Omnibus : Hunter Biden

[spaminator]

Hunter Biden’s tax trial delayed to September with gun trial still in June
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Stefanie Dazio And Alanna Durkin Richer
Published May 22, 2024 • 3 minute read

LOS ANGELES — Hunter Biden is scheduled to stand trial on federal tax charges in September after a judge on Wednesday granted his request to delay the California trial that had been approaching next month.


U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi agreed during a hearing to push the case to Sept. 5 after defence lawyers said they need more time to prepare with Hunter Biden, who is also facing a separate trial on federal gun charges beginning June 3 in Delaware.


The president’s son has pleaded not guilty to both indictments, which his lawyers have claimed are politically motivated. Both cases are being overseen by judges nominated by then-president Donald Trump, a Republican who is running to unseat the Democratic president in November.

The trials will add to an already acrimonious presidential election as Trump’s allies again seize on embarrassing details from the younger Biden’s troubled life to attack his father, even as Trump faces his own legal problems. Trump is charged in four criminal cases, including a hush-money trial underway in New York.


Hunter Biden’s lawyers, who have pushed for dismissals and delays in both cases, say they have been struggling to line up expert witnesses to testify in the high-profile trial in Los Angeles.



Prosecutors on Wednesday pushed back on the delay request, describing it as a straightforward tax case. Prosecutor Leo Wise told the judge: “The time to try this case is now.”

“He is not above the rule of law and should be treated like any other defendant,” Justice Department special counsel David Weiss’ team wrote in a recent court filing.

Biden was not required to attend the hearing in Los Angeles federal court and did not do so. The judge cautioned his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, that this would be the only delay in the case, barring an order from a higher court.


Prosecutors say they have lined up roughly 30 witnesses to testify in the case alleging he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years while living an “extravagant lifestyle” during a period in which he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. The back taxes have since been paid.

In the gun case, prosecutors allege that Biden lied about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a firearm that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware. He has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law.

Prosecutors plan to show jurors in the gun case portions of his 2021 memoir Beautiful Things, in which he detailed his struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse following the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau, who succumbed to brain cancer at age 46.


Biden’s lawyers have pushed unsuccessfully in both cases to have them dismissed. They have argued, among other things, that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to indict him after a plea agreement hit the skids in court and was publicly pilloried by Republicans, including Trump, as a “sweetheart deal.”

The long-running federal investigation into the president’s son had looked ready to wrap with a plea deal last year, but the agreement imploded after a judge raised questions about it. Biden was subsequently indicted.

Under the deal, he would have gotten two years of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanour tax charges. He also would have avoided prosecution on the gun charge if he stayed out of trouble.

Hunter Biden’s tax trial delayed to September with gun trial still in June

Hunter Biden is scheduled to stand trial on federal tax charges in September after a judge on Wednesday granted his request for a delay.

torontosun.com

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

Hunter Biden, the Trump Straw Man.
How many criminal cases is Trump facing?

 

[petros]

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

 

[spaminator]

Jury is chosen in Hunter Biden’s federal firearms case
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Randall Chase, Claudia Lauer, Michael Kunzelman And Colleen Long
Published Jun 03, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read

WILMINGTON, Del. — A jury was seated Monday in the federal gun case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, after prospective panelists were questioned about their thoughts on gun rights and drug addiction while the first lady watched from the front row of the courtroom.


Opening statements were set to begin Tuesday after the jurors — six men and six women plus four women serving as alternates — were instructed by Judge Maryellen Noreika not to talk or read about the case.

Hunter Biden has been charged in Delaware with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

The case is going to trial following the collapse of a plea deal that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department, after Republicans decried the now-defunct plea deal as special treatment for the Democratic president’s son.


The proceedings are unfolding just days after Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City. A jury found the former president guilty of a scheme to cover up a hush money payment to a porn actor to fend off damage to his 2016 presidential campaign. The two criminal cases are unrelated, but their proximity underscores how the courts have taken center stage during the 2024 campaign.

Jury selection moved at a clip. The pool was chosen from roughly 65 people. Those who answered “yes” on an initial questionnaire were quizzed individually by Noreika to determine whether they could be fair and impartial. Their names were not made public.

The questions tested their knowledge of the case, surveyed their thoughts about gun ownership and inquired whether they or anyone close to them have struggled with substance abuse or addiction. Other questions focused on the role politics may have played in the charges.


One potential juror who was sent home said she didn’t know whether she could be impartial because of the opinion she had formed about Hunter Biden based on media reports.

“It’s not a good one,” she replied when an attorney asked her opinion.

Another was excused because he was aware of the case and said, “It seems like politics is playing a big role in who gets charged with what and when.”

Jurors who were chosen included a woman whose sister was convicted about 10 years ago of credit card fraud and drug charges in Delaware. One male juror’s father had been killed in a crime involving a gun, and his brother went to jail for possession of a narcotic. Another woman on the panel has a husband who is a gun owner and formerly in law enforcement. A third juror, also a woman, gets her news from YouTube and said she was vaguely aware of the case.


Hunter Biden also faces a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. Both cases were to have been resolved through the deal with prosecutors last July, the culmination of a yearslong investigation into his business dealings.

