The Latest on Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial: Prosecutor Derek Hines began his rebuttal statement by saying that several things defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in his closing arguments were “completely unfair.” That includes suggesting that the jury has Hunter Biden’s life in its hands. Hines said that if Hunter Biden had simply been an addict struggling with personal problems “we would not be here in this courtroom.” Hunter instead is on trial for buying a gun and lying about being a drug addict when he did so, Hines said. Hines also took exception with Lowell’s assertion that the prosecution’s questioning of Naomi Biden was “extraordinarily cruel.” “Who called the defendant’s daughter as a witness in this case?” Hines asked. “Not us.” Hines told the jury the evidence clearly shows Hunter Biden had a pattern of illegal drug use at the time he bought the gun. Prosecutors don’t have to prove Hunter used drugs on the day he bought the gun or was under the influence while in the gun store, he said.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Prosecutor Derek Hines began his rebuttal statement by calling some of defense attorney Abbe Lowell’s closing arguments “completely unfair,” including the suggestion that the jury holds Hunter Biden’s life in its hands.
- Hines emphasized that Hunter Biden is on trial for buying a gun and lying about being a drug addict, not merely for struggling with personal problems.
- Hines disputed Lowell’s claim that the prosecution’s questioning of Naomi Biden was “extraordinarily cruel,” noting that it was the defense who called her as a witness.
- Hines argued that the evidence shows Hunter Biden had a pattern of illegal drug use at the time of the gun purchase, and prosecutors don’t need to prove he was using drugs the day he bought the gun.
- Lowell reminded jurors of their duty to determine guilt or innocence with “tremendous responsibility,” stating that Hunter Biden’s famous last name doesn’t affect his entitlement to rights.
- Lowell rejected the prosecution’s assertion that Hunter Biden’s large cash withdrawals were exclusively for drug transactions, suggesting they could have been for rehab.
- Lowell argued there’s no evidence Hunter took the gun out of its locked box before Hallie Biden found it and threw it away.
- Lowell noted that prosecutors couldn’t show when or how drug residue got on a leather pouch found in Hunter’s truck.
- Lowell stressed that the federal form Hunter filled out asks in the present tense about drug use, suggesting Hunter did not consider himself an addict at the time of the gun purchase.
- Prosecutor Leo Wise urged the jury not to leave common sense behind, emphasizing Hunter Biden’s own admissions of drug use in text messages and his memoir.
- Wise pointed to text messages and evidence of drug use around the time Hunter bought the gun, arguing it shows he knowingly made a false statement and possessed the gun illegally.
- Wise acknowledged the personal and ugly nature of the evidence but called it “absolutely necessary” for the trial, emphasizing the charges against Hunter Biden.
The Associated Press has the story:
Defense says there’s no evidence Hunter Biden took gun out of locked box it came in
Newslooks-
In his closing arguments in Hunter Biden’s trial, defense attorney Abbe Lowell also reminded jurors that their duty to determine a person’s guilt or innocence comes with “tremendous responsibility.”
“The burden of proof … is always on the prosecution,” he said, telling jurors Hunter is presumed innocent unless and until they find him guilty. The fact that he has a famous last name doesn’t mean he is less entitled to his rights than any other defendant, Lowell said.
Lowell also told jurors they should consider testimony by Hallie Biden and Zoe Kestan under grants of immunity “with great care and caution.”
“With my last breath in this case, I ask for the only verdict that will hold the prosecutors to what the law requires of them,” Lowell concluded, asking jurors to find Hunter not guilty.
Defense rejects prosecution claim that cash withdrawals could only have been for drugs
In closing arguments, defense attorney Abbe Lowell also rejected the prosecution’s assertion that large cash withdrawals made by Hunter Biden could have been only for drug transactions.
Prosecution witnesses were unable to back up that assertion with detailed financial records, he said.
Earlier in Hunter Biden’s trial, the defense had suggested the money could have been used to pay for rehab, though the prosecutor had countered that financial records suggested otherwise.
Defense says there’s no evidence Hunter took gun out of locked box it came in
As far as Hunter Biden illegally possessing the gun, there’s no evidence that he ever took it out of the locked box it came in before Hallie Biden found it and threw it in the trash, defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in closing arguments.
“On October 23rd, Hallie did something incredibly stupid,” Lowell said. “She may have done it for love,” or perhaps out of anger in suspecting that Hunter had been with another woman, he added.
President Joe Biden’s son has 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.
Defense says prosecutors can’t show how drug residue got on leather pouch
In closing arguments, defense attorney Abbe Lowell also argued that prosecutors were unable to show when and how drug residue got on a leather pouch Hallie Biden found in Hunter’s truck and inside of which she put his gun before tossing it in the trash. They also couldn’t say who put it there.
Turning to testimony by Kathleen Buhle, Hunter’s ex-wife, about his drug use, Lowell noted that they were no longer together in 2018.
“There was no actual witness to the drug use in this period of time,” he said.
