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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Prosecution set to rest its case
The government is expected to rest its case against Hunter Biden this morning after calling its final witnesses.
After that, it will be the defense's turn. Attorneys for Hunter Biden indicated earlier this week that they intend to call Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi to the stand, and also suggested that James Biden, the uncle of Hunter Biden and the brother of President Joe Biden, would testify.
Whether Hunter Biden takes the stand in his own defense remains an open question.
If he does not, defense attorney Abbe Lowell said he would likely rest his case on Monday, meaning jurors could be deliberating as soon as Tuesday.
Jurors were 'nodding off,' judge warned defense attorney
In a late-day sidebar conference that occurred out of the earshot of jurors and reporters -- but whose contents were included in the court transcript released at the end of each day -- Judge Maryellen Noreika chastised Hunter Biden's attorney for his lengthy questioning of witnesses.
The exchange came after prosecutors took issue with the "consistently lengthy" cross-examinations being conducted by defense attorney Abbe Lowell.
"This is going on a little long," Judge Noreika told Lowell about his cross-examination of the Delaware state trooper who recovered Hunter Biden's gun from the man who found it in the trash.
"I got jurors over there nodding off," the judge said. "Do that at your peril -- but they are half sleeping."
In contrast to Lowell's long cross-examination, prosecutors spent just twenty minutes questioning the trooper on direct examination.
"The crosses have been consistently lengthy, two times our directs," prosecutor Derek Hines told the judge, arguing that some of Lowell's questions were "irrelevant."
Government to rest case Friday, defense might rest Monday
The day's final witness was Ed Banner, the 80-year-old Navy veteran who recovered Hunter Biden's firearm from the trash receptacle outside a supermarket after Hunter Biden's then-girlfriend Hallie Biden had disposed of it there.
Banner described finding the firearm and other items as he was rummaging for recyclables that he would often drive to New York to return for money.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell had previously suggested that cocaine residue discovered on a leather pouch that held the gun could have been tampered with between the time the firearm was discarded on Oct. 23, 2018, and when it was tested in a lab in late 2023.
"This may sound like an unusual question, but does anyone in your household use cocaine?" Derek Hines asked Banner.
"No," Banner said, appearing somewhat surprised by the question.
Banner also denied wrapping the firearm in a sock, as a Delaware state trooper suggested in earlier testimony.
"I don't know nothin' about no sock," Banner said.
Prosecutors said before court concluded that they have two witnesses left -- a DEA drug specialist and an FBI chemist -- and that they intend to rest their case on Friday morning.
Defense counsel said they would call two or three witnesses and would likely rest their case by the end of the day on Monday.
As Lowell previously suggested, he may call James Biden, the president's brother, and Naomi Biden, the president's eldest granddaughter.
He also said that no decision has yet been made on whether Hunter Biden will testify in his own defense.
Court then was recessed for the day.
Trooper says gun was found by man rummaging through trash
Former Delaware State Police lieutenant Millard Greer testified that Hunter Biden's gun was placed in a sock by an elderly man who found the weapon in the trash outside a supermarket after Hallie Biden discarded it.
Greer said he reviewed surveillance footage, interviewed witnesses, and ultimately retrieved the weapon from Edward Banner, who was known to "rummage through trash."
When Greer approached Banner and asked him if someone left "something that didn't belong" in the trash outside the supermarket, Banner replied, "Oh yes, they did," Greer testified.
At Banner's home, he pulled out the firearm from a sock along with a leather pouch and other items, and handed them to Greer, the former trooper said.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Abbe Lowell pressed Greer about the chain of custody of the weapon, including questions about it being placed in an evidence locker.
Greer also testified that Hunter Biden chose not to press charges against Hallie Biden and Banner after the gun was retrieved.
Hunter Biden 'chose to lie,' prosecutor tells jury
Government prosecutors told jurors in the trial's opening statements that they should make "no distinction for Hunter Biden or anybody else" as they weigh the gun case against the president's son.
Hunter Biden "chose to lie," prosecutor Derek Hines said, laying out the case that the defendant purchased a gun while knowing he was an addict and drug user.
Hines said Hunter Biden bought the firearm from a gun seller who will testify as a witness that the younger Biden filled out form 4473 -- consenting to a federal background check -- and certified that he understood the form. The prosecution said it will show Hunter Biden "bought a gun and lied during a background check."
The man who sold Hunter Biden the gun will testify that he watched the defendant fill out the form.
The gun was then "taken by someone concerned he had a gun. That person was Halle Biden," Hines said, referring to Hunter Biden's romantic partner at the time.
Halle Biden disposed of the gun in a dumpster, where it was retrieved by a man who will also be a witness called by the government.
"The police were called" when Halle Biden went to retrieve the gun, Hines said.
Hines, in his opening, said evidence will show that "Hunter Biden knew he was a drug user and a drug addict" when he filled out the form.
Hines cited Hunter Biden's memoir, "Beautiful Things," in which he wrote he had a "superpower of buying crack anywhere, anytime."
In text messages presented by the prosecution, Hunter Biden acknowledged, "I am an addict."