The Latest: Jurors dismissed for the day in Hunter Biden's trial
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Latest on Hunter Biden's federal gun trial (all times local):
Jurors have been dismissed for the day in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial and they'll return Monday morning.
The judge sent the jury home after there were no more defense witnesses left to testify Friday, but defense attorney Abbe Lowell did not rule out calling at least one more witness to the stand Monday. Outside court, he would not elaborate on who the witness might be or whether he would call Hunter Biden to the stand.
Hunter Biden 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.
Currently:
— Defense begins calling witnesses in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial after prosecution rests case
— Who’s testified, and who might, in Hunter Biden’s firearms trial
— What’s the firearms form at the center of Hunter Biden’s gun trial? AP Explains
Here’s the latest:
NAOMI BIDEN HUGS HER FATHER AS SHE LEAVES WITNESS STAND
As Naomi Biden left the witness stand, she stopped to hug her father, Hunter Biden, before quickly walking out of the courtroom with Secret Service agents.
She wiped her eye as she left, but it was unclear whether she was crying. When Hunter was ready to leave, he motioned to the first row of family members, including first lady Jill Biden. Jill took Hunter’s hand and held it until they got to the door, then put her arm around his wife Melissa, to guide her toward her husband.
Hunter Biden 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.
NAOMI BIDEN TESTIFIES ABOUT HER FATHER'S DRUG USE
Naomi Biden told prosecutor Leo Wise she was aware of her father’s drug use when she went to visit him in California in August 2018.
“I knew that he was struggling with addiction,” she said.
Naomi said she couldn’t recall when she first became aware of Hunter Biden’s drug use, but that it was sometime after her uncle Beau Biden died in 2015.
Naomi said she probably saw her father only once during his visit to New York in mid-October 2018.
Wise showed her records indicating she texted Hunter on Oct. 17, but he didn’t respond until several hours later, asking whether she was awake and telling her to call him.
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?” Wise asked.
“No,” replied Naomi, adding that her father “still seemed good and I was hopeful.”
In a text to her father at the time, however, Naomi wrote, “I’m really sorry dad I can’t take this.”
NAOMI BIDEN TESTIFIES ABOUT CONDITION OF HUNTER'S TRUCK
Testifying in her father’s trial, daughter Naomi Biden said that in October 2018, she traveled from Washington to New York in Hunter Biden’s truck to move her boyfriend’s belongings.
She said Hunter Biden’s truck was in good shape when she drove it. She told defense attorney Abbe Lowell she didn’t see any drug paraphernalia or evidence of drug use in the truck.
In court, Hunter Biden stared intently at his daughter as she testified.
DEFENSE NEXT CALLS NAOMI BIDEN, HUNTER BIDEN'S DAUGHTER, TO THE STAND
The defense has called Naomi Biden, Hunter Biden’s daughter, to the stand in his federal gun trial.
Naomi testified about visiting her father in California in August 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 said.
Naomi said she and her boyfriend, who is now her husband, met Hunter and his “sober coach” at a coffee shop.
“I told him I was so proud of him,” Naomi said.
GUN STORE OWNER SAYS HE WAS NEXT DOOR WHEN EMPLOYEES CALLED HIM OVER
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell was questioning the owner of the Delaware gun store where Hunter Biden bought a handgun in October 2018.
Ronald Palimere said he was next door at another business he owned when he received a call from gun shop employees asking him to come over.
“Anytime we have celebrities, they will usually call me in,” he said.
Palimere said he went to a back office of the gun store, where an employee asked about the form of identification Hunter Biden had provided.
“There was discussion about the use of a passport, and whether I was OK with the use of a passport,” said Palimere.
“I said, ‘yes, sure,’” Palimere said.
“Were you trying to have the sale go in a hurry?” Lowell asked.
“I was trying to not hold the sale up,” Palimere replied.
DEFENSE NEXT CALLS THE OWNER OF THE GUN STORE
Former gun store employee Jason Turner concluded his testimony and the defense next called gun store owner Ronald Palimere to the stand in Hunter Biden’s federal trial.
