The 12-member jury will decide whether the president’s son is guilty of three charges related to his purchase of a gun in 2018, which prosecutors say violated federal law because he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time. He has pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the defense focused on the month Hunter Biden purchased the weapon, arguing that there’s no direct evidence he was using drugs then. Prosecutors, citing witness testimony and other evidence, said the addiction at the time was well documented and that he knew he was an addict.
If convicted of all three counts, Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison, though he likely will receive far less than the maximum as a first-time offender.
Our live coverage has wrapped for the day. Read more about today’s court proceedings in the posts below.
53 Posts
Link Copied!
The gun case against Hunter Biden is in the hands of the jury. Here are some takeaways from today
From CNN's Marshall Cohen and Holmes Lybrand
The jury in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial began deliberations on Monday after the defendant declined to testify in his own defense and both sides presented closing arguments in the historic case against the president’s son.
If convicted, Biden could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000, though first-time offenders like him rarely receive the maximum penalty. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
Here are some takeaways from the sixth day of the historic trial:
“No one is above the law,” prosecutors say: In the first seconds of prosecutor Leo Wise’s closing arguments, he referenced members of the Biden family who have been in the courtroom, often including first lady Jill Biden. “The people sitting in the gallery are not evidence,” Wise said. As he continued, he returned to a theme that his colleague raised in opening statements: “No one is above the law.” Jurors, he said, shouldn’t treat this case differently “because of who the defendant is.”
Evidence was “overwhelming,” prosecutors say: Wise went on to explain to the jury why the prosecution went into so many excruciating details about the defendant’s spiral into crack cocaine abuse. “The evidence was personal, it was ugly, and it was overwhelming. It was also absolutely necessary,” Wise said. “There is no other way to prove the use of drugs or addiction to drugs than through the kind of evidence that you saw.” He noted, accurately, that the judge’s instructions don’t require the Justice Department to prove that Biden used drugs on a specific day, but only that he was “actively engaged” in drugs around that time.
“It’s time to end this case,” defense says: During his nearly 90-minute closing argument, defense attorney Abbe Lowell forcefully made the case that prosecutors hadn’t met the high burden to prove Biden’s guilt. Lowell repeatedly said that prosecutors showed no direct evidence that Biden was using illegal drugs during October 2018 when he bought the firearm. In order to reach a guilty verdict, prosecutors need to prove that Biden was “conscious and aware” of the law and how he was violating it, Lowell argued.
What to know about the judge presiding over Hunter Biden's gun trial
From CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn
Judge Maryellen Noreika presides over court in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 3.
Bill Hennessy
Federal district Judge Maryellen Noreika is overseeing Hunter Biden’s gun case in Delaware.
Noreika, a Donald Trump appointee, was confirmed by the US Senate in August 2018 by voice vote. She had the support of both Democratic senators from Delaware. Under the Senate’s blue slip tradition, nominees for district court seats require the support of home state senators to move forward.
Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat, praised Noreika in a statement after her nomination was announced. He described her and another appointee as “seasoned attorneys,” with “impressive trial skills, deep experience in federal practice, and profound respect for the law.”
Before becoming a federal judge, Noreika was a former patent lawyer in Wilmington, Delaware. She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and graduated from University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1993.
Noreika’s political spending has gone to both parties. On the presidential level, federal records indicate that she gave $1,000 to then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination. She later donated $2,300 to the eventual 2008 Republican nominee, then-Arizona Sen. John McCain. She donated to the subsequent GOP nominee as well, giving $2,500 to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012.
Noreika also financially supported Sen. Tom Cotton, a conservative Republican from Arkansas, during his 2014 senate race. She also donated $1,000 in 2009 to the DSCC, the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm.
CNN’s Tierney Sneed, Marshall Cohen and Jack Forrest contributed to this report.
Link Copied!
President Joe Biden's family struggles have been put on display during Hunter Biden trial
From CNN's Arit John
As President Joe Biden engages in the fight of his political life in a campaign focused on democracy and the rule of law, the most intimate details of his family’s ongoing personal tragedies have been publicly dissected in a courtroom over the last week.
