Staff Reports
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, is set to go to trial in Delaware on Monday for allegedly lying on a federal form to purchase a gun in 2018. This marks the first time the child of a sitting president will stand trial as a defendant. The special counsel leading the case, David Weiss, claims that Biden lied about his drug use to buy a revolver and then kept the firearm for 11 days. Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Donald Trump appointee, is overseeing the trial and expects it to last up to two weeks.
The trial will kick off with jury selection, where prospective jurors will be asked questions to ensure they are unbiased. They will be asked about their views on the Second Amendment, drug addiction, and whether they think Biden’s connection to the president has affected the fairness of his prosecution. The day before the trial, the judge rejected several requests from Biden’s defense team, including allowing an expert witness to testify about drug addiction. The defense wanted to argue that Biden was in a “state of denial” about his drug use when he filled out the gun form.
Jury selection begins in Hunter Biden gun trial. It's all set up for a slap on the wrist ! #hunterbiden#delaware #court pic.twitter.com/ajQgoiq7fF
— Kentuckygirl (@longky2000) June 3, 2024
Weiss plans to present evidence that drugs were found on a leather gun pouch seized in 2018. Biden’s defense sought to call a toxicologist to challenge this evidence, but the judge has not yet decided whether to allow their testimony. The defense also wanted to introduce a second version of the gun form, but the judge dismissed this as “unsupported rhetoric.” Additionally, the trial will get personal as prosecutors intend to call Biden’s ex-wife and ex-girlfriends to testify about his alleged drug use in 2018. They also plan to use excerpts from Biden’s memoir to illustrate his battle with addiction.
Biden has pleaded not guilty to the three gun charges he is facing, which could result in up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The president’s son tried to have his case dismissed on the grounds that a Supreme Court ruling had relaxed gun regulations, but the judge denied this request. While President Biden has endorsed stricter gun laws, this case has caught the attention of gun rights activists who see it as an opportunity to influence gun regulation.