But Noreika, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, questioned some unusual aspects of the deal, which included a proposed guilty plea to misdemeanor offenses to resolve the tax crimes and a diversion agreement on the gun charge, which meant as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years the case would be dismissed. The lawyers could not come to a resolution, and the deal fell apart. Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed the top investigator, former U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, as a special counsel in August, and a month later Hunter Biden was indicted.


This trial isn’t about Hunter Biden’s foreign business affairs _ which Republicans have seized on without evidence to try to paint the Biden family as corrupt. But it will excavate some of Hunter Biden’s darkest moments and put them on display.

The president’s allies are worried about the toll the trial may take on the elder Biden, who’s long been concerned about his only living son and his sobriety and who must now watch as his son’s painful past mistakes are publicly scrutinized.

Allies are also worried the trial could become a distraction as the president tries to campaign under anemic poll numbers and as he is preparing for an upcoming presidential debate with Trump.

In a statement Monday, the president said he has “boundless love” for his son, “confidence in him and respect for his strength.”


“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” he said, adding that would have no further comment on the case. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”

The president was nearby, in their Wilmington home, which he left shortly after court adjourned for a campaign reception in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is traveling to France on Tuesday and will be gone the rest of the week. The first lady is scheduled to join him later. Hunter Biden’s sister, Ashley Biden, was also in court, and his wife, Melissa.

Aboard Air Force One on the way to Connecticut on Monday night, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if the case might affect the president’s ability to do his job and replied, “Absolutely not.”


“He always puts the American people first, and is capable of doing his job,” said Jean-Pierre, who declined to say if Biden got updates on the trial throughout the day or spoke to his son after the proceedings’ conclusion.

Earlier, when the court took a break for lunch, Hunter Biden walked over to his mother and leaned over the railing that separates the audience from the trial participants to hug and kiss her on the cheek. Monday was the first lady’s 73rd birthday.

A family friend, Ricky Smith, sat in the audience and embraced him warmly during a break.

“It ain’t right for him to be sitting there because he was a drug addict,” Smith said.

The case against Hunter Biden stems from a period when, by his own public admission, he was addicted to crack. His descent into drugs and alcohol followed the 2015 death of his brother, Beau Biden, from cancer. He bought and owned a gun for 11 days in October 2018 and indicated on the gun purchase form that he was not using drugs.

Defense attorneys have suggested they may argue that Hunter Biden didn’t see himself as an addict when prosecutors say he checked “no” to the question on the form. They will also attack the credibility of the gun store owner.

If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.

Jury is chosen in Hunter Biden’s federal firearms case

In a statement, the president said he has “boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength.”

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Remember, if Joe pardons him, he's a scumbag who thinks he and his family are above the law.

If he doesn't pardon him, he's a cruel, manipulative politician who won't lift a finger to help his own son.

 

[spaminator]

President Biden’s brother, son’s widow among witnesses expected at Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Claudia Lauer, Michael Kunzelman, Colleen Long And Randall Chase
Published Jun 04, 2024 • 5 minute read

WILMINGTON, Del. — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday painted President Joe Biden’s son Hunter as a “drug addict” whose dark habits ensnared loved ones and who knew what he was doing when he lied on federal forms to purchase a gun in 2018 when he said he wasn’t in the throes of addiction.


Meanwhile, Hunter Biden’s attorney said he would call the president’s brother James Biden as a witness. James and Hunter are close, and the uncle helped his nephew through rehab stints in the past.

Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase when he was, according to his memoir, addicted to crack. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

Prosecutors told the jury in their opening statement that Hunter Biden was trying to score drugs just days after he lied on the form, telling his brother’s widow in a message that he was waiting for a drug dealer. They also played for jurors an audio excerpt of his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” where he talks about going back to Delaware around the time of the gun purchase.


“No one is allowed to lie on a federal form like that, even Hunter Biden,” federal prosecutor Derek Hines said. “He crossed the line when he chose to buy a gun and lied about a federal background check … the defendant’s choice to buy a gun is why we are here.”

“When the defendant filled out that form, he knew he was a drug addict” and prosecutors don’t have to prove he was using that day, Hines said.

Hines added: “Addiction is depressing,” but Hunter Biden’s addiction isn’t the reason for the case.

The proceedings come after the collapse of a deal with prosecutors that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department after Republicans decried the now-defunct plea deal as special treatment for the Democratic president’s son.


First lady Jill Biden and his sister Ashley Biden, who attended Monday’s court session, joined him in the courtroom again as opening statements began.

Defence attorney Abbe Lowell said the form asks whether you “are” a drug user. “It does not say ‘have you ever been,”‘ and he suggested the president’s son did not think of himself as someone with a drug problem when he purchased the gun.

And his state of mind should be considered at the time of the purchase, not “what he wrote in a book in 2021.″

He told the jury that prosecutors have to prove that Hunter Biden knowingly violated the law.

The trial is unfolding just days after Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City. The two criminal cases are unrelated, but their proximity underscores how the courts have taken centre stage during the 2024 campaign.


Jury selection moved at a clip Monday in the president’s home state, where Hunter Biden grew up and where the family is deeply established. Joe Biden spent 36 years as a senator in Delaware, commuting daily to Washington.

