Jury Selected in Hunter Biden’s Delaware Gun Case, Teeing Up Testimony on Tuesday

WILMINGTON, Delaware — A jury has been selected in Hunter Biden’s criminal trial in Delaware, where he is facing three felony charges for lying about his drug use in order to buy a gun in 2018. Testimony will begin Tuesday, starting with an FBI special agent who was involved in the years-long investigation into the first son. Ultimately, the prosecution and the defense agreed on 12 jurors and four alternate jurors. Six of the jurors are men, six are women, and all four of the alternate jurors are women. Judge Maryellen Noreika oversaw the process all day on Monday, asking dozens of potential jurors if they had heard about the charges levied against Mr. Biden, if they had any strong feelings about the case, and if they had ever donated to any political campaigns. Some of the prospective jurors who were excused included a traveling salesman who had scheduling conflicts, a woman who takes care of her grandchildren full-time, and a man who said he had been close with Hallie Biden — Mr. Biden’s ex-girlfriend who is also the widow of the president’s son, Beau — and Beau. The man said that his son had played sports with one of Hallie and Beau’s children, the president’s grandson, while growing up in Delaware. First lady Jill Biden, along with her stepson-in-law, Peter Neal, arrives ahead of Hunter Biden’s trial at federal court, Monday, June 3, 2024, at Wilmington, Delaware. AP Photo/Matt SlocumAnother potential juror said her husband had been friends with Beau for years before he died from brain cancer in 2015. “We miss him,” the woman said, fighting back tears. She was promptly excused by Judge Noreika. When one potential juror — a retired mechanic — was asked if he had heard anything about the case, he told Judge Noreika: “This is Delaware. You can’t swing a cat around here and not hear about it.”Mr. Biden was joined by several family members and friends during the eight-hour jury selection process. The first lady, Jill Biden, sat directly behind her stepson. Oftentimes, she was either consoling or was being consoled by Mr. Biden’s second and current wife, Melissa Cohen, who was sitting to her right. Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, enter the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 3 2024, at Wilmington, Delaware. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesOn the first lady’s left sat Mr. Biden’s son-in-law, Peter Neal, who is married to his eldest daughter, Naomi Biden, 30, a fierce defender of both her father as a man and a recovering addict, and of her grandfather’s political record. Mr. Biden’s friend and “sugar brother” Kevin Morris — a Hollywood lawyer who says he is worth around $100 million and has been bankrolling Mr. Biden’s lifestyle for years — also sat in court just behind the first son. At multiple points throughout the jury selection process, Mr. Morris was seen writing things down on a notepad. He was also passing small pieces of paper to the defense team. At one point, Mr. Morris, who was sitting in the audience, leaned over the short wall separating the public seating from the defense table. Mr. Morris pulled Mr. Biden in close, whispered something to him, and made him laugh. Hunter Biden, left, accompanied by his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, depart from federal court, Monday, June 3, 2024, at Wilmington, Delaware. AP/Matt RourkeMr. Biden has been charged with three counts related to his 2018 purchase of a Colt handgun after allegedly lying on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms form that required him to swear under penalty of prosecution that he was not an addict or user of controlled substances. According to evidence retrieved from his infamous laptop, around the time of his gun purchase, he was texting Hallie — who at the time was his girlfriend— that he was “sleeping on a car” and waiting for a dealer named “Mookie.”Days after he bought the gun, he texted her again that he was using drugs. Special Counsel David Weiss plans to use those messages as evidence in the trial, according to records. According to a report in Politico, Hallie found the gun in Mr. Biden’s truck only a few days after he bought it, and threw it out in a garbage disposal bin outside an upscale Wilmington grocery store. The gun, which was quickly found by a scavenger, eventually made its way to law enforcement, ultimately leading to the prosecution of the first son. According to Politico, Mr. Biden told police at the time of the gun’s discovery that Hallie had disposed of it because she through he would use it “to kill myself.”Mr. Weiss was also present in court on Monday, but not sitting at the prosecution table. Rather, he sat quietly in the public seating section, rarely talking to his prosecutors. First lady Jill Biden arrives ahead of Hunter Biden’s trial at federal court Monday at Wilmington, Delaware. AP/Matt RourkeOne of Mr. Weiss’ deputies announced at the end of jury selection that the government’s first witness would be an FBI special agent who was involved in the years-long investigation into Mr. Biden. Mr. Weiss has been investigating the first son since 2018 after President Trump appointed him to his post as Delaware’s U.S. Attorney. In 2023, Attorney General Garland announced Mr. Weiss had taken status as special counsel. The prosecution’s opening statement will be made on Tuesday morning.

Jury Selected in Hunter Biden’s Delaware Gun Case, Teeing Up Testimony on Tuesday

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