Liam Conner
washington – Hunter Biden’s gun trial detailed his drug use through his own text messages and memoir, as well as the testimony from your exesas prosecutors accuse him of lying on paperwork to obtain a firearm and allegedly possessing it illegally while in the depths of his addiction.
President Biden’s son could face decades behind bars if a jury in Wilmington, Delaware, finds him guilty. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Below is a look at the charges against him.
What is Hunter Biden accused of?
Hunter Biden was indicted on three felony weapons charges in September, following a proposed plea deal with federal prosecutors unraveled.
He is accused of illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while addicted to crack cocaine. Federal law prohibits illegal drug users from owning firearms.
Prosecutors allege the president’s son lied about his drug use on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form when he purchased a handgun, speed loader and ammunition on October 12, 2018, at StarQuest Shooters and Survival Supply, a gun store in Wilmington.
According to prosecutors, Hunter Biden owned the Colt Cobra .38 handgun for 11 days before his brother’s widow, Hallie Bidenwith whom he was romantically involved at the time, found it in the console of his truck and threw it in a trash can in front of a supermarket.
When she told Hunter Biden that she had gotten rid of the gun, he became angry. “You are crazy,” he allegedly texted her on Oct. 23, 2018, court documents show. “Tell me now. This isn’t a game. And you’re being completely irresponsible and unbalanced.”
“It’s hard to believe someone is so stupid,” he reportedly wrote in another message.
Hallie Biden went back to that trash can to retrieve the gun, but it was gone. An elderly man looking for recyclables found the gun and took it home. Delaware police later recovered the man’s gun.
Years later, prosecutors charged Hunter Biden with gun crimes while chasing unrelated tax charges against him.
What is Hunter Biden accused of?
Two of the three charges are related to the ATF paperwork Hunter Biden filled out when he purchased the gun. The form includes questions about a person’s criminal record, whether they are purchasing the gun for themselves or someone else, their drug use and mental health. Hunter Biden is accused of making a false statement on the application, saying he was not a drug user and lying to a licensed gun dealer.
The third charge concerns possession of the weapon. Prosecutors say he knowingly possessed the gun for 11 days while battling an addiction to illegal drugs, a violation of federal law.
“On October 12, 2018, when the defendant filled out that form, he knew he was addicted to drugs,” prosecutor Derek Hines said during opening statements this week. “The law does not require us to prove that he was using drugs that same day. Just that he knew he was a drug user or addict.”
Hunter Biden’s lawyers argued that prosecutors must prove he was using drugs the day he bought the gun. The form uses the word “are,” his attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in opening statements.
“It doesn’t say if you’ve ever used it. It doesn’t say if you’ve ever used it,” Lowell said.
The defense also argued that Hunter Biden was abusing alcohol, not drugs, at that time.
All three charges are felonies, and if convicted of all charges, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000.
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