People there are familiar with how Biden’s two young sons, Hunter and Beau, were injured in the car accident that killed his wife and baby girl in the early 1970s. And Beau Biden was the former state attorney general before he died at age 46 from cancer.

Some prospective jurors were dismissed because they knew the family personally, others because they held both positive and negative political views about the Bidens and couldn’t be impartial. Still, it took only a day to find the 12-person panel and four alternates.


Hunter Biden also faces a trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. Both cases were to have been resolved through the deal with prosecutors last July, the culmination of a yearslong investigation into his business dealings.

But Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, questioned some unusual aspects of the deal, which included a proposed guilty plea to misdemeanour offences to resolve the tax crimes and a diversion agreement on the gun charge, which meant as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years the case would be dismissed.

The lawyers could not come to a resolution on her questions, and the deal fell apart. Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed the top investigator, a former U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, as a special counsel in August, and a month later Hunter Biden was indicted.


Opening statements come as Garland faces members of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in Washington, which has been investigating the president and his family and whose chairman has been at the forefront of a stalled impeachment inquiry stemming from Hunter Biden’s business dealings.

The Delaware trial isn’t about Hunter Biden’s foreign business affairs, though the proceedings are likely to dredge up dark, embarrassing and painful memories.

The president’s allies are worried about the toll the trial may take on the elder Biden, who’s long been concerned about his only living son and his sobriety and who must now watch as his son’s past mistakes are publicly scrutinized. And the president must do so while he’s campaigning under anemic poll numbers and preparing for an upcoming presidential debate with Trump.


Aboard Air Force One on Monday night, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if the case might affect the president’s ability to do his job, and she replied, “Absolutely not.”

“He always puts the American people first and is capable of doing his job,” said Jean-Pierre, who declined to say if Biden got updates on the trial throughout the day or spoke to his son after the proceedings concluded.

Biden was scheduled to travel to France on Tuesday evening and will be gone the rest of the week. The first lady is scheduled to join him later this week.

If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.

Trump is set to be sentenced on July 11 by Judge Juan M. Merchan, who raised the specter of jail time during the trial after the former president racked up thousands of dollars in fines for violating a gag order.

— Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Fatima Hussein aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.

President Biden’s brother, son’s widow among witnesses expected at Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial

Hunter Biden's attorney said he would call the president's brother James Biden as a witness.

torontosun.com

 

[Dixie Cup]

Jury is chosen in Hunter Biden’s federal firearms case
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Randall Chase, Claudia Lauer, Michael Kunzelman And Colleen Long
Published Jun 03, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read

WILMINGTON, Del. — A jury was seated Monday in the federal gun case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, after prospective panelists were questioned about their thoughts on gun rights and drug addiction while the first lady watched from the front row of the courtroom.


Opening statements were set to begin Tuesday after the jurors — six men and six women plus four women serving as alternates — were instructed by Judge Maryellen Noreika not to talk or read about the case.

Hunter Biden has been charged in Delaware with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

The case is going to trial following the collapse of a plea deal that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department, after Republicans decried the now-defunct plea deal as special treatment for the Democratic president’s son.


The proceedings are unfolding just days after Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City. A jury found the former president guilty of a scheme to cover up a hush money payment to a porn actor to fend off damage to his 2016 presidential campaign. The two criminal cases are unrelated, but their proximity underscores how the courts have taken center stage during the 2024 campaign.

Jury selection moved at a clip. The pool was chosen from roughly 65 people. Those who answered “yes” on an initial questionnaire were quizzed individually by Noreika to determine whether they could be fair and impartial. Their names were not made public.

The questions tested their knowledge of the case, surveyed their thoughts about gun ownership and inquired whether they or anyone close to them have struggled with substance abuse or addiction. Other questions focused on the role politics may have played in the charges.


One potential juror who was sent home said she didn’t know whether she could be impartial because of the opinion she had formed about Hunter Biden based on media reports.

“It’s not a good one,” she replied when an attorney asked her opinion.

Another was excused because he was aware of the case and said, “It seems like politics is playing a big role in who gets charged with what and when.”

Jurors who were chosen included a woman whose sister was convicted about 10 years ago of credit card fraud and drug charges in Delaware. One male juror’s father had been killed in a crime involving a gun, and his brother went to jail for possession of a narcotic. Another woman on the panel has a husband who is a gun owner and formerly in law enforcement. A third juror, also a woman, gets her news from YouTube and said she was vaguely aware of the case.


Hunter Biden also faces a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. Both cases were to have been resolved through the deal with prosecutors last July, the culmination of a yearslong investigation into his business dealings.

But Noreika, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, questioned some unusual aspects of the deal, which included a proposed guilty plea to misdemeanor offenses to resolve the tax crimes and a diversion agreement on the gun charge, which meant as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years the case would be dismissed. The lawyers could not come to a resolution, and the deal fell apart. Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed the top investigator, former U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, as a special counsel in August, and a month later Hunter Biden was indicted.


This trial isn’t about Hunter Biden’s foreign business affairs _ which Republicans have seized on without evidence to try to paint the Biden family as corrupt. But it will excavate some of Hunter Biden’s darkest moments and put them on display.

The president’s allies are worried about the toll the trial may take on the elder Biden, who’s long been concerned about his only living son and his sobriety and who must now watch as his son’s painful past mistakes are publicly scrutinized.

