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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Chemist testifies about substance on gun's pouch
Chemist Jason Brewer, testifying as an expert witness for the prosecution, told the jury that a brown leather pouch that contained Hunter Biden's gun at the time the weapon was retrieved by authorities tested positive for cocaine.
Brewer said there were "minimal amounts of white powder" on two locations on the pouch, which he combined and tested.
On cross-examination, Hunter Biden's attorney sought to raise doubts about how that white powder got there and who put it there -- emphasizing it could have been old, dating back to before Hunter Biden purchased the gun.
"You can't date when it got there?" defense attorney David Kolansky asked.
"I cannot," Brewer said.
Kolansky also emphasized that five years went by from the time the pouch was collected in October 2018 to when it was tested in October 2023 -- after the indictment in this case was already filed.
He emphasized the importance of the "chain of command," which Brewer conceded was "very important."
Earlier, Hunter Biden's former girlfriend Hallie Biden testified that she put the gun in the pouch, which she found in Hunter Biden's vehicle, after she discovered the weapon in the vehicle and before she disposed of it in a trash container.
Government calls FBI chemist to the stand
Proceedings resumed this morning with the government calling FBI chemist Dr. Jason Brewer to the stand.
Brewer is testifying as an expert witness.
Prosecutors said they would then call a DEA officer as their final witness.
First lady returns to trial
First lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden's stepmother, is in attendance at the trial this morning.
She returned from France, where she was accompanying President Joe Biden on a trip to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
She had attended the trial each day until making the trip to France.
Hunter Biden arrives at courthouse
Hunter Biden has arrived at the courthouse for Day 5 of the trial.
He was accompanied as usual by his wife Melissa Cohen Biden.
Evidence supports 'only one verdict' prosecutor tells jury
Prosecutor Leo Wise used witness testimony and Hunter Biden's own words from his memoir and text messages to argue that the president's son "knew exactly what he was doing" when prosecutors say he falsely claimed he was not addicted to drugs in order to purchase a Colt handgun in 2018.
"Take the defendant's word for it," Wise said as he showed the jury excerpts from Hunter Biden's book that described his drug use and addiction.
Wise, showing the jurors a side-by-side comparison of testimony regarding his truck from his daughter Naomi Biden and then-girlfriend Hallie Biden, said their testimony is "circumstantial evidence " that shows "the defendant used crack in the truck" days after purchasing the firearm.
Naomi Biden testified that she returned the truck to her father "clean" on Oct. 19, 2018, and Hallie Biden testified that a few days later she found Hunter Biden's gun in the vehicle along with drug paraphernalia and drug remnants.
Wise also showed the jury a calendar of the month of October 2018 that showed the cash withdrawals made by Hunter Biden. "None of the cash was for rehab," Wise said.
The evidence, Wise told jurors in conclusion, "supports only one verdict."
Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell then began his closing arguments.