With former President Donald Trump convicted in his Manhattan hush money case, the 2024 political-legal spotlight will shift to Delaware, where jury selection begins Monday in the federal weapons trial of first son Hunter Biden.
Hunter, 54, faces three counts accusing him of illegally possessing a firearm while addicted to crack cocaine after lying on a federal gun-purchase form to obtain the weapon in the first place.
Although President Biden isn’t implicated in the case, the trial could create some unwelcome headlines for the commander in chief as his re-election campaign kicks into high gear ahead of his first debate with Trump later this month.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Hunter Biden trial.
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What is Hunter Biden charged with?
Officially, Hunter Biden is charged with three felonies: making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed firearms dealer, and possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of or addict to a controlled substance.
If convicted on all charges, the first son faces up to 25 years in prison and fines totaling more than $750,000 — though he is very unlikely to receive the maximum sentence if found guilty.
Ironically, Joe Biden helped pass legislation that shaped the law governing firearm applications that Hunter now stands accused of flouting.
Follow the latest on Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial:
- Hunter Biden ‘chose to lie’ about drug use to buy gun, prosecutors say: ‘No one is above the law’
- Hunter Biden’s wife lashes out at ex-Trump adviser in trial break: ‘Nazi piece of s—t’
- Joe Biden told Hunter to ‘get some help’ in 2018 voicemail — three days after son allegedly lied to buy gun
- Everything you need to know about the Hunter Biden federal gun case as trial kicks off
The application asked, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”
Hunter Biden answered “no,” despite knowing, according to prosecutors that the statement was “false and fictitious.”
Why did Hunter Biden acquire the gun?
Hunter Biden told friends that he made the gun purchase on Oct. 12, 2018, on a whim and believed that time at a shooting range could help him avoid a drug relapse, according to a New York Times report from January 2023. He also claimed to have believed that he was sober the day he filled out the form.
The Post previously reported on images from the first son’s laptop showing him asleep with what appears to be a crack pipe in his mouth on Oct. 8, 2018.
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Hunter Biden later told The Daily Beast that the photograph depicted a meth pipe rather than a crack pipe and alleged that the picture had been staged.
In his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” Hunter claimed that he was “smoking crack every 15 minutes” around the time of the gun purchase.
On Oct. 11, 2018, the day before Hunter went to buy the gun, he texted a man identified in his contacts as “q” asking to meet at a 7-Eleven. “Q” asked Hunter if he wanted “the same” thing, an apparent reference to drugs.
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It’s unclear whether the men met up that day.
The first son ultimately purchased the handgun at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington.
He also bought a HKS Speedloader and 25 rounds of ammunition, according to prosecutors, who don’t have to prove that the first son was wasted on the day he made the purchases.
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Disposal of the gun and the feds’ discovery
Hunter Biden held onto the weapon for 11 days before it got tossed into a trash can.
At the time, Hunter Biden was in the midst of a tryst with his former sister-in-law turned lover Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother, Beau.
On Oct. 23, 2018, Hallie Biden, frustrated with Hunter’s drug use, discovered the .38-caliber revolver in his unlocked car and discarded it — wrapped in a black shopping bag — behind a supermarket located across the street from a local high school.
This did not go over well with Hunter Biden, who launched a barrage of profane text messages at her upon learning what she had done.
Hunter demanded that Hallie return to the trash can and retrieve the firearm for him, but when she did, it was gone, according to a police report unearthed by Politico in March 2021. Hallie then contacted the store’s management, which drew in law enforcement.
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When cops called Hunter Biden to the scene, he claimed to have used the firearm for target practice.
Hunter Biden waved off questions about whether he was using drugs by suggesting Hallie had thought “I was gonna kill myself,” per the report.
When asked if he had spoken about the issue with his father, then the former vice president, Hunter responded: “I have never called my dad for anything.”
Days later, the gun was turned in by an older man who regularly went through the store’s trash for recyclable items.
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In court filings last month, prosecutors noted that the FBI had interviewed the Wilmington gun store owner, Ron Palimere, who said that both Delaware State Police and Secret Service agents visited his business the day after the .38-caliber revolver went missing.
“They said the firearm was involved in a case of some kind and they wanted to expedite the trace process and get access to the Form 4473,” the FBI document outlining Palimere’s interview states, referring to the transaction record filled out by Hunter. “Both agencies asked the same questions and it appeared they were not aware of each other’s investigations.”
Suspicious of the request by the Secret Service, Palimere contacted an ATF agent, who told him, in the FBI’s words, “not to turn the original Form 4473 over to anyone and to turn over a copy only if Palimere felt Palimere had to.”
The Secret Service has said it has no information corroborating Palimere’s claims, noting the Biden family was not under the agency’s protection at the time.
Who’s prosecuting the case?
David Weiss has been US Attorney for Delaware since 2018, having been nominated to that position under Trump, with the support of the First State’s two Democratic US senators, both Biden allies.
Weiss’ office has been investigating Hunter Biden on a number of tracks, including the gun charge, tax evasion and allegations of unregistered foreign lobbying.
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In December 2020 — a month after his father won the presidency — Hunter Biden confirmed publicly that he was subject to a federal probe into his “tax affairs.”
In June 2023, prosecutors announced a plea deal on tax charges against the first son and a pretrial diversion agreement on the gun charges.
As a result, he was expected to get about two years of probation contingent on him remaining sober.
But that agreement went up in flames the following month when Delaware US District Judge Maryellen Noreika exposed daylight between the defense and prosecution over whether or not Hunter would enjoy blanket immunity.
On Aug. 11, 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Weiss to special counsel status, giving him the authority to bring charges against the first son wherever he wished.
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On Sept. 14, Weiss’ team announced that a grand jury had returned the firearm indictment against the first son.