Allies are also worried the trial could become a distraction as the president tries to campaign under anemic poll numbers and as he is preparing for an upcoming presidential debate with Trump.

In a statement Monday, the president said he has “boundless love” for his son, “confidence in him and respect for his strength.”


“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” he said, adding that would have no further comment on the case. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”

The president was nearby, in their Wilmington home, which he left shortly after court adjourned for a campaign reception in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is traveling to France on Tuesday and will be gone the rest of the week. The first lady is scheduled to join him later. Hunter Biden’s sister, Ashley Biden, was also in court, and his wife, Melissa.

Aboard Air Force One on the way to Connecticut on Monday night, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if the case might affect the president’s ability to do his job and replied, “Absolutely not.”


“He always puts the American people first, and is capable of doing his job,” said Jean-Pierre, who declined to say if Biden got updates on the trial throughout the day or spoke to his son after the proceedings’ conclusion.

Earlier, when the court took a break for lunch, Hunter Biden walked over to his mother and leaned over the railing that separates the audience from the trial participants to hug and kiss her on the cheek. Monday was the first lady’s 73rd birthday.

A family friend, Ricky Smith, sat in the audience and embraced him warmly during a break.

“It ain’t right for him to be sitting there because he was a drug addict,” Smith said.

The case against Hunter Biden stems from a period when, by his own public admission, he was addicted to crack. His descent into drugs and alcohol followed the 2015 death of his brother, Beau Biden, from cancer. He bought and owned a gun for 11 days in October 2018 and indicated on the gun purchase form that he was not using drugs.

Defense attorneys have suggested they may argue that Hunter Biden didn’t see himself as an addict when prosecutors say he checked “no” to the question on the form. They will also attack the credibility of the gun store owner.

If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.

Jury is chosen in Hunter Biden’s federal firearms case

In a statement, the president said he has “boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength.”

torontosun.com

Ah, he'll get off. He's being tried in Delaware which is "Biden country"

 

[spaminator]

Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and former girlfriend testify about finding his drug paraphernalia
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Claudia Lauer, Randall Chase, Colleen Long And Michael Kunzelman
Published Jun 05, 2024 • 6 minute read

WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and a former girlfriend testified Wednesday in his gun trial about finding his crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia, and jurors saw photos of the president’s son bare-chested in a bubble bath and heard about his visit to a strip club.


As the first lady sat in the front row, the courtroom grew quiet when Kathleen Buhle, who was married to Hunter for 20 years, walked in. She testified that she discovered her husband was using drugs when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on their porch on July 3, 2015, a day after their anniversary. When she confronted him, “he acknowledged smoking crack,” she said.

The trial, about whether he lied on a gun purchase form in 2018 when he said he wasn’t using drugs, has quickly become a highly personal and detailed tour of the mistakes and drug use of Hunter Biden, whose struggles have been tabloid fodder for years and were used publicly by Republicans, including in their stalled impeachment effort against the president.


The proceedings are unfolding as the 2024 election looms, and allies worry about the toll it will take on President Joe Biden, who is deeply concerned about the health and sustained sobriety of his only living son. Prosecutors argue the photos, testimony and other evidence are necessary to show Hunter Biden’s state of mind when he bought the gun.

Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase in October 2018. He’s accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

Jurors have seen the gun and the form at the center of the case, and they have heard from the former clerk who sold the weapon. The clerk, Gordon Cleveland, said he watched as Hunter Biden entered his name, address and other personal information on the form.


He said he was standing next to Hunter Biden when he began to answer a series of questions on the form with “yes or no” boxes to check. Hunter checked a box saying he was purchasing the gun for himself. Another question asked whether the buyer was “an unlawful user of or addicted to” marijuana, stimulants, narcotics or any other controlled substance.

“He wrote ‘no’,” Cleveland said. He also testified that Hunter did not ask any questions or express any confusion about the question. He paid $900 in cash, telling Cleveland to keep the change _ about $13.


Prosecutors have hammered the idea that Hunter Biden was a habitual user, unable to stay clean for long. Buhle testified that even before she found the drugs, she suspected he was using. He had been kicked out of the Navy after testing positive for cocaine.


“I was definitely worried, scared,” she said. They have three children and divorced in 2016 after his infidelity and drug abuse became too much, according to her memoir, “If We Break,” about the dissolution of their marriage.

Buhle, who was subpoenaed, was on the stand for a brief 20 minutes. She remained composed but seemed upset as she recounted how she searched his car about a dozen times for drugs, whenever the children were driving it.

“Did you ever see Hunter using drugs?” defense attorney Abbe Lowell asked Buhle.

“No,” she replied.

Then prosecutor Leo Wise asked Buhle how she knew Hunter was using drugs.

“He told me,” she said.

Prosecutors also called Zoe Kestan, who testified under immunity about meeting Hunter Biden in December 2017 at a strip club in New York where she worked. During a private session, he pulled out a pipe and began smoking what she assumed was crack.


“He was incredibly charming and charismatic and friendly, and I felt really safe around him,” she said. “I remember after he had smoked it, nothing had changed. He was the same charming person.”

