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.

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."

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.

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.

Attorneys for Hunter Biden, in their cross-examination of FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen, attempted to push back on prosecutors' contention that Hunter Biden was abusing drugs at the time he said on a gun-purchase form that he was drug-free.

A key piece of evidence comes from Hunter Biden's 2021 memoir, in which he described his "relapse" just weeks after leaving rehab in August -- just six weeks before purchasing the firearm.

"I stayed clean for two weeks then relapsed," Hunter Biden wrote in his book.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, on cross-examination, questioned the assumption that Hunter Biden's relapse implied that he was referring to his drug use -- suggesting instead that he was referring to his alcohol addiction.

"When he was referring to that in his book, was he talking about relapsing to drugs and alcohol, or do you know what he meant?" Lowell asked.

"I can only state what was stated," Jensen said.

"Which is, 'Then I relapsed?'" Lowell asked.

"Just what it says, 'I relapsed,'" Jensen replied.

Jensen also acknowledged that she could not verify that Hunter Biden was continuously using drugs from 2015 to 2019, saying, "My recollection is that there are excerpts where he was principally occupied with smoking crack cocaine. I didn't get the sense that it was the entire history."

"Meaning that there were periods of time that he was not?" Lowell asked.

"I think there -- including the period in August where we have some invoices for rehab, that there were periods where there was not," Jensen said.

It was an important moment for the defense, as Lowell managed to establish that Hunter Biden's use of drugs was not consistent -- cuing up his argument that the president's son was not on drugs at the time of his firearm purchase.

Prosecutors also entered into evidence records related to enormous cash withdrawals Hunter Biden made -- more than $150,000 from September through November of 2018, including a $5,000 withdrawal on the day he purchased the gun. Prosecutors suggested this cash was used to procure drugs; Lowell, on cross-examination, established that Hunter Biden paid $900 in cash for the weapon and accessories.

Court was subsequently recessed for the day, with Lowell's cross-examination of Jensen scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.

Prosecutors suggested that Hallie Biden would be the next witness after Jensen, making it likely that the first Biden family member to testify will take the stand at some point tomorrow.