Lowell noted that the federal form Hunter filled out when he bought the gun asks in the present tense whether the purchaser “is” a user of or addicted to illegal drugs. He also suggested that Biden decided on a whim to go to the gun store after visiting a nearby store to buy a new cellphone.
Lowell noted that Hunter bought several other items at the gun store, including a utility knife, flashlight and BB gun.
“It does reflect on whether Hunter had the necessary intent” to buy a gun and lie on the paperwork.
Defense says memoir is irrelevant, Hunter’s state of mind when he bought gun is critical
Giving closing arguments in Hunter Biden’s trial, defense attorney Abbe Lowell began by saying the prosecution hasn’t met its burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lowell focused on the word “knowingly,” saying Hunter’s state of mind at the time of the gun purchase is critical. The defense has suggested that, at the time he bought the gun, Hunter did not consider himself an addict. What he wrote later in his memoir is irrelevant, Lowell suggested.
Lowell also tried to discredit former girlfriend Zoe Kestan’s testimony about witnessing Hunter’s drug use. He notes there were “No pipe, no scales, no drugs. Not even alcohol” in photos she took while visiting him in California.
Lowell also noted that Hallie Biden did not see Hunter using drugs in the days surrounding the gun purchase. As far as text exchanges with Hallie Biden suggesting drug use and drug deals in the days following the gun purchase, Lowell suggested, perhaps Hunter was “just putting somebody off.”
“At any given time, he would lie to her about where he was,” Lowell said.
Prosecutor tells jury not to leave common sense behind
In closing arguments, prosecutor Leo Wise pointed to text messages he said show Hunter Biden trying to make drug deals on the days before and after the gun purchase and on Oct. 16, noting that Hunter told Hallie on Oct. 14 that he was smoking crack, writing, “That’s my truth.”
“Take the defendant’s word for it. That’s his truth,” Wise said, urging them to reject defense suggestions that Hunter was simply trying to avoid being with Hallie.
“You don’t leave your common sense behind when you come into that jury box,” Wise told jurors.
Wise also said there’s nothing to support the defense’s suggestion that Hunter was withdrawing large sums of money from the bank to pay for rehab. Financial statements show the rehab payments weren’t made with cash, Wise said, arguing that the withdrawals were made to buy drugs.
Wise also recalled text messages between Hunter and his daughter, Naomi, in October 2018 during a trip to New York, including one in which Hunter asks if Naomi’s boyfriend could meet him in the early hours of the morning to exchange cars.
“I’m really sorry Dad, I can’t take this,” Naomi responded.
Prosecutor says Hunter Biden calls himself an addict in texts and memoir
Text messages from 2018 and 2019 point to Hunter Biden’s drug use and efforts to obtain crack cocaine from drug dealers, prosecutor Leo Wise said in closing arguments.
One day after buying the gun, Hunter texted Hallie Biden that he was waiting for a dealer named Mookie. The following day, Hunter told Hallie in a text message that he was smoking crack. In other text messages, Hunter described himself as both “a drunk” and “an addict.”
In addition to the text messages, Hunter in his memoir described buying and using drugs during four years of “active addiction,” Wise said.
“In his prologue, he referred to himself as a drug addict,” Wise said.
Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, testified to his drug use and addiction, Wise noted. His former girlfriend Zoe Kestan said she saw Hunter using drugs from December 2017 through November 2018, even after he had gone to rehab.
Prosecutor says Hunter Biden made a false statement in gun purchase ‘knowingly’
In the prosecution’s closing arguments in Hunter Biden’s trial, Leo Wise said prosecutors have shown Hunter Biden, as a drug user, knowingly and illegally possessed the handgun, regardless of how it was acquired.
“You saw messages from the defendant to Hallie Biden where he admits that the gun was his,” Wise said, noting that there’s no evidence that anyone else possessed it from Oct. 12 to Oct. 23.
Wise said the evidence shows Hunter “knowingly” made a false statement in buying the gun and “knowingly” possessed it. The evidence shows Hunter Biden knew he was using drugs and was addicted to drugs, Wise said.
Wise noted that prosecutors don’t have to prove Hunter used drugs on the day he bought the gun, or during the time he possessed it, just that he used drugs around the time of the gun purchase. He noted that Hunter’s former girlfriend testified that he used drugs in California less than three weeks before he bought the gun.
“You can consider the defendant’s pattern of use,” Wise said, adding that the evidence shows Hunter also used drugs in the days after he bought the gun.
Prosecutor calls trial evidence personal, ugly and ‘absolutely necessary’
In the prosecution’s closing arguments, Leo Wise acknowledged the personal nature of the evidence presented during the trial.
“The evidence was personal. It was ugly, and it was overwhelming,” Wise said. “It was also absolutely necessary.”
Wise said the false statement Hunter Biden is charged with making is the ‘no’ answer on an ATF form. Wise was referring to Biden checking a box asking whether he was a user of or addicted to illegal drugs.
“In fact, he was,” Wise said.
Currently:
— ‘No one is above the law,’ prosecutor says as he urges jurors to convict Hunter Biden on gun charges
— Hunter Biden’s family weathers a public and expansive airing in federal court of his drug addiction