Kestan detailed for jurors when she saw him use drugs, buy drugs, talk about drugs or possess drug paraphernalia. Prosecutors asked her where he stored his drugs and pipes, and she testified he kept them in pouches and other places, such as a sunglasses cases.

On cross-examination, Kestan acknowledged that she had no contact with him in October 2018, the period when he bought the gun.

Jurors were shown dozens of pages of Hunter Biden’s memoir, “Beautiful Things,” written in 2021 after he got sober. And they heard lengthy audio excerpts from the book, which traces his descent into addiction following the death of his brother, Beau Biden, in 2015 from cancer. The memoir covers the period he bought the gun, though it doesn’t mention the weapon specifically.


Lowell has said Hunter Biden’s state of mind was different when he wrote the book than when he purchased the gun, when he didn’t believe he had an addiction. And he’s suggested Hunter Biden might have felt he had a drinking problem at the time, not a drug problem. Alcohol abuse doesn’t preclude a gun purchase.

The Delaware trial comes after the collapse of a plea deal with prosecutors that would have resolved the gun case and a separate California tax case. He’s now facing a separate trial in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

Hunter Biden has since pleaded not guilty and has said he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department, after Republicans slammed the now-defunct plea agreement as a sweetheart deal for the Democratic president’s son.


In Congress, Republicans have for months pursued an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie President Biden to his son’s business dealings. So far, GOP lawmakers have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing. But on Wednesday, House Republicans accused Hunter and the president’s brother James Biden of making false statements to Congress as part of the inquiry.

At his criminal trial, Hunter Biden’s personal messages have been shown as evidence, including some that came from a laptop he left at a Delaware repair shop and never retrieved. In 2020, the contents made their way to Republicans and were publicly leaked, revealing some highly personal messages about his work and his life — some that appeared in congressional hearings. He has since sued over the leaked information.


Jurors are also expected to hear from James Biden, who is close with Hunter and helped his nephew through rehab stints in the past. They will also get details on how Beau Biden’s widow, Hallie Biden, became addicted to crack during a brief relationship with Hunter after her husband’s death.

Hallie took the gun from Hunter and tossed it into the garbage at a nearby market, afraid of what he might do with it. The weapon was later found by someone collecting cans and eventually turned over to police.

First lady Jill Biden went to court for the third consecutive day to support Hunter, ahead of her trip to France to meet President Joe Biden, who was in Europe to mark the anniversary of D-Day.

If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.

The trial is unfolding shortly after Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City. The two criminal cases are unrelated, but their proximity underscores how the courts have taken center stage during the 2024 campaign.

Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and former girlfriend testify about finding his drug paraphernalia

Hunter Biden's ex-wife and a former girlfriend testified Wednesday in his gun trial about finding his crack pipes and drug paraphernalia

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Widow of Beau Biden takes stand in Hunter Biden's gun trial, talks about tossing the revolver
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Michael Kunzelman, Randall Chase, Colleen Long And Mike Catalini
Published Jun 06, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 6 minute read

WILMINGTON, Del. — The widow of Hunter Biden’s brother told jurors in his federal gun trial Thursday about the moment she found the revolver in his truck, describing how she put it into a leather pouch, stuffed it into a shopping bag and tossed it in a trash can outside a market near her home.


“I panicked, and I wanted to get rid of them,” she testified about finding the gun and ammunition in the vehicle’s console in October 2018. “I didn’t want him to hurt himself, and I didn’t want my kids to find it and hurt themselves.”

The purchase of the Colt revolver by Hunter Biden — and Hallie Biden’s frenzied disposal of it — are the fulcrum of the case against him. Federal prosecutors say the president’s son was in the throes of a heavy crack addiction when he bought the gun. He’s been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

Hunter Biden, who has pleaded not guilty, has said the Justice Department is bending to political pressure from Republicans and that he’s being unfairly targeted.


Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said in an interview with ABC he would accept the jury’s verdict and ruled out a pardon for his son. And the first lady left France, where she attended D-Day anniversary events with the president, to head back to Delaware. She was expected to attend the trial again Friday before returning to France for a state dinner.

Hallie Biden, who had a brief romantic relationship with Hunter after Beau Biden died in 2015, testified that from the time Hunter returned to Delaware from a 2018 trip to California until she threw his gun away, she did not see him using drugs. That time period included the day he bought the weapon.

Much of her testimony focused on Oct. 23, 2018 — 11 days after he bought the gun and when she tossed it. Hunter was staying with her and seemed exhausted. Asked by the prosecutor if it appeared that Hunter was using drugs around then, she said, “He could have been.”


As Hunter slept in her home, Hallie Biden went to check his car. She said she was hoping to help him get or stay sober, free of both alcohol and cocaine. She said she found the remnants of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. She also found the gun Hunter purchased in a box with a broken lock that kept it from fully closing. There was ammunition too.

Hallie said she considered hiding the gun but thought her kids might find it, so she decided to throw it away.

“I realize it was a stupid idea now, but I was panicking,” she said.

Hunter Biden watched expressionless from the courtroom during her testimony. She told jurors that she found crack at her home and saw him using it. She was with him occasionally when he saw dealers. Prosecutor Leo Wise asked Hallie about her own 2018 trip to California, where she visited Hunter at the Roosevelt Hotel, and asked her whether she was also using drugs.