Hunter Biden’s struggles with addiction after the death of his brother Beau Biden have been the focus of hours of testimony during his trial for federal criminal charges, putting some of the Biden family’s most personal problems on full display. The president’s son has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts connected to a gun he purchased in October 2018.
For decades, the president has navigated the sometimes-competing demands of his political career and being a father, particularly when it comes to Hunter Biden. Part of the president’s enduring brand has been his ability to relate to the personal tragedies of others because of what his family has suffered, including the death of his first wife and daughter in a 1972 car crash that severely injured Beau and Hunter, and Beau’s 2015 death from brain cancer.
The most emotional parts of the trial involved the testimony from those closest to Hunter Biden, including his daughter Naomi, his ex-girlfriend and his brother’s widow Hallie Biden and his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle.
Though the questions they faced were aimed at determining whether Hunter was using drugs in 2018, the effect Hunter’s drug use had on their own lives was inescapable.
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” Biden said in a statement at the start of the trial. “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.”
Here are all the witnesses who testified in Hunter Biden's trial
From CNN staff
The jury will resume deliberations Tuesday in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial in Wilmington, Delaware.
While buying a revolver in Delaware in 2018, prosecutors accuse Biden of lying on a federal form, swearing that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs — even though he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase.
Here’s who was on the stand during the trial:
FBI special agent Erika Jensen (she testified at the beginning of the trial and was called again to the stand by the prosecution during their rebuttal argument)
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife
Zoe Kestan, Hunter Biden’s former girlfriend
Gordon Cleveland, a gun store employee who sold Hunter Biden the firearm at the center of the case
Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter Biden’s late brother, Beau, and Hunter Biden’s former girlfriend
Joshua Marley, a Delaware police officer
Millard Greer, a former Delaware state trooper
Edward Banner, the 80-year-old man who found Hunter Biden’s gun in a trash can outside a grocery store
Jason Brewer, an FBI forensic chemist
Joshua Romig, a DEA special agent
Jason Turner, a gun store employee
Ronald Palimere, the gun store’s owner
Naomi Biden, Hunter Biden’s daughter
Link Copied!
Jurors have been dismissed for the day in Hunter Biden trial
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz
The jurors have been dismissed for the day in the Hunter Biden trial.
They began deliberating about an hour before court ended Monday. Court and deliberations will resume Tuesday morning.
Link Copied!
Hunter Biden's legal fate is in the hands of the jury. Here's a reminder of the 3 charges he faces
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden leave the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday.
This is the first time in American history that the child of the sitting president is going on trial. The indictment was brought by the Justice Department, specifically by David Weiss, the special counsel appointed last year to oversee the Hunter Biden probes.
Hunter Biden, 54, is accused of illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while abusing or being addicted to drugs, a violation of federal law. He pleaded not guilty to the three charges, though he has been open about his struggles with alcohol and crack cocaine addiction.
The first two charges in the three-count indictment are tied to the gun purchase itself.
When a person buys a gun, they must fill out a form with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and affirm that they are legally allowed to buy the weapon. Hunter Biden has been charged with lying on those forms.
These questions include: Have you been convicted of a felony? Are you a fugitive? Are you in the country unlawfully? And, importantly for this case, are you an “unlawful user of, or addicted to” illegal drugs? Hunter Biden allegedly checked the box that said, “No.”
Count 3 relates to the possession of the gun. It’s also against federal law to possess a gun if you are abusing drugs. Hunter Biden had the gun for 11 days in October 2018, before his girlfriend threw it in a dumpster because she was worried about his mental health, according to the indictment and texts made public in recent court filings.
If convicted of al three counts, Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison, though he likely will receive far less than the maximum as a first-time offender.
Link Copied!
Inside the courtroom during closing arguments
From CNN's Evan Perez
Some jurors took notes during the roughly hour-long prosecution closing arguments, taking glances at the large contingent of Biden family members, including the first lady, the president’s siblings James and Valerie, and a number of cousins.
Various family members shook their heads in disapproval as the prosecutor described Hunter Biden’s “four years of active addiction.”
During Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell’s 90 minute closing however, some jurors appeared to be nodding off. He showed them a lengthy series of full-screen graphics to list what he said were reasonable doubts jurors should have about the government case.
Lowell used an analogy of an accordion to try to describe how prosecutors were stretching facts to cover the lack of direct evidence of Hunter Biden’s drug use in October, 2018 when he bought the gun.
Some jurors pulled their sweaters and shawls up to cover themselves in the chilly courtroom as the prosecution retook the podium for the rebuttal.
Link Copied!
Here’s a recap of what both sides said during closing arguments
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Both sides gave their final thoughts to jurors in closing arguments in the gun trial against Hunter Biden. The defense rested its case Monday morning without calling the president’s son to the stand.
Hunter Biden faces three charges stemming from a 2018 gun purchase. While buying the revolver, Biden is accused of lying on a federal form, swearing that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs – even though prosecutors say he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase.
Here’s a recap of what both sides said in their final appeal to jurors:
Prosecution:
Prosecutor Leo Wise argued that Hunter Biden “knew he used crack” around the time he bought the gun. He said that the evidence brought up in the trial was “necessary” to show that “the defendant knew he used crack and was addicted to crack at the relevant time period.” He added that the prosecution does not need to prove that Hunter Biden used drugs on a specific day to prove their case.
The issue of Hunter Biden knowing he was addicted to drugs at the time of the gun purchase is one of the most difficult elements of the alleged crimes that prosecutors need to prove to win a conviction. “Maybe if he had never gone to rehab … he could argue he didn’t know he was an addict,” Wise argued.
In reference to count three, unlawful possession of a firearm by the user of a controlled substance, Wise said there is no evidence that anyone other than Hunter Biden possessed the gun.
Defense:
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell argued the bar for prosecutors to prove Hunter Biden was knowingly violating the law was extremely high. When he marked on the federal form that he wasn’t an addict, Hunter Biden was not saying “what he believed to be false.” He pointed out that the question of drug use and addiction on the form was in the present tense and the gun seller who testified didn’t think Hunter Biden was on drugs when he bought the gun.
The defense also argued that the government has not adequately proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Hunter Biden was actively using at the time of the purchase. No one, Lowell said, had witnessed “actual drug use” in the month Hunter Biden bought the firearm, adding the prosecution’s case is based on “suspicion” and “conjecture.”
Lowell noted that his sister-in-law-turned-girlfriend Hallie Biden couldn’t recall details around the time she found the gun and the attorney said Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, met with prosecutors before the trial. Lowell suggested the pouch with cocaine residue found with the gun could have originated from Hallie Biden.
Speaking to Hunter Biden’s state of mind, Lowell pointed out that after Hunter Biden learned that Hallie Biden tossed the gun in a trash can at a grocery store, he told her to call the police. “A person who is … using drugs, can’t operate, is a ‘danger to public safety,’” Lowell said quoting prosecutors, is the “very same person” who told Hallie Biden to file a police report.
Remember: If convicted on all counts, Biden could face as much as 25 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000, according to court filings. However, defendants very rarely get the maximum penalty, especially in cases like these, involving non-violent crimes and an alleged first-time offender. His punishment will be solely up to the judge,
The prosecution had a strong “evidentiary basis” that could push toward a conviction, but the defense made a strong emotional appeal, strengthened by the presence of his family, said Florida judge and law professor Jeff Swartz.
Swartz also mentioned that there was a juror who had a family member who also struggled with addiction and sobbed during the opening statement, making the emotional pull of the testimonies defending Hunter Biden even stronger.
Link Copied!
Jury deliberations have begun in the Hunter Biden trial
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz in the courtroom
The case against Hunter Biden has gone to the jury in Wilmington, Delaware.
They will now consider whether President Joe Biden’s son is guilty or not guilty of the three gun charges brought by prosecutors.
Link Copied!
Prosecutors finish rebuttal
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz in the courtroom
The prosecution has concluded their rebuttal.
The judge is now set to provide final instructions and send the jury to start deliberations.
Link Copied!
