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WILMINGTON, Delaware -- The transgression proceedings of President Joe Biden's lad heads into its last agelong Monday arsenic the defence tries to spot distant astatine prosecutors' lawsuit laying bare immoderate of the darkest moments of Hunter Biden's drug-fueled past.
Hunter Biden's lawyers could telephone astatine slightest 1 much witnesser erstwhile the lawsuit resumes successful Delaware's national tribunal - the archetypal of 2 trials he's facing successful the midst of his father's re-election campaign. It's unclear whether prosecutors volition telephone immoderate rebuttal witnesses earlier the lawsuit goes to closing arguments, and past to the jury.
Hunter Biden is charged with 3 felonies stemming from the October 2018 acquisition of a weapon helium had for astir 11 days. Prosecutors accidental helium lied connected a mandatory gun-purchase signifier by saying helium was not illegally utilizing oregon addicted to drugs.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not blameworthy and has accused the Justice Department of bending to governmental unit from erstwhile President Donald Trump and different Republicans to bring the lawsuit and abstracted taxation charges aft a woody with prosecutors fell isolated past year. Hunter Biden has said helium has been sober since 2019, but his attorneys person said helium did not see himself an "addict" erstwhile helium filled retired the form.
The lawsuit has enactment spotlight connected a turbulent clip successful Hunter Biden's beingness aft his member Beau's 2015 death. First Lady Jill Biden has watched it unfold from the beforehand enactment of the courtroom. President Biden was distant successful France overmuch of past week, and heads to Europe again this week for the Group of Seven leaders gathering successful Italy.
Hunter Biden's struggles with a substance addiction earlier getting sober much than 5 years agone are good documented. But defence lawyers reason there's nary grounds Hunter Biden was really utilizing drugs successful the 11 days that helium possessed the gun. He had completed a rehab programme weeks earlier.
Jurors person heard affectional and tawdry grounds from Hunter Biden's erstwhile romanticist partners and work idiosyncratic substance messages. They've seen photos of Hunter Biden holding a ace tube and partially clothed, and video from his telephone of ace cocaine weighed connected a scale.
His ex-wife and 2 onetime girlfriends testified for prosecutors astir his habitual ace usage and their failed efforts to assistance him get clean. One woman, who met Hunter Biden successful 2017 astatine a portion nine wherever she worked, described him smoking ace each 20 minutes oregon truthful portion she stayed with him astatine a hotel.
Hunter Biden hasn't taken the witnesser basal and it's unclear if helium will. But jurors person heard him picture astatine magnitude his descent into addiction done audio excerpts played successful tribunal of his 2021 memoir "Beautiful Things." The book, written aft helium got sober, covers the play helium had the weapon but doesn't notation it specifically.
A cardinal witnesser for prosecutors is Beau's widow, Hallie, who had a little troubled narration with Hunter aft his member died of encephalon cancer. She recovered the unloaded weapon successful Hunter's motortruck connected Oct. 23, 2018, panicked and tossed it into a garbage tin astatine a market store successful Wilmington, wherever a antheral inadvertently fished it retired of the trash.
"I didn't privation him to wounded himself, and I didn't privation my kids to find it and wounded themselves," Hallie Biden told jurors.
From the clip Hunter returned to Delaware from a 2018 travel to California until she threw his weapon away, she did not spot him utilizing drugs, Hallie told jurors. That clip play included the time helium bought the weapon. But jurors besides saw substance messages Hunter sent to Hallie successful October 2018 saying helium was waiting for a trader and smoking crack. The archetypal connection was sent the time aft helium bought the gun. The 2nd was sent the pursuing day.
The defence has suggested Hunter Biden had been trying to crook his beingness astir astatine the clip of the weapon purchase, having completed a detoxification and rehabilitation programme astatine the extremity of August 2018.
"There is nary grounds of contemporaneous cause usage and a weapon possession," defence lawyer Abbe Lowell wrote successful tribunal papers filed Friday. "It was lone aft the weapon was thrown distant and the ensuing accent ... that the authorities was capable to past find the aforesaid benignant of grounds of his usage (e.g., photos, usage of cause lingo) that helium relapsed with drugs."
Hunter Biden's girl Naomi took the basal for the defence Friday, telling jurors astir visiting her begetter portion helium was astatine a California rehab halfway weeks earlier helium bought the gun. She told jurors that helium had seemed "hopeful" and to beryllium improving, and she told him she was arrogant of him. As she was dismissed from the stand, she paused to hug her dada earlier leaving the courtroom.
The defence connected Friday did not regularisation retired calling 1 much witness, but it was unclear who that could be. Hunter's lawyers had antecedently said they planned to telephone arsenic a witnesser Joe Biden's brother, James and helium was astatine the courthouse connected Friday. Testimony from different household members could unfastened the doorway for much profoundly idiosyncratic messages to beryllium introduced to the jury.
President Joe Biden said past week that helium would judge the jury's verdict and has ruled retired a pardon for his son. First Lady Jill Biden was successful tribunal each time past week to enactment Hunter, but connected Thursday erstwhile she was with the president successful France for D-Day day events.
It looked arsenic if Hunter Biden would person avoided prosecution successful the weapon lawsuit altogether, but a woody past summertime with prosecutors imploded aft U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was nominated to the seat by Republican erstwhile President Donald Trump, raised concerns astir it. Hunter Biden was subsequently indicted connected 3 felony weapon charges. He besides faces a proceedings scheduled for September connected felony charges alleging helium failed to wage astatine slightest $1.4 cardinal successful taxes implicit 4 years.
If convicted successful the weapon case, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years successful prison, though first-time offenders bash not get anyplace adjacent the maximum, and it's unclear whether the justice would springiness him clip down bars.
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