“Yes, I was,” she said.

“And who introduced you to it?”’

“Hunter did,” Hallie said as Hunter rested his face on his hand and looked down.

“It was a terrible experience that I went through, and I’m embarrassed and ashamed, and I regret that period of my life,” she added.

Hallie testified she stopped using drugs in August 2018, but Hunter continued smoking crack.

Much of the prosecution’s case has been dedicated to highlighting the seriousness of his crack addiction and showcasing to jurors bare-chested moments with ex-girlfriends, infidelity and crack pipes _ judgment lapses they believe prove he was actively using when he checked “no” on the form. Prosecutors argue that the evidence is necessary to show his state of mind when he bought the gun.


After Hallie Biden threw the unloaded gun in the trash can at Janssen’s Market, he noticed it missing and asked her whether she had taken it.

“Are you insane?” he texted. He told her to go back to the market to look for it.

Surveillance footage played for jurors showed her digging around in the trash can for the gun, but it wasn’t there. She asked store officials if someone had taken out the trash.

Hallie said Hunter told her to file a police report because the gun was registered in his name. She called the police while she was still at the store.

Officers located the man who inadvertently took the gun along with other recyclables from the trash and retrieved it. The case was eventually closed because of lack of cooperation from Hunter Biden, who would have been considered the victim. Jurors also heard from the officers who handled the case and from the man who found the gun.


The Democratic president’s son arrived at court Thursday with a copy of his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” tucked under his arm. The book, written after he got sober in 2021, figures heavily into prosecutors’ case: They’ve played audio excerpts for jurors in which he details his descent into drugs and alcohol following the death of his brother in 2015 from cancer.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell has said Hunter Biden’s state of mind was different when he wrote the book than when he purchased the gun, when he didn’t believe he had an addiction. And he’s suggested Hunter Biden might have felt he had a drinking problem at the time, but not a drug problem. Alcohol abuse doesn’t preclude a gun purchase.

Jurors have also heard from the gun store clerk, who testified about how he walked Hunter Biden through a few options before he settled on the gun. The clerk then watched as the customer filled out the firearms transaction record, a required document for the purchase of a gun, and saw him check off “no” to the question of whether he was “an unlawful user of or addicted to” marijuana, stimulants, narcotics or any other controlled substance.


Gordon Cleveland, the former clerk at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply, said he saw Biden sign the form, which includes a warning about the consequences of submitting false information.

In his cross-examination Thursday, Lowell pointed out that some of the questions on the form are in the present tense, such as “are you an unlawful user of or addicted to” drugs. He has suggested Hunter Biden did not believe he had an active drug problem.

The proceedings are unfolding after the collapse of a plea deal that would have resolved the gun charge and a separate tax case, and spared the Biden family the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election.

The president’s sister, Valerie, was in court Thursday. First lady Jill Biden spent the first part of the week there before leaving for France. Allies worry about the toll the proceedings will take on the president, who is deeply concerned about the health and sustained sobriety of his only living son.

If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.

He also faces a separate trial in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

The trial is playing out shortly after Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City. The two criminal cases are unrelated, but their proximity underscores how the courts have taken center stage during the 2024 campaign.

Widow of Beau Biden takes stand in Hunter Biden's gun trial, talks about tossing the revolver

The widow of Hunter Biden’s brother told jurors in his federal gun trial Thursday about the moment she found the revolver in his truck.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testifies about her father in his federal gun trial, ending 1st week
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Randall Chase, Michael Kunzelman, Colleen Long And Claudia Lauer
Published Jun 07, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 5 minute read

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testified Friday in his federal gun trial about visiting her father at a California rehab center, telling jurors that he seemed to be improving in the weeks before he bought the revolver in 2018.


“I hadn’t seen my dad in a long time, and I knew he was in a rehab facility there. He reached out,” she told jurors softly. As she was dismissed from the stand, she paused to hug her dad before leaving the courtroom.

The defense began calling witnesses shortly after federal prosecutors wrapped up their case. Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell started by calling another gun store clerk who was there when the gun was purchased, raising questions about what he saw as inconsistencies on the form.

He also questioned the owner of the shop who allowed the sale to go through using Hunter’s passport, though it did not have his license plate number as required.

Then he called Hunter’s daughter. In October 2018, the month Hunter Biden bought the gun, Naomi traveled from Washington to New York in her father’s truck to move her boyfriend’s belongings. Hunter drove Joe Biden’s Cadillac to New York later that month to retrieve his truck, leaving the Cadillac with Naomi. She told jurors she didn’t see any drug paraphernalia or evidence of drug use.


“He seemed great. He seemed hopeful,” she said.

But prosecutors showed Naomi texts where he didn’t respond to her for hours after she messaged him about switching cars. At 2 a.m., Hunter texted Naomi asking where the keys to his truck were and whether her boyfriend could meet and swap vehicles.

“Right now?” she responded.

“Do you know what your father was doing at two o’clock in the morning and why he was asking you for the car then?” prosecutor Leo Wise asked.

“No,” she said.

Wise read out to her a text message from the time, where she responded: “I’m really sorry dad I can’t take this.”

When court broke for lunch, and as Hunter Biden prepared to leave, he motioned to the first row that was full of his family members, including first lady Jill Biden, who traveled back from France for the proceedings. The first lady took Hunter’s hand and held it until they got to the door.


