Hunter Biden’s daughter testifies at his criminal gun trial
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Hunter Biden arriving with his wife, Ms Melissa Cohen Biden, for the fifth day of his gun charge trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 7.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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WILMINGTON, Delaware – Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi began testifying about her father’s drug treatment as part of his defence on June 7 at a criminal trial where he stands accused of failing to disclose his addiction when he bought a gun in 2018.
Ms Naomi Biden, 30, told the jury about seeing her father in California in the weeks leading up to his gun purchase, describing his treatment for addiction and his sobriety. “He seemed really great.”
Hunter Biden, US President Joe Biden’s son, is accused of breaking the law when he failed to mention his drug addiction on his gun application.
The jury in the five-day-old first criminal trial of a US president’s child
His sister-in-law, Ms Hallie Biden, on June 6 recounted finding the gun and throwing it away
The defendant pleaded not guilty to three felony charges accusing him of illegally failing to disclose being a drug user when he bought the Colt Cobra revolver and of illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days.
Prosecutors said there was overwhelming evidence he was actively using crack in the weeks before and after he purchased the gun in October 2018 and that he lied by answering “no” on a government screening document when asked if he was a drug user.
Defence attorney Abbe Lowell has said Hunter Biden did not intend to deceive because he did not consider himself an addict when he purchased the gun. Hunter Biden told the judge at a 2023 hearing that he had been sober since 2019.
Earlier on June 7, prosecutors rested their case and the defendant’s team asked the judge overseeing the case to acquit him. His lawyers said the evidence did not support a conviction.
US District Judge Maryellen Noreika did not immediately rule on the request, which is routinely filed by defendants and often denied.
Mr Lowell called as witnesses an employee and the owner of the gun shop who played a role on the day Hunter Biden purchased the firearm to try to cast doubts about the accuracy of the background check form at the centre of the case.
He said Hunter Biden had yet to decide whether to testify. Criminal defendants rarely testify as they then have to face prosecutors’ cross-examination.
The trial follows another historic first – last week’s criminal conviction of Donald Trump,
Trump and some of his fellow Republicans in Congress have accused Democrats of pursuing that and three other criminal prosecutions to prevent Trump from regaining power in his rematch with the President.
Congressional Democrats have pointed to cases, including the Hunter Biden prosecution, as evidence that Mr Joe Biden is not using the justice system for political or personal ends.
Mr Joe Biden told ABC News on June 6 that he would not pardon his son if he was convicted. Asked if he would accept the trial outcome and rule out a pardon, Mr Joe Biden responded: “Yes.”
If Hunter Biden is convicted on all charges, he faces up to 25 years in prison, though defendants generally receive shorter sentences, according to the US Justice Department. REUTERS
