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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'No one is above the law,' prosecutor says in opening
Opening statements got underway in Hunter Biden's gun trial after nearly an hour-long delay.
The jury was seated just before 10 a.m.
"No one is above the law," prosecutor Derek Hines said in his opening statement, addressing the jury from the lectern.
"It doesn't matter who you are or what your name is," Hines told them.
Judge says they 'lost' a juror overnight
Judge Maryellen Noreika took the bench this morning and announced they had "lost" one juror overnight after she "begged" to be released due to travel difficulties.
"We lost a juror overnight," Judge Noreika said, noting the juror explained she lives far away and does not have a car. Noreika did not specifically address how they would be moving forward, but there are four alternates who were seated yesterday as part of the jury.
Opening statements had still not gotten underway as of 9 a.m., as the court was still awaiting the arrival of four of the jurors.
Judge Noreika used the time to address a number of motions, including rejecting a motion from Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell seeking to exclude from evidence a number of photos of Hunter Biden.
The government said they needed a photo to prove Hunter Biden was in Malibu at a particular time, and the judge agreed to admit it.
First lady Jill Biden was back in her same front-row seat as yesterday, seated between Hunter Biden's wife Melissa and Jill Biden's daughter Ashley Biden.
Hunter Biden arrives at courthouse
Hunter Biden has arrived at the courthouse for Day 2 of his federal gun trial.
He was accompanied by wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
His stepmother, first lady Jill Biden, and his half-sister Ashley Biden are also in attendance for the second day in a row.
Arguments to get underway this morning
Hunter Biden returns to court this morning for the start of arguments in his federal gun trial.
Attorneys with special counsel David Weiss' office and lawyers for Hunter Biden are both scheduled to deliver opening statements in the case.
Judge Maryellen Noreika yesterday swore in a jury of six men and six women, completing the jury selection process in a single day to put the trial two days ahead of schedule.
Ex-girlfriend says they weren't in touch at time of gun purchase
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, cross-examining Hunter Biden's former girlfriend Zoe Kestan, sought to renew his argument that Hunter Biden was not actively using drugs in October 2018 by emphasizing that Kestan wasn't in contact with him at that time and would not know.
Kestan testified that she wasn't in touch with Hunter Biden from Sept. 23, when they were in Malibu together, until November, when he summoned her to Massachusetts while he was trying out a new ketamine therapy program.
As such, Kestan testified she had "no idea" that he had gone back to Delaware, or what he was doing at that time.
"So you didn't see him between those two dates?" Lowell asked.
"No," she said.
Lowell also sought to cast Kestan as an enabler of Hunter's addiction.
"You helped him get drugs?" Lowell asked.
"Yes," Kestan responded.
Prosecutors pushed back on that argument by highlighting their significant age gap: Kestan was 24 at the time of the relationship, while Hunter Biden was 48.
"Twice my age," she testified.
Kestan subsequently concluded her testimony and stepped down from the witness stand. Prosecutors then prepared to called to the stand Gordon Cleveland, the gun shop employee who sold Hunter Biden the firearm in 2018.