Raw: [Hunter Biden trial live updates: Closing arguments set to begin USA TODAY] {Article Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/06/10/hunter-biden-gun-trial-live-updates/74017406007/}
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WireUSA TODAYWILMINGTON, Del. − After a week that saw sometimes emotional testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, a former girlfriend, his sister-in-law and eldest daughter, the defense for the president’s son rested without calling him as a witness.Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, had indicated in court earlier Monday that his client would not testify, allowing the judge to instruct jurors they should not hold Biden’s absence from the witness stand against him.With that, Lowell rested his case in defense of the president’s son after calling only three witnesses: Two gun shop employees as well as Naomi Biden, the defendant’s eldest child.Hunter Biden faces three felony charges that he lied on a federal gun form that asked if he was addicted to drugs. Prosecutors will also have to decide whether to present a rebuttal case. After closing arguments, the case will go to the jury.Lowell previously suggested he could call President Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, who paid for his nephew’s drug rehabilitation, and a police officer involved in the search for the gun at issue in the trial. But Lowell rested without calling either witness.Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter GuideFollow along for live updates from the USA TODAY Network: ‘Can’t use a credit card to buy drugs’Prosecutor Leo Wise emphasized what he described as a pattern of cash withdrawals in which Hunter Biden withdrew some $150,000 between October and November.“You can’t use a credit card to buy drugs, that goes without saying,” Wise said.Defense attorneys have sought to say Biden was paying for his drug rehab and other things. Wise rebutted this by showing credit card receipts for rehab services. – Xerxes WilsonProsecutor pokes holes in Hunter Biden rehab claimProsecutor Leo Wise argued that a witness contradicted Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, opened the trial telling jurors that he went to a rehab program in August 2018 and thus didn’t view himself as a drug user.Wise noted the rehab stay was only about a week and then Biden supposedly lived with a sober coach. But Wise emphasized testimony from Zoe Kestan, a former girlfriend of Biden, who said he was smoking crack and had drug paraphernalia in different parts of the house.“She said it was all over,” Wise told the jury. “There was no sober companion there.”– Xerxes WilsonProsecutors emphasize Hunter Biden textsDefense lawyer Abbe Lowell has argued that Hunter Biden was not using drugs when he bought a gun in October 2018, but prosecutors contend his texts tell another story.Prosecutors highlighted how Biden sent to messages in the days after buying the gun, with one saying he was waiting for a dealer and another saying he was smoking crack. Prosecutor Leo Wise noted that a Hallie Biden text the same month he bought the gun said she wanted to help him get sober and her testimony stating that included by drug and alcohol abuse.– Xerxes WilsonTestimony about Hunter Biden’s drug use enough to convict, prosecutor arguesProsecutor Leo Wise told the jury in Hunter Biden’s gun trial that the testimony from his former girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, would be enough to convict him on its own.Kestan testified that Hunter Biden smoked crack in Los Angeles in September 2018, weeks before he bought the gun at issue in the trial.”You could convict on those facts alone,” Wise said.– Xerxes Wilson Prosecutor outlines ‘central issue’ in Hunter Biden trialProsecutor Leo Wise said the “central issue” in the charges against Hunter Biden was whether he knowingly lied on a federal screening form and to a gun dealer about whether he used unlawful drugs when he bought a revolve in 2018.“He knew he was using drugs and he knew he was addicted to drugs, that is what the evidence showed,” Wise said.Wise added that maybe if he had not been in rehab or had not used drugs weeks before, he could argued that he didn’t know he was an addict.– Xerxes WilsonFederal firearm form shows what Hunter Biden signedThe federal screening form that Hunter Biden filled out when he bought a gun in 2018 asked: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance?” Biden replied “no.””This is the statement that the evidence proves is false,” Wise told the jury.– Xerxes Wilson Prosecutor says evidence is ‘ugly’ and ‘overwhelming’Prosecutor Leo Wise is now reminding the jury of the charges what the law requires for conviction. “The central issue in this case was whether the defendant was an unlawful user of or addicted to controlled substances and whether he knew that fact,” Wise told the jury. Wise said the evidence proves Hunter Biden fit into both of those categories. He called the evidence “ugly” and “overwhelming.” – Xerxes Wilson Prosecutor appears to refer to first lady, Biden family membersIn an apparent reference to first lady Jill Biden and other Biden family members’ presence in the courtroom, Wise pointed to the gallery and referenced people jurors might know from the news, saying they don’t matter. “The only evidence in this case is what came from the witness stand and the physical and documentary evidence that has been admitted by Judge Noreika,” Wise said, beginning his closing arguments. – Xerxes WilsonJury gets instructionsAs U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika read instructions to the jury, Hunter Biden and his lawyers read along with their copies.When she got to the instruction that Biden didn’t have to testify, the president’s son looked up and surveyed the jurors. He returned to looking at copies when the judge moved to another topic.