Xerxes Wilson,Esteban ParraDelaware News Journal
A jury evaluating felony gun charges against Hunter Biden heard about his struggles with substance abuse through his own voice Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors spent more than an hour playing an audiobook narration by Hunter Biden of his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” during the first day of testimony in the historic trial − the first for the child of a sitting president in U.S. history.
The excerpts played for the jury paint a picture of a man struggling with addiction over a series of years. In opening statements, prosecutors said the excerpts are part of the evidence they will introduce to prove that Hunter Biden was both an unlawful user of and addicted to controlled substances and lied about that when he purchased a handgun in October 2018.
Hunter Biden faces three firearms felonies for allegedly lying about his drug use on the form required to purchase the handgun, as well as possessing the gun while he was allegedly a drug user. He faces the potential of 25 years in prison if convicted, though it's likely his sentence would be much shorter or probation.
Defense attorneys emphasized in opening statements to the jury that prosecutors must prove that Hunter Biden knowingly lied on the form, arguing that prosecutors cannot prove that Hunter Biden considered himself a user or addicted when he purchased the gun.
Both Hunter Biden and his sister, Ashley, appeared to wipe tears from their eyes as excerpts from the book played. First lady Jill Biden embraced Ashley on the first row behind the defendant’s table.
The first day of trial testimony emphasized how the trial will be a family affair: Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden’s former lover and his late brother’s widow, will testify, as will his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and his uncle James Biden, according to attorneys' statements in court.
“No one is above the law,” said Special Prosecutor Derek Hines. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is.”
Prosecutors say Biden was ‘a user of crack and drug addict’
Hines walked the jury through the sequence of events and evidence he said will show Hunter Biden’s guilt, the details of which have largely been known for years.
He said Hunter Biden walked into a gun store north of Wilmington in October 2018 and purchased a number of items, among those: a handgun and a speed-loading device, as well as hollow-point ammo.
When he bought the gun, he filled out a standardized federal form including his name and address, as well as a series of questions about his personal history. One of those asked whether the signatory is addicted to or an unlawful user of controlled substances. Hunter Biden answered that he was not.
Prosecutors contend that is a lie and a felony. Hines said that lie will be evidenced through excerpts from his memoir and his messages, as well as the testimony of his ex-wife and former lovers.
He told the jury about a text message sent around the same time Hunter Biden purchased the gun in which he said he was smoking crack on a car at Fourth and Rodney streets in Wilmington. In another around the same time, he told Hallie Biden he was behind the Blue Rocks stadium in Wilmington waiting for a dealer.
He also took the jury through how the gun was trashed outside Janssen’s Market in Greenville by Hallie Biden.
Hines told the jury that Hallie Biden also began using drugs while in a relationship with Hunter Biden and will testify pursuant to an immunity agreement. He said she will confirm the authenticity of some messages presented to the jury and testify about Hunter Biden’s conduct.
He added that Zoe Kestan, another former girlfriend, will also testify under an immunity agreement and detail how Hunter Biden was smoking crack every 20 minutes while he was not sleeping months before he purchased the gun.
Additionally, Hines said prosecutors will introduce evidence showing Hunter Biden withdrawing large amounts of cash, “consistent with someone purchasing drugs.” Evidence introduced later in the day showed that Hunter Biden withdrew more than $150,000 in cash during a three-month period in the fall of 2018.
When police recovered the gun after it was trashed at Janssen’s, it was in a brown leather pouch that had a “white powdery substance,” that Hines said tested positive for cocaine.
Recent: The first witness in Hunter Biden's trial is an FBI agent who was portrayed in an HBO show
“We are here because he chose to illegally own a firearm: He was a user of crack and a drug addict,” Hines told the jury.
How will Hunter Biden’s attorneys defend the case?
Tuesday’s opening statements also gave the public the most full account of how defense attorneys plan to combat the charges.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s defense attorney, gently pounded the lectern as he told the jury nobody will contest that Hunter Biden struggled with addiction before and after his purchase of the firearm, but not during the period leading up to the gun’s purchase or the 11 days he had it.
“The better evidence is that Hunter was not using when he bought the gun,” Lowell told the jury.
Lowell emphasized to the jury that prosecutors must show that Hunter Biden knowingly lied on the firearms form, something he contends prosecutors cannot prove. He said his client’s state of mind is what is important, “not what government witnesses might think, not what he wrote in a book in 2021.”
He told the jury that Hunter Biden had been in rehab for months leading up to the gun purchase.
He also took aim at the gun shop’s handling of Hunter Biden, as well as the form he filled out that is now at the center of the case. He noted that the salesperson, a man named Gordon Cleveland, never verified Hunter Biden’s address, as is required by law. He said the man referred to himself as the "whale hunter," seeking to bring in "big business."
“A sale is a sale and that was their goal that day,” Lowell said. “You will hear they wanted it done quickly.”
Lowell noted that the store never explained to Hunter Biden what the terms related to drug use on the form meant and that they are not defined on the form as other terms are. He also told the jury to listen to whether the store employees even know what those terms mean.
He sought to put time between Hunter Biden’s drug use and the language on the form. He noted that the form asks multiple questions like “have you ever been” a fugitive, but when it asks about drug use, it uses the term “are you.”
Prosecutors and defense attorneys have litigated what timeframe for which the legal definition of unlawful user or addicted to applies. The final jury instructions to the jury defining those terms have not been finalized as of Tuesday.
He also said Hunter Biden had no credit card at the time prosecutors inferred he was withdrawing large amounts of cash to buy drugs. Instead, he was spending “thousands and thousands” on his own recovery. He said some text messages prosecutors will present as incriminating consist of him lying to Hallie Biden because he did not want to see her then.
Lowell emphasized that Hunter Biden had the gun for 11 days but removed it from its locked box only once during that period.
FBI agent Erika Jensen testifies
After opening statements, prosecutors called their first witness: FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen, who investigated the case.
During her testimony, prosecutors introduced the federal form at the center of the case.
Jensen's testimony was primarily used to introduce the memoir excerpts, as well as a raft of text messages and emails prosecutors said reference Hunter Biden speaking about or seeking to purchase drugs. The evidence also included videos appearing to depict crack cocaine.
Lowell, Hunter Biden's defense attorney, began his cross-examination of Jensen late in the day. He questioned her about the lack of messages in October 2018, the month the gun was purchased, that actually reference drug use.
His cross-examination will resume Wednesday morning.
ContactXerxes Wilsonat (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com