Jurors were sent home for the afternoon after the defense had no more witnesses, and Lowell said he was weighing who else to call, though previously he said the president’s brother James would take the stand, and he was in court. The trial will resume Monday.

The week’s proceedings have been largely dedicated to highlighting the seriousness of Hunter Biden’s drug problem through highly personal testimony, all in an effort by prosecutors to prove that the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form when he said he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

Jurors heard earlier in the week from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and a former girlfriend who testified about his habitual crack use and their failed efforts to help him get clean. They saw images of the president’s son bare-chested and disheveled in a filthy room, and half-naked holding crack pipes. And they watched video of his crack cocaine weighed on a scale.


Prosecutors say the evidence is necessary to prove that Hunter, 54, was in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun and therefore lied when he checked “no” on the form that asked whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs.

Lowell has argued Hunter did not think of himself as an “addict” when he bought the gun and did not intend to deceive anyone.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden worked to walk the line between president and father, telling ABC in an interview that he would accept the jury’s verdict and ruling out a pardon for his son. Earlier this week, he issued a statement saying: “I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”

Biden is in France this week for D-Day anniversary events. Jill Biden, who attended court most of the week, will return to France for a state dinner.


Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

He has pleaded not guilty. He had hoped to resolve the gun case and another separate tax case in California with a plea deal last year, the result of a yearslong investigation into his business dealings. The deal had him pleading guilty to lower-level charges that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. It fell apart after Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by Donald Trump, questioned unusual aspects of the proposed agreement, and the lawyers couldn’t resolve them.

Hunter Biden said he got charged because the Justice Department bowed to pressure from Republicans who argued the Democratic president’s son was getting special treatment, and who have escalated their attacks on the criminal justice system since Donald Trump’s recent conviction in New York City in a hush money case.


It’s unclear yet whether Hunter Biden will testify. But jurors have already heard his voice. Prosecutors played lengthy audio excerpts in court of his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” in which he wrote about his lifelong addiction issues and spiraling descent after death of his brother Beau in 2015. The book, written after he got sober, covers the period he had the gun but doesn’t mention it specifically.

Lowell has said Hunter Biden’s state of mind was different when he wrote the book than when he purchased the gun, when he didn’t believe he had an addiction. He pointed out to jurors that some of the questions on the firearms transaction record are in the present tense, such as “are you an unlawful user of or addicted to” drugs.


And he’s suggested Hunter Biden might have felt he had a drinking problem at the time, but not a drug problem. Alcohol abuse doesn’t preclude a gun purchase.

The reason law enforcement raised any questions about the revolver is because Hallie Biden, Beau’s widow, found it unloaded in Hunter’s truck on Oct. 23, 2018, panicked and tossed it into a garbage can at Janssen’s Market, where a man inadvertently fished it out of the trash. She testified about the episode Thursday.

She eventually called the police. Officers retrieved the gun from the man who inadvertently took the gun along with other recyclables from the trash and retrieved it. The case was eventually closed because of lack of cooperation from Hunter Biden, who was considered the victim.

If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.

He also faces a separate trial in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testifies about her father in his federal gun trial, ending 1st week

“I hadn’t seen my dad in a long time, and I knew he was in a rehab facility there. He reached out,” she told jurors softly.

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testifies about her father in his federal gun trial, ending 1st week
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Randall Chase, Michael Kunzelman, Colleen Long And Claudia Lauer
Published Jun 07, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 5 minute read

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testified Friday in his federal gun trial about visiting her father at a California rehab center, telling jurors that he seemed to be improving in the weeks before he bought the revolver in 2018.


“I hadn’t seen my dad in a long time, and I knew he was in a rehab facility there. He reached out,” she told jurors softly. As she was dismissed from the stand, she paused to hug her dad before leaving the courtroom.

The defense began calling witnesses shortly after federal prosecutors wrapped up their case. Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell started by calling another gun store clerk who was there when the gun was purchased, raising questions about what he saw as inconsistencies on the form.

He also questioned the owner of the shop who allowed the sale to go through using Hunter’s passport, though it did not have his license plate number as required.

Then he called Hunter’s daughter. In October 2018, the month Hunter Biden bought the gun, Naomi traveled from Washington to New York in her father’s truck to move her boyfriend’s belongings. Hunter drove Joe Biden’s Cadillac to New York later that month to retrieve his truck, leaving the Cadillac with Naomi. She told jurors she didn’t see any drug paraphernalia or evidence of drug use.


“He seemed great. He seemed hopeful,” she said.

But prosecutors showed Naomi texts where he didn’t respond to her for hours after she messaged him about switching cars. At 2 a.m., Hunter texted Naomi asking where the keys to his truck were and whether her boyfriend could meet and swap vehicles.

“Right now?” she responded.

“Do you know what your father was doing at two o’clock in the morning and why he was asking you for the car then?” prosecutor Leo Wise asked.

“No,” she said.

Wise read out to her a text message from the time, where she responded: “I’m really sorry dad I can’t take this.”

When court broke for lunch, and as Hunter Biden prepared to leave, he motioned to the first row that was full of his family members, including first lady Jill Biden, who traveled back from France for the proceedings. The first lady took Hunter’s hand and held it until they got to the door.


