Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, faces criminal charges and is currently in court. Image source: Carlos M. Vazquez II, via Flickr.
Hunter Biden, US President Joe Biden’s son, has been charged with three gun-related offences, with his history of drug use as a key factor.
Hunter Biden has been charged with lying while buying a revolver in October 2018 and knowingly declaring on paperwork that he was not a user of narcotics or an addict at the time.
He is further accused of possessing the gun illegally for a total of 11 days before it was dumped in a rubbish bin.
He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges, which are federal gun offences.
The defence case rests on proving that Hunter Biden “did not believe he had a gun problem” and had “no intent to deceive”, when he brought the gun.
The defence further argued that that the form Hunter Biden filled out when purchasing the gun only asked if he was addicted to drugs at the time, rather then if he had used drugs in the past.
The prosecution’s argument is focused on the alleged lies rather than on Hunter Biden’s drug use.
“Addiction may not be a choice, but lying and buying a gun is a choice,” said prosecutor Derek Hines.
Hunter Biden’s struggle with addiction to crack cocaine is one of the key subjects of his memoir Beautiful Things, published in 2021.
The trial had multiple passages of this memoir read out to the courtroom by prosecutors to prove evidence of addiction at the time of the alleged crime. The passages were read by FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen.
The trial has also included testimonies from the gun dealer, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, and his ex-girlfriend. Hunter Biden’s old laptop has also been used as evidence.
The laptop is the subject of a controversial scandal where it was left at a repair shop in Delaware. It was not retrieved and the contents were publicly leaked. Hunter Biden has since sued over the data breach.
Jensen once again read out information retrieved from the laptop, showing multiple personal messages from Hunter Biden regarding his drug use.
She later testified under cross-examination that the messages slowed down around October 2018.
Joe Biden has been questioned about whether he will accept the outcome of the trial if Hunter Biden is found guilty. He responded “yes”.
Biden has stated that he would not pardon his son if he was convicted.
Hunter Biden is also facing criminal charges in California for tax evasion. He is due to attend trial in September.