Hunter Biden 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.
WITNESS SAYS HE PUT VEHICLE REGISTRATION NUMBER ON FORM, DEFENSE ASKS WHY IT'S MISSING
Former gun story employee Jason Turner said he wrote Hunter Biden’s vehicle registration number in a box on the form for supplemental information. But on the form shown in court, that box is empty.
“Where is it?” defense attorney Abbe Lowell asked, prompting prosecutors to ask for a sidebar discussion with the judge.
“There’s no such reference,” Lowell said after he resumed questioning Turner.
“There should be,” Turner said.
Lowell also noted that certain information on the form was entered in black ink, while other information was in red ink. Turner said he switched pens while filling out the form.
“How come?” Lowell asked.
Turner said the red ink is easier to see for audit purposes.
On cross-examination, prosecutor Leo Wise asked Turner whether he had met with defense attorneys before his testimony.
Turner said his interaction with defense attorneys after being subpoenaed was “a mess.”
“They can’t be on time for nothing,” said Turner, who appeared irritated with defense Lowell during his direct examination.
GUN STORE EMPLOYEE TESTIFIES THAT FORM WAS MISSING HUNTER BIDEN'S SIGNATURE
Testifying in Hunter Biden’s trial, gun story employee Jason Turner said the instructions for both the buyer and the seller are clearly spelled out on the form.
Turner said that before he ran the background check, another employee, Gordon Cleveland, showed him the form and a copy of Hunter Biden’s passport.
“It was missing information,” Turner said, explaining that the form was missing Hunter Biden’s signature and a supplementary form of identification showing Hunter’s address, which was not on the passport.
COURT RESUMES WITH DEFENSE CALLING ITS FIRST WITNESS
Court has resumed in Hunter Biden’s federal trial with the defense calling its first witness, gun store employee Jason Turner.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell questioned Turner, a former employee at the Delaware gun store where Hunter bought a handgun in October 2018. Turner was the store employee who ran the required federal background check after Hunter Biden filled out paperwork for buying the .38 caliber Colt revolver.
Prosecutors say Hunter Biden lied about being a drug user and addicted to crack cocaine when he filled out the federal firearms purchase form.
JAMES BIDEN, THE PRESIDENT'S BROTHER, HAS ENTERED THE COURTHOUSE
President Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, has arrived at the courthouse where Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial is taking place.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell has said he would call James Biden as a witness.
Hunter Biden 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'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY SAYS HE'S MAKING A MOTION FOR ACQUITTAL
After prosecutors rested their case in Hunter Biden’s gun trial and the jurors were dismissed for a morning break, defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the judge he was making an oral motion for acquittal.
Lowell said he will lay out the grounds for his motion in a written submission expected to be file later in the day.
“I appreciate you letting me know what’s coming,” the judge said.
While the judge was questioning Lowell about his motion, Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa, shook her head and appeared to be irritated.
PROSECUTORS REST THEIR CASE AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN IN HIS FEDERAL GUN TRIAL
Prosecutors have rested their case in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial.
It came after DEA special agent Joshua Romig concluded his testimony.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Abbe Lowell noted there were no coded references to drugs in the texts Romig was shown during the time period from August 2018 to November 2018.
In October 2018, however, Hunter Biden had sent two text messages to Hallie Biden saying he was waiting for a dealer and smoking crack. The first message was sent the day after he bought the gun. The second was sent the following day.
DEA AGENT SAID HE DIDN'T INVESTIGATE ALLEGED DRUG DEALERS TEXTING WITH HUNTER BIDEN
On cross-examination, defense attorney Abbe Lowell asked DEA special agent Joshua Romig whether he investigated any of the alleged drug dealers who were texting with Hunter Biden.
Romig said he didn’t investigate anyone because he wasn’t involved in the Hunter Biden case.
“This is not my investigation,” he said.
