Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 23
Opening statements will begin Tuesday morning in the federal criminal trial of Hunter Biden.
Opening statements are expected to begin shortly after 9 a.m. ET, with prosecutors from special counsel David Weiss’ office expected to lay out their case against President Joe Biden’s son in federal court in Wilmington, the largest city in the family’s home state, Delaware.
Hunter Biden is charged with three counts tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics. Two of the counts accuse him of having completed a form indicating he was not using illegal drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra revolver on Oct. 12, 2018. The third count alleges he possessed a firearm while using a narcotic.
The indictment said Biden certified on a federally mandated form “that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.”
He has pleaded not guilty.
Witness testimony will begin after Biden’s attorney delivers his opening statement.
Prosecutors say they plan to call around 12 witnesses. Among them is Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and Hallie Olivere Biden, the widow of his late brother, Beau.
Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has said he wants to call the owner of the gun shop as a witness and two to three expert witnesses. Weiss’ office has challenged some of the experts’ testimony.
In a statement Monday, the president said he has “boundless love” for his son, “confidence in him and respect for his strength.”
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” he said, adding that he would have no further comment on the case. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
Source: NBC