Prosecution says Naomi Biden's testimony hurt her father
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz in the courtroom
Prosecutor Derek Hines told the jury that defense witness Naomi Biden actually hurt her father’s case because she was telling the truth.
“She couldn’t vouch for the defendant’s sobriety,” Hines said, adding that she couldn’t do so because she swore to tell the truth.
(There is no evidence that she has used drugs and she has not been accused of doing so or charged with any crime.)
Link Copied!
Prosecutor points to Hunter Biden: "Choices have consequences, and that’s why we’re here"
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz in the courtroom
Prosecutor Derek Hines is pointing directly at Hunter Biden while referencing Hunter Biden’s decisions to buy a gun and use drugs.
“Choices have consequences, and that’s why we’re here,” he said. “We wouldn’t be here in this courtroom” if Hunter Biden only smoked crack, Hines said.
Link Copied!
Hunter Biden could be sentenced to jail, but may face less harsh punishment since it's his first offense
From CNN's Michelle Shen
Hunter Biden could be sentenced to jail time if he is convicted, said CNN’s chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid, but he may face a far less harsh sentencing due to the fact that he’s a first-time offender.
Hunter Biden is facing a three-count indictment, with the first two tied to the gun purchase itself.
Count three relates to the possession of the gun. It’s also against federal law to possess a gun if you are abusing drugs. Hunter Biden had the gun for 11 days in October 2018, before his girlfriend threw it in a dumpster because she was worried about his mental health, according to the indictment and texts made public in recent court filings.
“As a first-time offender, again, if he’s even convicted, he would face something far less. Now, he faces three counts, for example, if he’s only convicted on one count, the sentence would be even less,” Reid said.
Hunter Biden’s sentence will be solely up to the judge. If convicted on all three counts, he could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000 at sentencing.
“His team will also likely appeal, and any sentence that came about would be paused while these appeals played out. So it’s not likely he’ll see jail time, even if he is given jail time, at least immediately,” said CNN justice correspondent Jessica Schneider.
CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed reporting to this post.
Link Copied!
Cross-examination of Naomi Biden was "extraordinarily cruel," defense says
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz in the courthouse
It was “extraordinarily cruel” for prosecutors to ask Naomi Biden if she used drugs to try to fill in the “gaping holes” in their case, Hunter Biden’s defense attorney Abbe Lowell said during his closing argument.
Lowell glared directly at prosecutors as he spoke, raising his voice and banging his fist on the lectern.
Link Copied!
Defense team concludes closing arguments in Hunter Biden case
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz
Hunter Biden’s defense attorney Abbe Lowell finished his closing argument in the federal gun case Monday.
Prosecutors will now present a rebuttal. After that, the judge said she would then give jurors a few final instructions before sending them to deliberate.
Lowell’s closing argument went approximately 85 minutes.
Link Copied!
Defense slams prosecutors for taking Hunter Biden’s words out of context
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell slammed prosecutors, saying the most “unfair” thing Weiss’ team did was “take Hunter’s words about being an addict out of the context they were in.”
Many people refer to themselves as addicts even in periods when they aren’t using, Lowell said.
Lowell added that “Hunter has not asked anyone to excuse the mistakes he has made: using drugs and alcohol to dull the pain that he felt.”
Link Copied!
Hunter Biden defense says Hallie Biden throwing out gun was "incredibly stupid"
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz in the courthouse
Hunter Biden defense attorney Abbe Lowell said Hallie Biden did something “incredibly stupid” and may have done it “for love” when she threw out Hunter Biden’s gun.
After Hunter Biden learned that Hallie Biden tossed the gun in a trash can at a grocery store, he told her to call the police, Lowell noted.
“A person who is … using drugs, can’t operate, is a ‘danger to public safety,’” Lowell said quoting prosecutors, is the “very same person” who told Hallie Biden to file a police report.
Lowell also said “there is no evidence in the record – none” that the gun was ever even loaded during the 11 days when Hunter Biden owned it in October 2018.
“There is no evidence that the gun was anywhere except in that lockbox,” in his truck, Lowell said.