Hunter Biden’s defense
Ahead of the trial, attorneys for the first son have made several attempts to quash the case, all of which have failed so far.
One notable argument is that the charges against Hunter violated his Second Amendment rights on the grounds that “past drug use” is no longer sufficient to deny gun ownership following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2022.
Noreika, who will also be the presiding judge at trial, rejected that claim, saying laws against drug addicts owning firearms are “consistent with this country’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
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The defense team has also suggested that the 4473 form may have been “tampered with” by an employee at the gun store who helped Hunter Biden fill it out.
The Justice Department has included a photo of Hunter Biden’s signature on the form as evidence.
But lead defense attorney Abbe Lowell has teased there might be more to the case.
Key witnesses in the case
In their trial brief, prosecutors teased plans to call at least nine witnesses, mainly officials from the FBI, Delaware State Police, and Drug Enforcement Administration — along with “an employee of Starquest Shooters,” possibly Palimere, and three individuals identified as Witness 1, 2, and 3.
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The Post has identified those witnesses based on the description provided by prosecutors as Hunter’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, and Hallie Biden.
Buhle tied the knot with Hunter Biden in 1993 and the pair split in 2017, not long after she learned that he was having an affair with his sister-in-law, according to her book, “If We Break.”
Even after the divorce was finalized, Buhle continued to express concerns about her ex’s addiction struggles, writing in a March 9, 2018, message that she “found a few crack pipes” in the family car and removed them because their “daughter was driving” it at the time.”
Kestan — a lingerie and textile designer who uses “weed_slu*t_420” as her social media handle — testified before a Delaware grand jury back in 2022, The Post previously reported.
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Kestan allegedly claimed to have been with Hunter “at the craziest point of his life” and stated that during the roughly nine months of their relationship, he smoked crack cocaine about “every 20 minutes except when he slept.”
Aside from those witnesses, prosecutors will also be allowed to cite evidence from Hunter Biden’s “laptop from hell,” though the defense will be able to challenge exhibits on a case-by-case basis.
Prosecutors have also indicated they will reference his memoir,” Beautiful Things.”
Will President Biden pardon Hunter?
While the president has not spoken publicly about the case, the White House has repeatedly insisted that the president will not pardon his son should he be convicted.
“I’ve been very clear; the president is not going to pardon his son,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated back in December.
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Behind the scenes, President Biden is reportedly very anxious that his son could wind up behind bars. And there have been some conspicuous crossing of paths on the eve of the trial.
On May 26, President Biden met withHallie Biden, a move that raised some eyebrows given that she’s expected to be a star witness.
Three days earlier, Hunter Biden was present at a White House State dinner honoringvisiting Kenyan President William Ruto which Garland also attended.
Who is the judge in the Hunter Biden case?
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Noreika was nominated to the bench by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in August 2018 — again with support from both of Delaware’s Democratic senators.
At Pittsburgh native, Noreika holds an undergraduate degree from Lehigh University, a master’s degree in biology from Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Noreika has given campaign donations to candidates on both sides of the aisle, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a particular favorite.
Who are Hunter Biden’s attorneys?
Hunter Biden’s main lawyer responding to Weiss’ probe was Chris Clark, who played a critical role in negotiating the aborted plea and diversion agreements.
In August 2023, Clark withdrew fom the case due to the possibility that he could be called as a witness to discuss deliberations with prosecutors.
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Clark had previously hinted at plans to bring President Biden to the stand if the agreement failed.
“President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witnessfor the defensein any criminal trial,” Clark wrote at one point, Politico reported.
Lowell, a Winston & Strawn partner, then took a more pronounced role in Hunter Biden’s defense. He previously represented Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and has also helped the first son navigate through the onslaught of House Republican investigations.
In addition to Lowell, the first son has tapped Bartholomew Dalton of Dalton & Associates and more recently brought on David Kolansky, who previously helped Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
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Legal fund could be drying up
Since his father took office as president, Hunter Biden’s primary patron has been Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, sometimes referred to as the first son’s “sugar brother.”
Morris, 60, testified before the House GOP impeachment inquiry back in January that he loaned the first son more than $4.9 million and had visited the White House on at least three occasions during that timeframe.
Other recent reports peg that figure at around $6.5 million. Morris’ cash flow to the troubled first son covered everything from divorce costs, back taxes, a paternity suit, car payments, and more.
He has also quietly worked on a gauzy documentary about the Biden scion, assisted him with publishing his memoir, helped him find a new home, and reportedly purchased some of his top-dollar works of art.
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But now there are questions about whether Morris’ resources are drying up.
“Kevin is completely tapped out. So just when Hunter is facing two criminal trials starting in a few weeks, he has no resources. It’s pretty dire,” a source familiar with the situation recently told Politico.
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Other charges against Hunter Biden
In addition to the firearm case, Hunter Biden is also staring down a tax indictment that Weiss secured from a grand jury out of Los Angeles in December.
He is facing sixmisdemeanor and threefelony countsfor allegedly stiffing Uncle Sam of $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Hunter Biden has since paid off that lien, thanks to a loan from Morris.
That trial, which had initially been slated for June 20, is now set to begin Sept. 5 after federal judge Mark Scarsi delayed it last week.
Speculation has also swirled about possible charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which is governed under a five-year statute of limitations. Weiss has maintained that his investigation remains “ongoing.”
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FARA requires individuals to disclose when they’re acting on behalf of foreign principals in a bid to influence US officials.
Detractors have pointed to Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma from 2014 until 2019, and his 10% stake in Chinese state-backed investment fund BHR Partners between 2013 and part of 2021, among other concerns.
Yet the clock appears to be running out on some of those potential avenues.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who is leading an impeachment inquiry into the president, has also dangled the possibility of unspecified criminal referrals.
