pleaded not guilty in the case. It is the first time in U.S. history that a sitting president’s child is on trial.
The total maximum prison time for the three charges could be up to 25 years. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
Hunter Biden’s defense team does not deny the first son’s issues with addiction, which are well documented in his memoir, “Beautiful Things.” They instead argue that at the time of the gun purchase, Hunter did not consider himself a user of illegal substances.
Friday’s day in court included testimony from: Dr. Jason Brewer, a forensic chemist for the FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Supervisory Special Agent Joshua Romig; Jason Turner, the gun shop employee who ran Biden’s background check for the gun purchase; Ronald Palimere, the owner of the gun shop, StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply; and Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden.
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A court sketch depicts Hunter Biden wiping his eyes while listening to Naomi Biden’s testimony during his federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday, June 7, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Naomi Biden took the stand early Friday afternoon in the federal courthouse, dressed in all black with her hair pulled back, and told the court amid her testimony that she was “nervous.” Hunter Biden appeared emotional when his daughter first entered court, taking out a tissue at one point and dabbing his eyes.
The first granddaughter told the court that she is aware of her father’s addiction to drugs, but said she had never witnessed him use drugs, namely crack cocaine.
“Yes, I knew that he was struggling with addiction,” she said. “After my uncle died things got bad…”
A court sketch depicts Naomi Biden’s testimony during Hunter Biden’s federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware on Friday, June 7, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Hunter Biden’s brother, Beau Biden, died in 2015, which Hunter Biden has previously cited as contributing to his spiraling drug and alcohol addiction.
Naomi Biden walked the court through a California trip she took in August 2018 to visit her father amid his stint at a rehab facility. She said she met with Biden, his sober coach, alongside her then-boyfriend and eventual husband, Peter Neal, for lunch at a coffee shop, noting she was proud of her father for his work on becoming sober.
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Prosecutor Leo Wise grilled Naomi Biden about mid-October of 2018, specifically asking about the first son’s pickup truck that Naomi Biden had in New York City, where she lived at the time.
Earlier this week, the court heard that Hunter Biden stored the Cobra Colt .38. in the truck’s center console, before his sister-in-law turned girlfriend, Hallie Biden, found the gun and threw it away in a trashcan outside of a grocery store in Wilmington.
President Biden’s granddaughter Naomi Biden and her husband Peter Neal arrive for a State Dinner at the White House, Oct. 25, 2023. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
Naomi Biden testified that the truck was in good condition when she returned it to her father on Oct. 19, telling the court there were no remnants of drugs and crack cocaine. Hallie Biden had testified she found the gun in the truck on Oct. 23, telling the court she also found a “dusting” of powder in the truck on Oct. 23.
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The gun was recovered in a brown pouch. Chemistry expert Brewer testified Friday that he tested the “white or off-white” substance found on the pouch, finding it was cocaine. Cocaine is the base substance for crack cocaine.
A court sketch depicts testimony during Hunter Biden’s federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday, June 7, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Prosecutor Wise presented Naomi Biden with a stack of printed out text messages she shared with her father in October 2018 during cross-examination, including messages Hunter Biden sent his daughter after 2 a.m. asking if her boyfriend could drive the truck to him at that hour.
“Where are the keys for the truck and can Peter bring the keys to 57th and 5th and I’ll trade cars with him?” the text said, according to Wise’s reading.
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Naomi testified that she did not know what her father was doing at 2 a.m. or why he was asking for the car in the middle of the night. Wise asked Naomi Biden if she knew if her father was meeting with someone named Frankie that night. Hunter Biden’s former girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, a 24-year-old stripper Biden met in 2017 when he was 48, testified earlier this week that Biden met with a drug dealer named Frankie in a hotel room when he was in New York City in October 2018.
Zoe Kestan, former girlfriend of Hunter Biden, departs after testifying in Hunter Biden’s trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
“I can’t take this. I don’t know what to say. I just miss you so much,” she also texted him as they worked to hash out exchanging the truck. Biden texted back apologizing.
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Prosecutors were working to prove to the jury that just days after Biden purchased the revolver on Oct. 12, Biden was using crack cocaine.
Hunter Biden was seen keeping his eyes locked on Naomi Biden as she testified, looking away from the witness stand only when he looked through the stack of printed-out text messages he exchanged with his daughter in October 2018. He hugged his daughter after she stepped down from the stand, and then watched her as she left court.
An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows the gun that Hunter Biden purchased. (U.S. Government Exhibit)
In addition to Naomi Biden and two expert witnesses, the court also heard from the gun shop owner and the employee who were at the store the day of Biden’s purchase. The employee who ran the background check, Jason Turner, delivered blunt answers to the defense team on Friday, appearing annoyed and defensive as Lowell peppered him with questions regarding the sequence of events surrounding when Biden picked out the firearm on Oct. 12, when Biden filled out the federal gun form, when Turner ran the background check, and when Biden actually purchased the gun.
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Hunter Biden arrives at federal court, Monday, June 3, 2024, in Wilmington. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“You’re not understanding how gun shop life is,” Turner told Lowell at one point, referring to how gun purchases can take time, and that people who frequent gun shops often spend time talking sports or just visiting with employees.
Lowell and Turner often spoke over each other, with Noreika jumping in to tell Turner to let Lowell finish his questions before answering, and that Lowell would do the same when Turner responded. Noreika joked that, otherwise, the court’s stenographer gets “mad” at her for the inability to record both parties’ comments.
First lady Jill Biden departs from federal court, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Wilmington. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“Be mad at me,” Turner quipped to the court stenographer, eliciting a few chuckles in court.
“He’s been mad at me the whole trial,” Lowell lightheartedly said in response.
If Biden does testify, direct testimony and cross-examination could eat up most of the day. The prosecution team was heard saying they might call a rebuttal witness if Biden testifies, which could extend the timeline of the trial.
If Lowell does not call on Biden to testify, the court could hold closing statements, jury instructions and begin jury deliberations as early as Monday. The trial was initially expected to last a week or two.
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First lady Jill Biden joined her stepson in court again Friday, after missing Thursday’s court proceedings due to her trip to Normandy, France, with President Biden to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The first lady was flanked in court by her daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen, Hunter Biden’s wife, and President Biden’s younger sister, Valerie Biden.
