Hunter Biden gun trial: 'Politics never came into play,' juror says after guilty verdict

The president's son was convicted of unlawfully purchasing a firearm.

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been found guilty on three felony counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs.

The younger Biden, who pleaded not guilty last October after being indicted by special counsel David Weiss, denied the charges. The son of a sitting president had never before faced a criminal trial.

The trial came on the heels of former President Donald Trump's conviction on felony charges related to a hush money payment made to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.


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Gun store clerk back on the stand

Gordon Cleveland, the gun store clerk who sold Hunter Biden the firearm at the center of the case, returned to the stand.

Cleveland was being cross-examined by the defense after testifying for the prosecution yesterday.

Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden's former romantic partner who is the widow of his brother Beau Biden, is expected to be the next witness following Cleveland.


Proceedings begin with sidebar

Court resumed this morning with a sidebar conference.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys were arguing before the judge about an exhibit the defense wants to introduce when Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden's former romantic partner, takes the stand as expected later today.

Separately, defense attorney Abbe Lowell signaled his intention to file a motion to have the case thrown out after the government rests.

The long-shot bid will be filed on grounds of constitutional shortcomings and insufficient evidence, Lowell said.

Lowell also said his witnesses -- which could include President Joe Biden's brother James Biden and Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi Biden -- may not be available until Friday morning.


Hunter Biden arrives at courthouse

Hunter Biden has arrived at the Wilmington courthouse for today's proceedings.

Like previous days, he was accompanied by his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.


Hallie Biden expected to testify as government looks to rest case

The gun store clerk who sold Hunter Biden the handgun at the center of the government's case returns to the witness stand this morning on Day 4 of the trial as prosecutors look to wrap up their case against the president's son.

Prosecutors said at the end of Wednesday's proceedings that they plan to call six more witnesses -- including Hallie Biden, perhaps their most crucial witness -- before resting their case, which could happen as soon as this afternoon.

Defense counsel have leaned into their claim that Hunter Biden was not actively abusing drugs in October of 2018, the month of his gun purchase, and therefore did not knowingly lie on the federal firearm application form.

Zoe Kestan, one of Hunter Biden's ex-girlfriends, testified Wednesday that she witnessed him smoking crack the month before and the month after his gun purchase, but had "no idea" what he was doing in October.

To fill that gap, prosecutors plan to call Hallie Biden, his brother's widow with whom Hunter Biden was romantically involved.

"The evidence will show that during those 11 days, the defendant continued to use drugs and to talk about his drug use with Hallie," prosecutor Derek Hines said.


Defense shows only 2 October texts referenced drugs

Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, questioned FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen about Hunter Biden's infamous laptop, which prosecutors entered into evidence yesterday, asking her on cross-examination if she had done an "analysis" of whether "data" or "content" of the laptop was "tampered with, added to, or subtracted" during the months that passed between when Hunter Biden dropped off the device for service in April of 2019 and when the FBI obtained it in December 2019.

Jensen said she had not.

Lowell also took aim at the numerous text messages prosecutors have presented as evidence of Hunter Biden's drug addiction in 2018 and 2019.

Lowell showed that only two messages among the several alluding to drug use, drug paraphernalia, and drug purchases occurred during October of 2018 -- the period during which Hunter Bidden procured the firearm. The rest were either other months before the incident or months afterward, Lowell showed.

"You don't see any references … to baby powder?" Lowell asked Jensen, before ticking through other drug terms that appeared in the messages earlier in 2018 or later in 2019, including "chore boy" and "party favors."

Each time, Jensen replied "No."

Lowell also questioned Jensen about two messages Hunter Biden sent around the time of his gun purchase that did allude to drug use, one of them referring to an alleged drug dealer named "Mookie" and other referencing "smoking crack on a car" in Wilmington. Lowell sought to establish that Jensen had no firsthand knowledge about the contents of the messages.

"Do you know if there is a person named Mookie?" Lowell asked.

"No," Jensen replied.

"Do you know if he was on a car smoking crack?" Lowell asked later, referring to Hunter Biden.

"No," Jensen said.

Lowell subsequently ended his cross-examination of Jensen, and prosecutors undertook their redirect examination.