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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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.
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."
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.