Hallie Biden, a key witness in Special Counsel David Weiss’ prosecution, is expected to testify on Thursday about her romantic relationship with her brother-in-law, Hunter Biden, which was ongoing when he purchased a Colt Cobra .38 Special revolver in October 2018. Some of her text messages with the first son from that time period have already been read to the jury. 

Senior assistant special counsel Derek Hines, who is Mr. Weiss’ top deputy, said Wednesday afternoon after the jury was excused that he has six witnesses left to call. In the morning, Mr. Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, will resume cross-examination of Gordon Cleveland, the man who sold Mr. Biden the gun. 

Ms. Biden began dating Mr. Biden following the 2015 death of her husband Beau — the elder brother of the defendant. Mr. Weiss announced in court filings in May that she would provide a detailed portrait of Mr. Biden’s life at the time he bought the gun and allegedly lied about his drug use on a federal form, a felony. Ms. Biden is listed only as “Witness 3” in the court filing. 

“Witness 3 was in a romantic relationship with the defendant in October 2018, and before and after. Witness 3 observed the defendant using drugs on multiple occasions. When he stayed at her home in the fall of 2018, Witness 3 and her children searched his bags, backpacks, and vehicle in an effort to help him get sober, and discovered drug paraphernalia and drugs in his possessions on multiple occasions,” Mr. Weiss wrote in a Delaware filing.  

“Witness 3 observed that the defendant frequently lost phones and changed phones, which explains gaps in time where there are no messages, and she also had various text message exchanges with the defendant,” Mr. Weiss continued.

Ms. Biden began openly dating Mr. Biden a few months after his then-wife, Kathleen Buhle, had filed for divorce, though it’s unclear when the romance began. Politico first reported that after Mr. Biden bought the gun on October 12, 2018, Ms. Biden found it in his truck and,  concerned that he was going to hurt himself,  disposed of the weapon in a trash bin outside an upscale, Wilmington, Delaware grocery store. The weapon was later found by someone collecting cans, and was handed over to law enforcement. 

In a series of text messages that the prosecution is expected to enter into evidence on Thursday, Ms. Biden begged the first son not to hurt himself because she loved him and cared about his well-being. 

The prosecution on Wednesday made clear that they intend to portray Mr. Biden as being in need of a gun because he was getting into arguments with drug dealers around the time he purchased the weapon. Mr. Cleveland testified that when Mr. Biden asked him what kind of ammunition he should buy, the gun store employee said he could choose rounded-top rounds for range shooting or hollow-point rounds for self-defense. Mr. Biden ended up purchasing the hollow-point rounds, Mr. Cleveland said. 

Ms. Biden’s relationship with Mr. Biden ended in 2019. Her  testimony will follow that of her former sister-in-law, Ms. Buhle, who testified on Wednesday about Mr. Biden’s drug abuse and their failed marriage. Ms. Buhle and the first son were married for nearly 25 years, and have three children. 

Ms. Buhle told jurors that Mr. Biden’s addiction stretched as far back as the 1990’s, when he began abusing alcohol. He first went to rehab in 2003 for that vice, she said. Ms. Buhle said she later discovered a crack pipe at their home in 2015, and would often find drug paraphernalia in his car both before and after their divorce.