WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Latest on Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial (all times local):
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell was interviewing the owner of the Delaware gun store where Hunter Biden purchased a handgun in October 2018.
Ronald Palimere, the owner, stated that he was called over by gun shop employees while he was next door at another business he owned.
“Anytime we have celebrities, they will usually call me in,” he mentioned.
Palimere explained that he was brought to a back office of the gun store where an employee raised concerns about the form of identification Hunter Biden had presented.
“There was discussion about the use of a passport, and whether I was OK with the use of a passport,” Palimere recalled.
“I said, ‘yes, sure,’” Palimere confirmed.
“Were you trying to have the sale go in a hurry?” Lowell inquired.
“I was trying to not hold the sale up,” Palimere responded.
Currently:
— Defense starts calling witnesses in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial after prosecution rests the case
— What’s the firearms form at the center of Hunter Biden’s gun trial? AP Explains
Here’s the latest:
DEFENSE NEXT CALLS THE OWNER OF THE GUN STORE
Former gun store employee Jason Turner concluded his testimony and the defense next called gun store owner Ronald Palimere to the stand in Hunter Biden’s federal trial.
Hunter Biden been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.
WITNESS SAYS HE PUT VEHICLE REGISTRATION NUMBER ON FORM, DEFENSE ASKS WHY IT’S MISSING
Former gun story employee Jason Turner mentioned that he wrote Hunter Biden’s vehicle registration number on the form for supplemental information. However, on the form presented in court, that box was empty.
“Where is it?” defense attorney Abbe Lowell questioned, leading to prosecutors requesting a sidebar discussion with the judge.
“There’s no such reference,” Lowell stated after he resumed questioning Turner.
“There should be,” Turner pointed out.
Lowell also pointed out that some information on the form was entered in black ink, while other information was in red ink. Turner explained that he switched pens while completing the form.
“How come?” Lowell asked.
Turner mentioned that red ink is easier to see for audit purposes.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Leo Wise asked Turner if he had met with defense attorneys before his testimony.
Turner mentioned that his interaction with defense attorneys after being subpoenaed was chaotic.
“They can’t be on time for nothing,” Turner, who appeared annoyed with defense Lowell during his direct examination, stated.
GUN STORE EMPLOYEE TESTIFIES THAT FORM WAS MISSING HUNTER BIDEN’S SIGNATURE
Testifying in Hunter Biden’s trial, gun story employee Jason Turner stated that the instructions for both the buyer and the seller are clearly outlined on the form.
Turner mentioned that before running the background check, another employee, Gordon Cleveland, showed him the form and a copy of Hunter Biden’s passport.
“It was missing information,” Turner explained, stating that the form lacked Hunter Biden’s signature and supplementary identification displaying Hunter’s address, which was not on the passport.
COURT RESUMES WITH DEFENSE CALLING ITS FIRST WITNESS
Court has resumed in Hunter Biden’s federal trial with the defense calling its first witness, gun store employee Jason Turner.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell questioned Turner, a former employee at the Delaware gun store where Hunter bought a handgun in October 2018. Turner was the store employee who conducted the required federal background check after Hunter Biden completed paperwork for purchasing the .38 caliber Colt revolver.
Prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden lied about being a drug user and addicted to crack cocaine when he completed the federal firearms purchase form.
JAMES BIDEN, THE PRESIDENT’S BROTHER, HAS ENTERED THE COURTHOUSE
President Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, has arrived at the courthouse where Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial is taking place.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell has stated that he intends to call James Biden as a witness.
Hunter Biden been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.
HUNTER BIDEN’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY SAYS HE’S MAKING A MOTION FOR ACQUITTAL
After prosecutors wrapped up their case in Hunter Biden’s gun trial and the jurors were excused for a morning break, defense attorney Abbe Lowell informed the judge that he was filing an oral motion for acquittal.
Lowell mentioned that he will provide the grounds for his motion in a written submission expected to be filed later in the day.
“I appreciate you letting me know what’s coming,” the judge acknowledged.
While the judge was questioning Lowell about his motion, Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa, exhibited signs of annoyance.
PROSECUTORS REST THEIR CASE AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN IN HIS FEDERAL GUN TRIAL
Prosecutors have concluded their case in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial.
This occurred after DEA special agent Joshua Romig finished his testimony.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Abbe Lowell highlighted that there were no coded references to drugs in the texts Romig reviewed from August 2018 to November 2018.
However, Hunter Biden had sent two text messages to Hallie Biden in October 2018 saying he was waiting for a dealer and smoking crack. The first message was sent the day after he bought the gun, and the second was sent the following day.
DEA AGENT SAID HE DIDN’T INVESTIGATE ALLEGED DRUG DEALERS TEXTING WITH HUNTER BIDEN
During cross-examination, defense attorney Abbe Lowell asked DEA special agent Joshua Romig if he had looked into any of the purported drug dealers communicating with Hunter Biden.