DEA AGENT SAYS LANGUAGE IN TEXTS IS INDICATIVE OF DRUG DEALS
Prosecutor Derek Hines led DEA special agent Joshua Romig through a series of text messages prosecutors say were exchanged between Hunter Biden and three different drug dealers in the spring and summer of 2018.
Romig said the language in the text exchanges was indicative of drug deals.
Similar text messages were exchanged in November 2018, the month after Hunter Biden bought the gun.
Romig also said a photo of Hunter Biden taken in December 2018 shows him holding what appears to be a crack pipe.
Hines also played a video taken on Hunter Biden’s phone in December 2018 of chunks of a white substance on a digital scale. Romig said the video appears to show about 2 grams of crack cocaine.
DEA SPECIAL AGENT JOSHUA ROMIG IS TESTIFYING IN HUNTER BIDEN'S TRIAL
DEA special agent Joshua Romig is the next prosecution witness to testify in Hunter Biden’s gun trial.
Prosecutor Derek Hines asked Romig about how cocaine flows into the United States from countries such as Colombia and Peru.
Romig also explained that crack cocaine is a more powerful form of the drug derived from powder cocaine. Hunter Biden is accused of lying about being addicted to crack cocaine when he bought a gun in October 2018.
FBI CHEMIST TESTIFIES THAT COCAINE IDENTIFED IN POWDER ON POUCH THAT HELD GUN
Prosecutor Leo Wise handed FBI chemist Jason Brewer a leather pouch in which Hunter Biden’s sister-in-law and former lover Hallie Biden put the gun before tossing it in a trash can outside an upscale grocery store near her home 11 days after he bought it.
Brewer said he tested the pouch to determine whether there was any trace of drugs or drug residue.
“I found a minimal amount of white powder, or off-white powder,” Brewer said. The powder was found on the interior flap and in the bottom of the pouch.
Brewer said he tested the powder with a chemical solution and gas chromatography.
“Did you reach a conclusion about the substance you tested?” Wise asked.
“Cocaine was identified within the residual white powder that I sampled,” Brewer said.
On cross-examination, defense attorney David Kolansky noted the amount of residue Brewer tested was “minimal.” He also noted that Brewer tested the pouch in October 2023, five years after the pouch was recovered by police who were called after Hallie Biden threw it in the trash can.
Kolasnky also noted that the tests Brewer did don’t indicate when the drug residue got on the pouch or how it got there.
COURT RESUMES WITH FBI CHEMIST ON WITNESS STAND
The fifth day of Hunter Biden’s gun trial in Delaware began Friday with prosecutors calling an FBI forensic chemist examiner to the witness stand.
Prosecutor Leo Wise is questioning Jason Brewer, who is an expert in analyzing controlled substances.
Hunter Biden is charged with falsely denying he was a drug user or addict when he bought a gun at a Wilmington gun store in October 2018.
FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN ARRIVES AT THE COURTHOUSE FOR SON'S TRIAL
First lady Jill Biden has arrived at the courthouse for son Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial.
She left France on Thursday evening where she was attending D-Day events with President Joe Biden. She’ll return to France for a state dinner.
2 MORE PROSECUTION WITNESSES EXPECTED IN HUNTER BIDEN'S TRIAL
Federal prosecutors are wrapping up their gun case in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial with two more witnesses expected Friday in their effort to prove to jurors the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun purchase form when he said he wasn’t “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs.
Prosecutors are still planning to call a drug expert and an FBI chemist, capping a week that has been largely dedicated to highlighting the seriousness of his drug problem through highly personal and sometimes salacious testimony.
Hunter Biden 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.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 3 OF TESTIMONY: BEAU BIDEN'S WIDOW SAID SHE THREW GUN INTO TRASH CAN
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.
HUNTER BIDEN'S OTHER TRIAL
Hunter Biden was supposed to have avoided prosecution in the gun case altogether, but a deal with prosecutors fell apart last year.
He was subsequently indicted on three felony gun charges. He also faces a trial scheduled for September on felony charges alleging he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years.
