Hunter Biden Case Goes to Jury

Panel failed to reach a verdict in deliberations Monday
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 10, 2024 11:53 AM CDT
Updated Jun 10, 2024 4:38 PM CDT
Hunter Biden Defense Rests Its Case
Hunter Biden arrives at federal court with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, Monday, June 10, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Hunter Biden's fate is now in the hands of the jury in his federal gun trial. Deliberations began around 3:30pm Monday after closing arguments ended at the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware and Judge Maryellen Noreika read out instructions for the jury, NBC News reports. Biden is accused of lying about his drug use on a federal form and illegally owning a gun in October 2018. Jurors deliberated for around an hour without reaching a verdict. They will return Tuesday morning.

  • "No one is above the law," prosecutor Leo Wise said in closing arguments, per the BBC. He said that the evidence against Biden was "overwhelming" and that jurors should not be swayed by the presence of Biden relatives, including first lady Jill Biden. "People sitting in the gallery are not evidence," he said.
  • Another prosecutor, Derek Hines, said if evidence doesn't show Biden was a crack addict when he bought the gun, then "no one is a crack addict," reports the Washington Post.
  • Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's, lead attorney, said the prosecution's arguments were based on "conjecture," NBC reports. He noted that the question on the gun form asked "are you" a drug user, not "have you" used drugs. He said Biden answered "no" because he was working on getting sober.

  • Hunter Biden's defense rested its case Monday morning without calling him as a witness. The defense called three witnesses, including daughter Naomi Biden, on Friday. Analysts tell CNN that it would have been a risky move to have Biden, the first child of a sitting president to go on trial, take the stand. "I would always advise my clients unless in the most rare occasions not to testify," says former federal prosecutor Alyse Adamson. Biden is accusing of lying about his drug use and illegally owning a gun in October 2018.
  • Prosecutors brought FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen back to the stand Monday for brief rebuttal testimony, the Washington Post reports. She said Biden, who bought the gun on Oct. 12, 2018, sent a series of texts between Oct. 10 and 16 about meeting someone at a 7-Eleven. In his memoir, he wrote about meeting people to buy drugs at 7-Elevens. Defense lawyers said there is no proof Biden actually went to the 7-Eleven when he said he did, or that the alleged drug dealer "Mookie" mentioned in the texts exists.
  • The judge told jurors they should return guilty verdicts if they are sure prosecutors "proved each and every element of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt," the AP reports.
This story has been updated with new developments.
(More Hunter Biden trial stories.)

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