Hunter Biden’s trial on federal gun charges

Both sides agreed to dismiss a Donald Trump critic who expressed support for banning all guns. She said she wanted the US to have stricter gun laws, to make it harder to “kill children at schools” and rapid-fire weapons that can “kill a lot of people at once.” 

After Trump won in 2016, she joined a “resistance” group, and later supported Democratic candidates in the 2018 and 2022 midterms. 

Another juror was excused from the jury pool after he said he couldn’t promise to judge the case fairly. The juror was a Fox News and Newsmax viewer. Both right-wing networks have extensively covered Hunter Biden’s scandals and legal woes over the years. 

Judge Noreika thanked the man for being honest about his bias.

At least 25 people have been qualified to serve on the Hunter Biden jury so far.

The selection process is still underway, and both sides can still “strike” some of the members of the pool, which will eventually be narrowed down to 12 jurors and 4 alternates.  

On Capitol Hill, Democrats are dismissing attempts to compare Hunter Biden’s trial with former President Donald Trump’s conviction last week.

“Hunter Biden is not running for president. President Donald Trump’s running for president,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland. He also noted that Democrats have not rushed to Hunter Biden’s defense in this criminal case, or alleged that the trial is a “sham” in the way that Republicans did with the Trump trial.

“They do that because of the extraordinary cognitive dissonance that a party – which claims to be representing religious piety – has wrapped itself around in an adjudicated sexual assailant and fraudster who just got convicted by a jury of his peers for paying $130,000 in hush money to a porn star right after his fifth child was born. That’s where their party is.”

Rep. Robert Garcia of California agreed: “He’s not the president of the United States, he’s not a public figure.

“So Hunter Biden should be held accountable for whatever he’s done,” he said, adding that this “is not comparable to the multiple crimes that clearly Donald Trump has committed.”

Pressed on how Hunter’s trial could affect his father’s chances in November, Garcia replied, “I think the President loves his son. And I think that we all agree that Hunter’s made some mistakes, and he’s got to be held accountable for those. I don’t think they have anything to do with his election for president.”

A retiree who is a potential juror in Hunter Biden’s trial said he heard about Hunter Biden’s attempted plea deal – which fell apart at the same courthouse as the current trial.  

He is eligible to serve on the jury, as neither side objected. 

The potential juror said one of his nephews got addicted to drugs after being prescribed opioids after a football accident. 

“He was a mess … better now,” he said.  

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer speaks to reporters following the closed-door deposition of Hunter Biden in Washington, DC, on February 28. The meeting was part of the Republicans' impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

A House Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and his family has stalled following missteps and a lack of clear consensus on what a successful conclusion would look like. 

The inquiry has yet to produce evidence that the president received any financial benefit from his son’s business dealings. Hunter Biden appeared for a closed-door deposition earlier this year and insisted that his father was not involved.

He also accused Republicans of pursuing a “baseless and destructive political charade,” charging that the impeachment investigation was built on an “entire partisan house of cards on lies.” 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky lawmaker leading the probe, and his fellow top Republicans have been caught between the far-right wing’s early demands for impeachment and skeptical Republicans in vulnerable districts. Meanwhile, Democrats have accused their GOP colleagues of doing former President Donald Trump’s bidding. 

CNN’s Annie Grayer, Melanie Zanona, Jeremy Herb, and Paula Reid contributed to this report. 

Hunter Biden’s lawyers signaled that they’ll strike from the jury pool 23-year retired veteran of the Wilmington Police Department who thinks Trump, but not Democrats, is a victim of political prosecution. 

He said Trump’s NY trial and “the dossier” – referring to the Trump-Russia dossier from 2016 – made him believe that prosecutors pursue some cases for political reasons. 

Hunter Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell asked the potential juror if Democrats are ever plagued by this, but the juror said he wasn’t aware of it happening. Lowell later told the juror that he’d use one of his strikes against the man. 

The man also said he “recently” donated to the Republican National Committee and that he previously supported a candidate who ran against Hunter’s late brother, Beau, when Beau was the Delaware Attorney General. 

One man was excused from the jury pool after saying that the Donald Trump trial in New York made him think prosecutors charge cases based on politics. He had also said he might not be able to judge the Hunter Biden case fairly because some of his loved ones are struggling with addiction.  

A woman in the jury pool told the judge that she is a bartender and has periodically served Hunter’s uncle at the bar. She is still currently eligible to serve on the panel, which hasn’t been seated yet. 

Both sides agreed that she shouldn’t be eligible to serve on the case. 

Approximately 250 Delaware residents have been summoned for jury service, according to the judge. They’ll be whittled down to a panel of 12 seated jurors and four alternates.   

Delaware is one of the smallest states in the country, and the Biden family looms large. 

As part of the selection process – called voir dire – prospective jurors will be asked if they can stay impartial regardless of their views about the 2024 election.

They’ll also be asked if they can keep an open mind about Hunter Biden, even if they’ve been eligible to vote in past elections for Joe Biden, who has held public office in Delaware since 1971. 

Other questions touch on the highly politicized atmosphere surrounding the case, including, “Do you believe Hunter Biden is being prosecuted in this case because his father is the President of the United States?” or, coming from the other side, whether they think he “is not being prosecuted for other crimes because his father is the President?” 

The federal courthouse before Hunter Biden arrives for his scheduled trial on Monday, June 3, in Wilmington, Delaware.

The judge is now questioning individual members of the large jury pool. 

A potential juror who said he thinks Americans have “a God-given right” to own guns was excused and won’t participate in the case after he said he couldn’t be impartial in judging the case. 

Some of the potential jurors who are still in the jury pool include a woman whose sister went to prison for drug related offenses and another woman whose brother is in rehab. 

Other jurors said they know about the case from news reports but did not have a detailed understanding of the facts at issue. 

One woman who volunteered for Hillary Clinton in 2008 was pressed by the judge over whether she could remain impartial. 

“I don’t’ see any relation between the politics,” she said, telling the judge that she would be fair. 

President Joe Biden issued a statement of support for his son Hunter Biden as the trial against him began Monday morning.

Biden said that since he is president, he “won’t comment on pending federal cases,” but did express his “boundless love” for Hunter Biden. He also said he and first lady Jill Biden “are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support.”

The full statement from President Joe Biden: “I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. A lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean. As the President, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases, but as a Dad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength. Our family has been through a lot together, and Jill and I are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support.”