Jury deliberations in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial began Monday in Wilmington, Del., after closing arguments after the defense rested without calling the president’s 54-year-old son to testify.
Hunter Biden faces three charges over whether he lied about his crack addiction six years ago when he applied to buy the firearm. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege that Biden falsely claimed in the filing that he was not a drug user and had the gun illegally in his possession for 11 days. He faces up to 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine if found guilty of all three charges.
This is what happened in court on Monday.
The defense is resting without calling Hunter Biden to testify
After spending the weekend considering whether to put Hunter Biden on the witness stand, his defense attorneys opted not to and rested their case Monday.
According to the New York Times, Hunter Biden was “angered” by prosecutor’s cross-examination of his daughter Naomi Biden Neal on Friday and “told those close to him that he would consider testifying.”
But his attorney Abbe Lowell indicated in court Monday that Hunter Biden would not take the stand in his own defense, and Judge Maryellen Noreika later instructed the jury not to fault him for “failing to testify” in the case.
The closing arguments include concessions from both sides
Prosecutor Leo Wise began his closing statement by arguing that the government did not have to prove Biden took drugs on a specific day to prove his case, but that President Biden’s son knew about his drug addiction at the time he filled out the federal application to purchase a firearm.
“The defendant knew he was using crack and was addicted to crack at the time,” Wise told the jury.
Wise pointed to testimony from Biden’s ex-romantic partners who described his drug use in varying degrees of detail. He also pointed to text messages Biden had with drug dealers around the time he bought the gun.
“The evidence was personal,” Wise told jurors. “It was ugly and overwhelming.”
However, the defense argued that the evidence presented by prosecutors was disappointing and likened their case to a “magic trick.”
Hunter Biden’s lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued that the prosecution had to prove that the president’s son knew he was breaking the law at the time of his gun purchase to comply with the charges, and that she failed to do so.
“With this very high burden, it is time to end this case,” Lowell said.
After closing arguments, the judge instructed the 12-person jury to begin deliberations.
First lady Jill Biden and a family pastor attend the trial
First lady Jill Biden, who attended every day but one of Hunter Biden’s trial, was back in the courtroom Monday. The first lady missed Thursday’s procedure as she traveled to Paris to attend D-Day ceremonies with President Biden.
The Bidens also invited a pastor and family friend, the Rev. Christopher Alan Bullock of Canaan Baptist Church in New Castle, Del., to attend the trial and lead a prayer with Hunter at the courthouse before Monday’s proceedings begin went.
The president was not present at the trial, but did release a rare statement on the case before jury selection, saying: “I am the president, but I am also a father. 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 corporate records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star whose alleged affair with him threatened to torpedo his 2016 election campaign.