Jurors were sent home for the afternoon after the defense had no more witnesses, and Lowell said he was weighing who else to call, though previously he said the president’s brother James would take the stand, and he was in court. The trial will resume Monday.

The week’s proceedings have been largely dedicated to highlighting the seriousness of Hunter Biden’s drug problem through highly personal testimony, all in an effort by prosecutors to prove that the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form when he said he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

Jurors heard earlier in the week from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and a former girlfriend who testified about his habitual crack use and their failed efforts to help him get clean. They saw images of the president’s son bare-chested and disheveled in a filthy room, and half-naked holding crack pipes. And they watched video of his crack cocaine weighed on a scale.


Prosecutors say the evidence is necessary to prove that Hunter, 54, was in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun and therefore lied when he checked “no” on the form that asked whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs.

Lowell has argued Hunter did not think of himself as an “addict” when he bought the gun and did not intend to deceive anyone.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden worked to walk the line between president and father, telling ABC in an interview that he would accept the jury’s verdict and ruling out a pardon for his son. Earlier this week, he issued a statement saying: “I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”

Biden is in France this week for D-Day anniversary events. Jill Biden, who attended court most of the week, will return to France for a state dinner.


Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

He has pleaded not guilty. He had hoped to resolve the gun case and another separate tax case in California with a plea deal last year, the result of a yearslong investigation into his business dealings. The deal had him pleading guilty to lower-level charges that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. It fell apart after Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by Donald Trump, questioned unusual aspects of the proposed agreement, and the lawyers couldn’t resolve them.

Hunter Biden said he got charged because the Justice Department bowed to pressure from Republicans who argued the Democratic president’s son was getting special treatment, and who have escalated their attacks on the criminal justice system since Donald Trump’s recent conviction in New York City in a hush money case.


It’s unclear yet whether Hunter Biden will testify. But jurors have already heard his voice. Prosecutors played lengthy audio excerpts in court of his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” in which he wrote about his lifelong addiction issues and spiraling descent after death of his brother Beau in 2015. The book, written after he got sober, covers the period he had the gun but doesn’t mention it specifically.

Lowell has said Hunter Biden’s state of mind was different when he wrote the book than when he purchased the gun, when he didn’t believe he had an addiction. He pointed out to jurors that some of the questions on the firearms transaction record are in the present tense, such as “are you an unlawful user of or addicted to” drugs.


And he’s suggested Hunter Biden might have felt he had a drinking problem at the time, but not a drug problem. Alcohol abuse doesn’t preclude a gun purchase.

The reason law enforcement raised any questions about the revolver is because Hallie Biden, Beau’s widow, found it unloaded in Hunter’s truck on Oct. 23, 2018, panicked and tossed it into a garbage can at Janssen’s Market, where a man inadvertently fished it out of the trash. She testified about the episode Thursday.

She eventually called the police. Officers retrieved the gun from the man who inadvertently took the gun along with other recyclables from the trash and retrieved it. The case was eventually closed because of lack of cooperation from Hunter Biden, who was considered the victim.

If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.

He also faces a separate trial in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testifies about her father in his federal gun trial, ending 1st week

“I hadn’t seen my dad in a long time, and I knew he was in a rehab facility there. He reached out,” she told jurors softly.

torontosun.com

No excuses!

 

[Twin_Moose]

No excuses!

No one is above the law not even the Biden's

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

No one is above the law not even the Biden's

But trying convicted felon Trump for his crimes is a Biden witch-hunt.

 

[petros]

But trying convicted felon Trump for his crimes is a Biden witch-hunt.

Fed charges.Which Hunter?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Funny part is, if it was a Republican on trial on gun charges, the MAGAhats and their Canadian wannabes would be screaming bloody murder about everybody's right to keep n' bear arms. Just not when it's somebody related to somebody they hate.

 

[petros]

Funny part is, if it was a Republican on trial on gun charges, the MAGAhats and their Canadian wannabes would be screaming bloody murder about everybody's right to keep n' bear arms. Just not when it's somebody related to somebody they hate.

Give us a shout when Baron gets so cracked up and he forgets he bought a gun and lied on the application.

 

[Dixie Cup]

But trying convicted felon Trump for his crimes is a Biden witch-hunt.

Not even close to the same thing. One is a hoax that should have been tried 7 or 8 years ago (and it was decided there was nothing there) & the other one is legitimate & long over due and should also have been prosecuted years ago. So I suppose there is some similarity but only in the timing.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Not even close to the same thing. One is a hoax that should have been tried 7 or 8 years ago (and it was decided there was nothing there) & the other one is legitimate & long over due and should also have been prosecuted years ago. So I suppose there is some similarity but only in the timing.

Oh? And why "should it have been tried 7 or 8 years ago?" Because you say so? We do have things called "statutes of limitations," and the timing of the case is within those limits.

I have no problem with convicted felon Trump's eight-year-old case, and likewise none with Hunter Biden's six-year-old case. You've already made it clear that to you, eight years is too long to wait to try convicted felon Trump, but six is perfectly OK for trying Hunter Biden. Pretty transparent.

 

[petros]

Felony.... sounds like a girls name.

 

[petros]

Make felony great again.