– Esteban Para Closing statements begin in Hunter Biden’s gun trialProsecutor Leo Wise will deliver closing statements for the government. –Xerxes WilsonHow many children does Hunter Biden have? Hunter Biden has five children. He has three daughters with his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle named Naomi Biden, Finnegan Biden, and Maisy Biden. In 2019, he welcomed a son with his second wife Melissa Cohen, Beau Biden IV., named after his late older brother. It was also revealed that he had secretly fathered another daughter with an Arkansas woman named Lunden Roberts in 2018. Her name is Navy Roberts. President Joe Biden first publicly acknowledged his granddaughter in 2023. – Rachel Barber Jill Biden, Ashley Biden attend Hunter Biden gun trialFirst lady Jill Biden and Ashley Biden, Hunter Biden’s sister, were in attendance Monday at his felony gun trial. Several Biden family members have attended the proceedings in Delaware, including President Joe Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and his brother, James Biden.– Marina Pitofsky Hunter Biden closing arguments set to begin after lunch breakThe court is breaking for lunch. Proceedings will resume shortly after noon, when closing arguments − each side’s last chance to make an impression on the jury − will begin.−Xerxes Wilson Judge reading portions of final jury instructions Judge Maryellen Noreika is currently reading jurors portions of their final instructions. The instructions offer an outline of legal definitions, the jury’s role and its process for deliberating the charges. She will read the rest of the instructions after a lunch break and closing statements. The most recent version of the jury instructions that have been made available to the public can be read below. The parties debated small changes to the instructions Monday morning and the final product has not yet been made available in court documents. −Xerxes Wilson Prosecution rests its rebuttal case, closing statements nextAfter brief testimony from an FBI agent, prosecutor Derek Hines said prosecutors have no more rebuttal witnesses. This means the case will shortly move to closing statments before jurors receive their final instructions and begin deliberation. −Xerxes WilsonProsecutors focus on Hunter Biden’s text messages implying drug useProsecutor Derek Hines asked FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen about Hunter Biden’s text messages that refer to a 7-Eleven gas station in Wilmington, Delaware.The location is important because Hunter Biden mentioned the store in an October 2018 text message saying he was waiting to buy drugs. Defense attorneys have sought to discredit that message by saying Biden was lying to Hallie Biden, the recipient, because he did not want to see her.“There are messages where the defendant is referencing 7-Eleven both before and after (purchasing) the gun?” Hines asked Jensen, prompting her to confirm.−Xerxes WilsonMore:The president’s son in his own words: Hunter Biden’s candor becomes prosecutor’s weaponProsecutors call FBI agent after defense restsAfter Hunter Biden’s defense rested in his federal gun trial, prosecutors called FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen to rebut the defense case.Prosecutor Derek Hines began asking her questions about text messages Biden sent in October 2018, proximate to when he purchased the gun.−Xerxes WilsonMore:’I am ashamed’: Hallie Biden gives emotional testimony on finding Hunter Biden’s gun, using drugsWhat happened to Hunter Biden’s plea deal?Justice Department special counsel David Weiss secured two indictments for gun and tax charges against Hunter Biden after U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected a plea agreement in July that aimed to resolve the investigation.Weiss, as a Donald Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware, had investigated Biden for years. Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanors for nonpayment of taxes in 2017 and 2018, and to enter a pretrial program on a gun charge.Biden potentially could have stayed out of jail under the agreement, which congressional Republicans slammed as a sweetheart deal. But Noreika questioned prosecutors and defense lawyers about whether the deal would protect Biden from future charges and the judge refused to “rubber-stamp” the agreement.The collapse of the plea deal led to Biden’s indictment on three felony gun charges in Delaware, in a trial that started Monday, and nine tax charges in California, in a trial set for Sept. 5.– Bart JansenMore:Who is David Weiss? What to know about Trump-appointed special counsel on Hunter Biden case Court taking a breakAfter the discussion of the jury and verdict forms, the parties engaged in a long sidebar and then the judge left the bench. It’s expected that the defense will announce whether they will call further witnesses, including potentially Hunter Biden, once the break concludes. – Xerxes WilsonFight continues over jury instructionsThe fight continued Monday about jury instructions in Hunter Biden’s federal trial over what it meant for him to deny using or being addicted to drugs when he bought a gun in October 2018.Defense lawyer Abbe Lowell continued to argue in a Sunday filing that Biden didn’t “knowingly” lie on a federal screening form, where he checked “no,” because he had recently completed a rehabilitation program. Lowell said the question asked “are you” a user or addict, which the lawyer argued he wasn’t at the time.The form Biden filled out asked if he was “an unlawful user of a controlled substance or addicted to a controlled substance.” Evidence at trial showed pictures of drugs in April 2018 and texts about using drugs in the days after buying the gun.Justice Department special counsel David Weiss’s team argued in a Monday filing that “a defendant is not entitled to a judicial narrative of his version of the facts.” Prosecutor Derek Hines said Biden hadn’t presented any evidence that he considered himself not addicted.U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika must still decide how to instruct the jury.