Explainer: Hunter Biden Gun Trial And Halley Biden Testimony
Hunter Biden appears to be in a sticky situation. In a trial based on his gun purchase, Hallie Biden, the widow of US President Joe Biden’s son Beau Biden, testified in a federal court that she became a drug user after Hunter introduced her to crack cocaine.
Hallie testified that she found gun in his truck, and threw it behind a grocery shop. She said she out the gun into a pouch and stuffed it into a shopping bag before throwing it in a trash can behind a grocery shop.
Hallie said she was not aware if it was loaded or not, and didn’t know what to do in her panic-stricken state. “I didn’t want him to hurt himself, and I didn’t want my kids to find it and hurt themselves.
The long-running investigation of Hunter Biden’s drug addiction at the time of purchasing gun, and keeping the firearm, while he was under the influence of the narcotics. He was accused of knowingly lying to the federal paperwork when he purchased the revolver from a gun shop in Wilmington, Delaware on October 12, 2018.
Hallie’s testimony is crucial for the trial. She was romantically involved with after Beau Biden’s death. He died of brain cancer in 2015. She and Hunter were together in 2018, when he allegedly lied about drug usage to purchase a Colt Cobra revolver.
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Hunter Biden faces three cases connected with the purchase and possession of gun. The charges include, lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making false claim on the application claiming he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days.
Most of Hallie’s testimonies focused on 23rd October, 2018, which is 11 days after Hunter bought the gun, and when she threw it away. She said that from the time he returned to Delaware, after his trip to California, to the day she threw away the gun, she did not see him use drugs. Reportedly, the time period also include the day he bought the gun.
When asked by the prosecutor if it appeared to her that Hunter was using drugs, she answered that “he could have been”.
While Hunter slept in her room, Hallie said she checked his car, hoping to help him sober up, from both alcohol and cocaine. She said she found remnants of crack cocaine and paraphernalia, and the gun which Hunter purchased in a box with a broken lock. The broken lock kept him from fully closing it. Hallie Biden also reported about finding ammunition in the car.
She said she considered about hiding the gun, but the thoughts of her kids finding it made her throw it away. Calling it a stupid idea, she said she was panicking.
Hallie testified that she was introduced to drugs by Hunter and she stopped using them in 2018, while Hunter continued to use it.
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When Hunter found that Hallie threw the unloaded gun away, he asked her to go find. The prosecution showed jurors video footage of Hallie digging in trash can for the gun, but could not find it. Hunter asked her to file a police report as the gun was in his name. She called the police, while she was still at the store.
The police located the man who inadvertently took the gun with other recyclables from the trash bin. The case was closed eventually due to the lack of cooperation from Hunter Biden, who would have been considered as the victim.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter’s attorney, in his opening statement suggested that, while Hunter struggled with substance abuse for long, and continued the abuse of alcohol through 2018, there is ground to check if he was a crack addict at the time of purchasing the gun.
The trial has dredged up information that could weigh down his father’s re-election bid against Donald Trump, who was recently found guilty on 34 felony counts of faking business documents.
Hunter, who was pleaded not guilty of the charges, said that the Justice Department is bending to political pressure from the Republicans and that he is being unfairly targeted. His words resonate, former US President Donald Trump, who accuse Democrats for allegedly influencing the Justice Departments against him.
At the same time, in an interview with ABC, Joe Biden said that he would accept the jury’s verdict.
