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Hunter Biden trial: Key takeaways from Hallie Biden’s testimony in felony gun case
Beau Biden’s widow, who had a romantic relationship with Hunter Biden after Beau's death, was called by the prosecution to testify against her brother-in-law.
Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial resumed Thursday in Wilmington, Del., where Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau, testified for the prosecution about finding and disposing of the firearm at the center of the felony case.
President Biden’s 54-year-old son is facing three felony charges over whether he lied about his addiction to crack cocaine while applying to purchase the firearm six years ago. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege that Biden falsely claimed he was not a drug user on the application and illegally possessed the handgun for 11 days. He faces up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if found guilty of all three charges.
Here’s what happened in court on Thursday.
Beau Biden’s widow takes the stand
Hallie Biden was called to the stand by the prosecution on Thursday, a day after Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan testified against him.
Under direct examination, Hallie Biden, who had a romantic relationship with Hunter Biden after Beau died in 2015, testified that their romance was “gradual.”
Hallie Biden told the court that Hunter Biden first introduced her to crack in 2018 and that she, too, abused the drug. “It was a terrible experience that I went through,” she said. “I'm embarrassed, and I'm ashamed, and I regret that period of my life.”
Hallie Biden recounts finding the gun — and throwing it away
She testified that on Oct. 23, 2018, she went to clean out Hunter Biden’s truck while he was asleep and discovered a gun as well as drug paraphernalia.
“I panicked,” Hallie Biden said. “I took it to a grocery store up the road and I threw it away ... into a trash can.”
The jury was shown surveillance footage of Hallie Biden in the Jansen’s supermarket parking lot in Wilmington, Del., tossing the gun into a dumpster.
“I was so flustered,” she said, adding: “I realize it was a stupid idea now.”
Hallie Biden testified that Hunter Biden was angry with her for throwing the gun away and made her go back to the grocery store to look for it.
The jury was then shown security footage of Hallie Biden looking through trash bins outside. Hallie Biden said she went inside to ask employees if the trash had been taken out and later filed a police report.
Hallie Biden told jurors she believed Hunter was using cocaine around the time he bought the gun in the fall of 2018.
Prosecutors introduced a series of text messages she exchanged with Hunter in the days after he purchased the Colt revolver on Oct. 12, 2018. In the texts, Hunter told Hallie he was “waiting for a dealer named Mookie” and said that he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack.”
But under cross-examination from defense attorney Abbe Lowell, Hallie Biden conceded that she did not witness Hunter Biden doing drugs between Oct. 6 and Oct. 22, 2018, while he was in Delaware.
The defense has argued that in order to prove their case, the prosecution must show proof Hunter Biden was using drugs around the time he filled out the federal firearm application saying he was not.
First lady Jill Biden was not in court today
First lady Jill Biden, who attended the first three days of Hunter Biden’s trial, was not in court on Thursday.
The first lady traveled to Paris overnight to attend D-Day ceremonies with President Biden.
The president is not planning to attend the trial but did release a rare statement on Monday about the case.
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” Biden said. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
Hunter Biden’s trial comes just days after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 charges of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star whose alleged affair with him threatened to torpedo his 2016 election campaign.
