Hunter Biden’s daughter testified on Friday in her father’s defense, stating that he seemed to respond well to drug treatment in the weeks before he bought a gun that prosecutors allege he obtained illegally by not disclosing his addiction. Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, pleaded not guilty in federal court to felony charges, including lying about his addiction when he applied for the Colt Cobra revolver in 2018 and illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days.
Naomi Biden, 30, told the jury at his criminal trial that she saw her father in California then, and “he seemed really great.” During cross-examination, prosecutors showed that she had been messaging and calling her father but could not reach him. “I can’t take this,” she texted him several days after he purchased the gun. “I miss you so much and I just want to hang out.” Prosecutors presented prior testimony and evidence indicating that Hunter Biden was arranging to buy crack cocaine at the time.
Naomi Biden was the last witness on Friday. The jury was dismissed until Monday, when the defense will announce whether Hunter Biden, 54, will testify. Testifying can be risky for criminal defendants because it exposes them to cross-examination. The jury in the five-day-old first-ever criminal trial of a U.S. president’s child heard witnesses, including Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, former girlfriend, and sister-in-law, testify about his use of crack cocaine.
His sister-in-law, Hallie Biden, recounted on Thursday finding the gun and throwing it away out of concern for the safety of Hunter Biden and her children.
Prosecution
Prosecutors asserted that overwhelming evidence showed Hunter Biden was actively using crack in the weeks before and after he bought the gun and that he lied by answering “no” on a government screening document when asked if he was a drug user. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell argued that Biden did not intend to deceive because he did not consider himself an addict when he purchased the gun. Hunter Biden told the judge at a 2023 hearing that he had been sober since 2019.
Earlier on Friday, prosecutors rested their case, and Hunter Biden’s team asked the judge overseeing the case to acquit him, arguing that the evidence did not support a conviction. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika did not immediately rule on the request, which defendants routinely file and often get denied.
Background check
In addition to Naomi Biden, Lowell called an employee and the owner of the gun shop as witnesses to cast doubt on the accuracy of the background check form at the center of the case.
Joe Biden told ABC News on Thursday that he would not pardon his son if convicted.
The sentencing guidelines for the charges against Hunter Biden are 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say defendants in similar cases often receive shorter sentences and are less likely to be incarcerated if they comply with the terms of their pretrial release,
