Hunter Biden’s lawyers to announce today whether he will testify at gun trial

Hunter Biden’s lawyers said Friday they would announce Monday whether he would testify in his own defense as your gun trial enters its second week.

Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Friday that Biden’s legal team was at “its final decision” in the case, namely whether to call the defendant. The defense has called only three witnesses so far, including Naomi Bidenthe eldest daughter of Hunter Biden, who gave emotional testimony Friday about her father’s drug use.

Another possible witness is President Biden’s brother, James “Jimmy” Biden, who was scheduled to testify on Friday, but court adjourned earlier than expected. If Hunter Biden testifies, prosecutors have indicated they may call an additional witness.

Hunter Biden is charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase of a handgun in October 2018. Two of the charges are related to allegations that he made false statements on a federal gun form about his drug use, certifying that he was not a user or addict on any controlled substance during a period in which prosecutors alleged he was addicted to crack cocaine.

The other charge is for allegedly possessing the gun illegally, possessing the gun for 11 days before Hallie Biden found it and discarded it. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors rested their case Friday against President Biden’s only surviving son after testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, his ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan and Hallie Biden, the widow of his brother Beau Biden. and with whom Hunter Biden was also romantically involved. following his brother’s death in 2015. The man who allegedly sold Hunter Biden the gun, Gordon Cleveland, also testified.

Hallie Biden, considered the main witness for the prosecution, testified last week that she “panicked” when she found the gun and “just wanted to get rid of” the gun and bullets.

“I didn’t want him to get hurt or the kids to find it and get hurt,” she said, adding that she considered hiding the gun but was “scared that one of my kids would find it.”

Hallie Biden said Hunter introduced her to crack after her husband’s death. “It was a terrible experience that I went through and I’m embarrassed and ashamed, and I regret that period of my life,” she testified.

At the heart of the prosecution’s case is whether Hunter Biden knowingly lied about his drug use. Prosecutor Derek Hines, in his opening statement, noted that “addiction may not be a choice, but lying and buying a gun is a choice.”

Cleveland testified that Hunter Biden did not appear confused by the form when he sold him the firearm in October 2018.

Hallie Biden testified that Hunter Biden was using drugs in October 2018, when he purchased the gun, and prosecutors showed texts that said he was “sleeping in the car smoking crack.” But Naomi Biden testified that her father “seemed fine” in late October 2018 and she didn’t see any drug paraphernalia when she borrowed his truck.

Although Hunter Biden’s history of drug addiction is well known — he wrote about it in his memoir, “Beautiful Things” — Hunter Biden’s attorney, Lowell, sought to raise questions about whether he knowingly omitted information from the disclosure form. In his opening statement, Lowell said that many addicts are “in denial” about using drugs and also argued that Hunter Biden did not consider himself an addict when he purchased the gun.

Naomi Biden testified that she knew her father “was struggling with addiction,” saying “after my uncle (Beau Biden) died, things got worse.” But she said he never used illegal drugs in front of her and acknowledged that she had never observed what her father looked like when he used drugs.

While President Biden was not at the trial, other members of the Biden family were present. First Lady Jill Biden has been there almost every day, except for when she was in France with President Biden to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Ashley Biden, the Bidens’ daughter and Hunter Biden’s half-sister, was also at the courthouse , although one day she got emotional and left.