On Monday, the prosecution began closing arguments in the case against President Joe Biden’s troubled son Hunter.
Prosecutors say Hunter Biden lied about his drug abuse when applying to purchase a firearm. Here’s the evidence cited by the prosecution… and the defense.
The prosecutor, Leo Wise, pointed to deeply personal testimony, text messages, photos, and Hunter Biden’s own words in his 2021 memoir to argue that the president’s son knew he was in the throes of a crack addiction when he claimed on a mandatory gun-purchase form that he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. The prosecutor described the evidence as “personal,” “ugly,” and “overwhelming.”
In response, defense attorney Abbe Lowell argued that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, claiming there was no evidence that Hunter Biden was actually using drugs in the 11 days he possessed the gun. Lowell suggested that Hunter Biden’s texts to his brother Beau’s widow, which the prosecution claimed showed drug use and drug deals, were lies about his whereabouts.
The trial has put a spotlight on a turbulent time in Hunter Biden’s life following the death of his brother, Beau, in 2015. Jurors have been exposed to emotional testimony from Hunter Biden’s former romantic partners, personal text messages, photos of him holding a crack pipe, and video footage of crack cocaine being weighed on a scale.
A key witness for the prosecution was Beau’s widow, Hallie, who had a brief, troubled relationship with Hunter after his brother’s death. She found the unloaded gun in Hunter’s truck on Oct. 23, 2018, and tossed it into a garbage can at a grocery store in a panic.
The defense has suggested that Hunter Biden was trying to turn his life around at the time of the gun purchase, having completed a detoxification and rehabilitation program in August 2018. However, the prosecution presented text messages sent by Hunter to Hallie in October 2018, indicating that he was waiting for a drug dealer and smoking crack.
In a tense courtroom drama, a prosecutor urged jurors to convict Hunter. Wise emphasized that “no one is above the law” and implored the jury to focus on the “overwhelming” evidence against Hunter Biden, disregarding the presence of the president’s family members, including first lady Jill Biden, in the courtroom.
If convicted in the gun case, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, although first-time offenders rarely receive the maximum sentence. The judge’s decision on whether to impose a prison sentence remains uncertain. The outcome of this trial could have significant implications not only for Hunter Biden but also for the president and his family, as they navigate the political fallout from this high-profile case.
Take a look at the evidence, compiled by a Townhall reporter —
By attesting "No" to the drug user/addict question on the federal firearms paperwork, Hunter Biden was able to buy a Colt Cobra .38 Special revolver.
3/🧵 pic.twitter.com/CggCqIJLPX
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
Hunter's ex-lover Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter's late brother Beau Biden and whom he introduced to crack cocaine, found the gun inside Hunter's "unlocked" Ford Raptor truck while cleaning out his car on October 23, 2018—11 days after the gun sale.
According to Hallie's… pic.twitter.com/CfQx38oKpQ
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
Here is the local grocery store's surveillance footage of Hallie Biden discarding the gun (she used a gift bag to mask its appearance), tossing it into a trash receptacle, and shopping around inside.
7/🧵 pic.twitter.com/SpLqQgZoRE
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
Here's security video of Hallie Biden returning to the store and frantically looking for the gun that's now gone. At this point, she filed a police report, and Hunter was considered a victim of a firearm theft.
9/🧵 pic.twitter.com/EFDD1THaoR
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
Authorities extracted a trove of data from Hunter Biden's infamous laptop he abandoned at The Mac Shop, a computer repair place owned by John Paul Mac Isaac, in April 2019.
Investigators also accessed his iCloud account via a search warrant issued to Apple Inc.
10/🧵 pic.twitter.com/oYbzF5UBaw
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
Hunter's ex-lover Zoe Kestan, an online "cam girl" who goes by the social media moniker "Weed Slut 420," testified against him. The two met when she performed a private session for him at New York's No. 1 strip club, the Vivid Cabaret.
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— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
"I can be sober, but I'll always be an addict," Hunter Biden texted Zoe Kestan.
The defense claims that this text sounds like a step in an Alcoholics Anonymous-type recovery program and not an admission of guilt.
Hunter's legal team is relying on the argument that he didn't… pic.twitter.com/MQdftSbKur
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
Among Hunter Biden's texts with drug dealers that the prosecution pulled for presentation to the jury, he told Hallie Biden that he was with "Bernard who hangs at 7/11" and waiting behind the Wilmington Blue Rocks stadium for a drug dealer named "Mookie" on October, 13, 2018, the… pic.twitter.com/YIDCVNxbRq
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024
Bank statements show that more than $150,000 in cash was withdrawn from Hunter Biden's assortment of accounts over a three-month period around the time he purchased the gun in the fall of 2018.
Hunter's ex Zoe Kestan testified that "a good amount" of the cash was spent on buying… pic.twitter.com/M9YaGk7QDZ
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024