The ex, the wife and the widow: Who’s who in the Hunter Biden trial
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was found guilty on three federal gun-related charges on Thursday for unlawfully obtaining and possessing a firearm in October 2018.
After a week-long trial and three hours of deliberations at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, a 12-person jury unanimously chose to convict Biden on all charges.
Jurors heard from a cast of characters who testified about Hunter’s prior drug use shortly before he bought the gun and his ownership of the firearm.
Prosecutors argued that Biden lied on a federal gun form by stating that he was not addicted to, or using, crack cocaine at the time of the firearm purchase.
Among those who testified were three of Hunter’s former romantic partners: his ex-wife; his ex-girlfriend; and his sister-in-law-turned-lover.
Hunter Biden
The defendant
Robert “Hunter” Biden, 54, is the defendant in the case. He was accused of lying on a federal gun form in 2018 to obtain a firearm while addicted to crack cocaine and then unlawfully possessing that gun.
Hunter pleaded not guilty to the three counts. He was later found guilty.
Throughout his life, Hunter has dealt with alcohol and drug abuse, which he publicly documented in his memoir Beautiful Things. But between 2015 and 2019, he became addicted to crack cocaine, a fact that has become a pawn for political opponents to launch attacks on the Bidens.
Though Hunter had periods of sobriety, prosecutors say he lied about his addiction when obtaining the firearm from a Wilmington gun shop. In the US, it is illegal for an “unlawful user” of drugs to possess a firearm.
Kathleen Buhle
The ex-wife
Kathleen Buhle, 55, is a nonprofit executive and Hunter’s ex-wife. She was called to testify in the trial under subpoena.
Buhle was married to Hunter for 24 years from 1993 until their divorce in 2017, though they separated in 2015 due to infidelity. The couple has three daughters: Naomi, Finnegan and Maisy.
She testified that she discovered Hunter was using drugs in 2015 after finding drug paraphernalia at their home.
Zoe Kestan
The ex-girlfriend
Zoe Kestan, 30, is Hunter’s ex-girlfriend. They briefly dated between 2017 and 2018.
The pair met while she was a dancer at a gentleman’s club in New York City in 2017. Kestan said she was immediately taken with Hunter, finding him “charming.”
At the time of their relationship, Kestan was 24 and Hunter was 48.
Kestan witnessed Hunter use crack cocaine often, sometimes “every 20 minutes or so”, she said. She also testified that she helped Hunter obtain drugs by accompanying him on deals or taking money out of an ATM for him.
She testified under immunity.
Hallie Biden
The former lover
Hallie Biden, 50, is Hunter’s sister-in-law and ex-girlfriend. She was married to Hunter’s brother, Beau Biden, from 2002 until his death in 2015.
Hunter and Hallie began dating after Beau died and continued their relationship until 2019.
Hallie was a key witness for the prosecution because she saw Hunter use drugs during that time period and found the gun he purchased. She eventually threw away the gun in a grocery store garbage can out of fear Hunter or her children would hurt themselves using it.
The prosecution’s damning evidence about Hunter’s drug use in October 2018 was text messages Hunter sent to Hallie about meeting a drug dealer and using crack cocaine.
Hallie witnessed Hunter using drugs on several occasions and accompanied him to drug deals. She told jurors she also used crack cocaine after Hunter introduced her to it.
She testified under immunity.
The attorneys
David Weiss
The special counsel
Special counsel David Weiss, 68, is the federal prosecutor who investigated and brought charges against Hunter.
Weiss oversaw the probe into Hunter’s financial and business dealings since 2020. In August 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland named him special counsel to the case.
Weiss initially struck a plea deal with Hunter’s attorneys that would resolve a felony gun charge if Hunter pleaded guilty to two tax misdemeanors. However, the deal fell through at the 11th hour.
Derek Hines
The prosecutor
Derek Hines, is a senior assistant to special counsel David Weiss.
He is one of the lead prosecutors for the government’s case against Hunter. Hines delivered opening statements in the trial, telling jurors: “Nobody is above the law.”
Leo Wise
The prosecutor
Leo Wise is one of the lead prosecutors for the government in the trial.
Wise has a reputation for pursuing charges against powerful figures and has spent much of his career in Baltimore, Maryland doing that.
He delivered closing statements in the case, echoing the words of Hines, “Nobody is above the law.”
Abbe Lowell
The defense attorney
Abbe Lowell, 72, is a notable criminal defense attorney who defended Hunter at his trial.
Lowell has decades of experience defending high-profile clients including politicians like John Edwards and Bob Menendez, along with Jared Kushner and Charles Keating.
He previously worked in the Justice Department and was chief minority counsel to Democrats in the House of Representatives during Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
Maryellen Noreika
The Judge
District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, 57, presided over the case in Wilmington.
She was assigned to the case in June 2023 and quickly struck down the plea deal Hunter had made with prosecutors.
Judge Noreika was appointed by Trump in 2017. She serves as one of the four judges for Delaware’s single-federal district court.
Prior to her nomination and appointment, she practiced corporate and commercial law in Wilmington, focusing on intellectual property law.
Other witnesses
Naomi Biden
The daughter
Naomi Biden, 30, is Hunter’s eldest daughter who served as a witness for the defense.
Naomi testified that she knew her father was addicted to crack cocaine between 2015 and 2019 and visited him while he was in a rehabilitation center in California in August 2018.
She gave an emotionally charged testimony about her father’s drug use impacting her relationship with him.
Prosecutors used a text message between the father and daughter from October 2018 to convince jurors that Hunter was not doing well at the time of his gun purchase
Gordon Cleveland
The gun salesman
Gordon Cleveland is a former gun store salesman who sold Hunter the firearm in October 2018.
Cleveland worked at StarQuest Shooters and Survival Supply, a store in Wilmington, at the time. He was known for his ability to sell expensive guns to customers, something the prosecution believes contributed to Hunter’s purchase.
He ultimately watched Hunter fill out the gun form and testified Hunter had no hesitation marking “no” under the question that asks if a person is an unlawful user or addicted to illegal drugs.
Erika Jensen
The FBI agent
Erika Jensen is an FBI agent with 20 years of experience who was assigned to oversee the case against Hunter.
Jensen collected evidence of Hunter’s drug use through his memoir and data she found on his laptop like photos, messages, videos and more.
She was the first person to testify in the trial.