Romig mentioned that he did not conduct any investigations because he was not involved in the Hunter Biden case.
“This is not my investigation,” he clarified.
DEA AGENT SAYS LANGUAGE IN TEXTS IS INDICATIVE OF DRUG DEALS
Prosecutor Derek Hines led DEA special agent Joshua Romig through a series of text messages that prosecutors claim were exchanged between Hunter Biden and three different drug dealers in the spring and summer of 2018.
Romig stated that the language in the text exchanges suggested drug deals.
Similar text messages were exchanged in November 2018, the month after Hunter Biden purchased the gun.
Romig also pointed out that a photo of Hunter Biden taken in December 2018 showed him holding what appeared to be a crack pipe.
Hines also played a video from Hunter Biden’s phone in December 2018 showing chunks of a white substance on a digital scale. Romig mentioned that the video appeared to display about 2 grams of crack cocaine.
DEA SPECIAL AGENT JOSHUA ROMIG IS TESTIFYING IN HUNTER BIDEN’S TRIAL
DEA special agent Joshua Romig is the next prosecution witness testifying in Hunter Biden’s gun trial.
Prosecutor Derek Hines questioned Romig about how cocaine is trafficked into the United States from countries such as Colombia and Peru.
Romig also explained that crack cocaine is a more potent form of the drug derived from powder cocaine. Hunter Biden is accused of lying about being addicted to crack cocaine when he bought a gun in October 2018.
FBI CHEMIST TESTIFIES THAT COCAINE IDENTIFIED IN POWDER ON POUCH THAT HELD GUN
Prosecutor Leo Wise handed FBI chemist Jason Brewer a leather pouch in which Hunter Biden’s sister-in-law and former lover Hallie Biden placed the gun before disposing of it in a trash can outside a high-end grocery store near her residence 11 days after he bought it.
Brewer mentioned that he tested the pouch to determine if there was any trace of drugs or drug residue.
“I found a minimal amount of white powder, or off-white powder,” Brewer revealed. The powder was discovered on the interior flap and at the bottom of the pouch.
Brewer explained that he tested the powder using a chemical solution and gas chromatography.
“Did you come to a conclusion about the substance you tested?” Wise inquired.
“Cocaine was identified within the residual white powder that I sampled,” Brewer confirmed.
During cross-examination, defense attorney David Kolansky mentioned that the amount of residue Brewer tested was “minimal.” He also highlighted that Brewer conducted the tests on the pouch in October 2023, five years after the pouch was retrieved by police following Hallie Biden discarding it in the trash can.
Kolasnky also pointed out that the tests Brewer performed did not indicate when the drug residue got on the pouch or how it got there.
COURT RESUMES WITH FBI CHEMIST ON WITNESS STAND
The fifth day of Hunter Biden’s gun trial in Delaware commenced Friday with prosecutors calling an FBI forensic chemist examiner to the witness stand.
Prosecutor Leo Wise is interviewing Jason Brewer, an expert in analyzing controlled substances.
Hunter Biden is charged with falsely denying he was a drug user or addict when he bought a gun at a Wilmington gun store in October 2018.
FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN ARRIVES AT THE COURTHOUSE FOR SON’S TRIAL
First lady Jill Biden has arrived at the courthouse for son Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial.
She returned from France on Thursday evening after attending D-Day events with President Joe Biden. She will be returning to France for a state dinner.
2 MORE PROSECUTION WITNESSES EXPECTED IN HUNTER BIDEN’S TRIAL
Federal prosecutors are nearing the end of their gun case in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial, with two more witnesses expected Friday to help prove to jurors that the president’s son misled on a mandatory gun purchase form when he stated he was not “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs.
Prosecutors still plan to bring in a drug expert and an FBI chemist, capping off a week that has focused on emphasizing the seriousness of his drug issue through personal and sometimes sensational testimony.
Hunter Biden been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 3 OF TESTIMONY: BEAU BIDEN’S WIDOW SAID SHE THREW GUN INTO TRASH CAN
The widow of Hunter Biden’s brother testified on Thursday in his federal gun trial about discovering the revolver in his truck, detailing how she placed it in a leather pouch, stuffed it in a shopping bag, and discarded it in a trash can outside a market near her home.
“I panicked, and I wanted to get rid of them,” she stated regarding finding the gun and ammunition in the vehicle’s console in October 2018. “I didn’t want him to hurt himself, and I didn’t want my kids to find it and hurt themselves.”
The purchase of the Colt revolver by Hunter Biden — and Hallie Biden’s frenzied disposal of it — form the crux of the case against him.
HUNTER BIDEN’S OTHER TRIAL
Hunter Biden was initially supposed to avoid prosecution in the gun case entirely, but a deal with prosecutors fell through last year.
Subsequently, he was indicted on three felony gun charges. He also faces a trial scheduled for September on felony charges alleging he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years.