−Bart Jansen What did Hunter Biden do?The president’s son faces three firearms felonies. In October 2018, Hunter Biden walked into a gun shop north of Wilmington, Delaware, and purchased a revolver. People who purchase firearms are required to fill out a standardized form that asks whether they are an unlawful user or are addicted to controlled substances, narcotics and other listed substances. Biden is accused of answering “no” to that question on the form.But Biden has been open about his longtime struggles with crack cocaine addiction. He’s written about it in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” and discussed it during a court hearing last year, stating he’s been sober since 2019.Biden faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted, although first-time and non-violent offenders are often given shorter terms.– Xerxes WilsonWhat kind of gun did Hunter Biden buy?The gun Hunter Biden purchased and held onto for 11 days in 2018 is a .38 caliber Cold Cobra, known as a 38 special. The revolver is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson that can range in price from a couple hundred to a thousand dollars.The handgun is known for its accuracy and is often used for small-game hunting, recreational target shooting, and personal defense. The president’s son told Delaware State Police he bought it for target practice in 2018.– Rachel BarberJoe Biden says he wouldn’t pardon his son if he is convictedPresident Joe Biden said he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden, who is on trial for federal gun charges, according to a wide-ranging exclusive interview with ABC News.ABC anchor David Muir, interviewing President Biden in France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, asked whether he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial.“Yes,” the president said.Muir also asked if he would rule out a pardon for his son.“Yes,” the president said.– Bart Jansen Court begins with arguments over final jury instructionsThe parties started court early this morning as prosecutors, the defense and the judge discuss minor changes to the jury’s final instructions. The instructions will help guide jurors on important legal definitions and their final role deciding a verdict. −Xerxes WilsonMore:Judge sends jury home early in Hunter Biden trial; daughter Naomi Biden testifies Who is James Biden?James Biden was involved in overseas business deals with Hunter Biden that drew the spotlight of House Republicans investigating whether President Joe Biden benefited.Joe Biden and the White House have dismissed the accusations as baseless partisan attacks. Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who is prosecuting Hunter Biden, secured an indictment against an FBI informant, Alexander Smirov, for allegedly lying about Hunter Biden’s involvement in a Ukrainian energy deal.But the foreign intrigue isn’t at stake in Hunter Biden’s gun trial. He is charged with lying about his drug use on a federal screening form when he bought the gun in October 2018. Defense lawyer Abbe Lowell said James Biden paid for some of his nephew’s rehabilitation.−Bart JansenMore:Hunter Biden trial includes a web of family members, spouses and exes: Who’s who? Who was Neilia Biden?Hunter Biden’s felony gun trial has brought together several members of the Biden family, with first lady Jill Biden seated each day directly behind the defense table.The president’s son refers to Jill Biden as “my mother” in his memoir of drug addiction, but the Biden family’s public story really begins with the tragedy of Joe Biden’s first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden.Neilia, Hunter’s biological mother, was killed in a car crash in 1972 at age 30 with her 13-month-old daughter Naomi Christina, known as “Amy.”Hunter Biden, who was just three, and his brother Beau, who was four, survived the crash with serious injuries. Joe Biden, who had recently won election to the U.S. Senate, was sworn into office inside the boys’ hospital room.−Sudiksha KochiMore:Who is Hunter Biden’s mom? A quick look at Neilia Biden and her role in the Biden family Who could be called for the defense?Besides James Biden, defense lawyer Abbe Lowell could call a police officer who became involved in the investigation after Biden’s sister-in-law, Hallie Biden, tossed .38-cal. revolver into a grocery store trash can 11 days after he purchased it.−Xerxes WilsonFeatured Weekly AdAbout Us Newsroom Staff Ethical Principles Responsible Disclosure Request a Correction Press Releases Accessibility Sitemap Subscription Terms & Conditions Terms of Service Privacy Policy Your Privacy ChoicesContact Us Help Center Manage Account Give Feedback Get Home Delivery eNewspaper USA TODAY Shop USA TODAY Print Editions Licensing & Reprints Advertise With Us Careers Internships Support Local BusinessNews Tips Submitting letters to the editor Podcasts Newsletters Mobile Apps Facebook X Instagram LinkedIn Threads YouTube Reddit Flipboard10Best Reviewed Best-selling Booklist Jobs Sports Betting Sports Weekly Studio Gannett Classifieds Coupons Amazon Coupons Target Coupons Walmart Coupons Homefront Home Internet Blueprint Auto Insurance Pet Insurance Travel Insurance Credit Cards Banking Personal Loans LLC Formation Payroll Software© 2024 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC.
