WILMINGTON, Del. — The first witness called by Hunter Biden’s defense attorneys was openly hostile to them, giving terse answers and saying his interaction with them was “a mess.”

Jason Turner, a former employee at the Delaware gun shop where Hunter Biden bought a handgun in October 2018, became increasingly irritated with questions from defense attorney Abbe Lowell, at times responding with wisecracks.

Asked what he was doing at a particular time, Mr. Turner replied, “I put on my ritual robes and went and sat in a marble room. What did you think I was doing?”

Later he grumbled that his interaction with defense attorneys was “a mess.”

“They can’t be on time for nothing,” he said of Hunter Biden’s legal team, adding that he works the night shift and it’s difficult for him to do things during the day.

Mr. Turner also acknowledged that there was something wrong with the ATF form that Hunter Biden filled out to purchase the gun, but did not elaborate after prosecutors objected to his statement.

Hunter Biden is accused of lying on the gun form by saying he was not using unlawful substances at the time of the purchase.

Defense attorneys had planned to introduce evidence that the gun store employees had doctored the form to make sure it was compliant with federal law. But Judge Maryellen Noreika denied their request.

The original form wasn’t compliant with federal law because it relied solely on Hunter Biden’s passport as a form of identification. Passports cannot be used as identification to purchase a gun because they don’t have an address.

However, Mr. Turner testified that passports can be used if they are supplemented by another form of identification such as a car registration or utility bill that contains an address.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.