First Lady Jill Biden showed up to a Delaware courthouse on Monday to support first son Hunter Biden on the first day of his gun trial. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, issued a statement from his Wilmington beach house expressing support for Hunter but declining to comment on the three federal charges he faces, which stem from a firearm purchase the younger Biden made in 2018 as he battled crack-cocaine addiction.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Special counsel David Weiss and his team of prosecutors are pursuing three felony charges against Hunter for allegedly possessing the firearm while addicted to drugs and for lying about his drug usage on mandated gun-purchase background check forms.
Federal prosecutors are expected to present a large volume of evidence showing Biden was addicted to crack cocaine in October 2018 at the time of the firearm purchase and subsequently possessed the firearm for eleven days. Data from Biden’s abandoned laptop archive will be presented at trial, and the defense will be allowed to contest the exhibits on a case-by-case basis.
The prosecution is prepared to bring 12 witnesses to the stand, including Hunter Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, and his ex-girlfriend Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau. Hunter Biden owes Buhle, the mother of his three eldest daughters, millions in unpaid alimony after their messy separation in 2016, Axios reported based on court filings.
In addition to Jill Biden, Hunter’s sister Ashley and wealthy California lawyer Kevin Morris, who has until recently footed Hunter’s substantial legal bills, were also spotted entering the courthouse.
Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointed federal judge, ruled on Sunday night that Hunter Biden’s attorneys could not bring a psychiatrist as an expert witness on addiction and could not use an exhibit related to the gun forms. The defense is prepared to argue Biden was not a drug addict at the moment he purchased the gun, and they will use the Second Amendment to argue for the legality of the firearm purchase. The defendant’s father is a staunch proponent of gun restrictions and, as chairman of the Clinton-era Senate Judiciary Committee, Joe Biden pushed to double the penalty for lying on a federal gun-purchase background check form from five years to ten years as part of the 1994 crime bill.
Leading up to the trial, President Joe Biden kept his son close, despite the appearance of impropriety. Joe and Hunter Biden mourned the ninth anniversary of Beau Biden’s untimely death from brain cancer at age 46.
The president brought his son to a state dinner last month and the two spent time together on Air Force One days before Hunter Biden’s trial began. Attorney General Merrick Garland was also on the guest list for the state dinner with the president of Kenya.
Last week, Joe Biden paid Hallie Biden a visit ahead of her testimony ar the gun trial. The White House said the pair did not discuss the gun trial, and simply mourned Beau Biden’s death.
Hallie Biden will likely provide important testimony for the prosecution on Hunter Biden’s drug usage and his presence in Delaware at the time of the gun purchase.