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Hunter Biden trial: Jury deliberates for about an hour before going home for the day

Hunter Biden is facing three federal charges for allegedly lying about his drug use on a gun purchase form in 2018.
Hunter Biden
Posted at 8:03 AM, Jun 10, 2024

Hunter Biden will have to wait at least another day to find out if a jury will return a guilty or not guilty verdict in his federal gun trial.

Following closing arguments, the jury deliberated for just over an hour without returning a verdict.

The prosecution spent their final moments in front of the jury trying to convince them that Hunter Biden lied about not being addicted to drugs when purchasing a firearm in 2018.

"There is overwhelming evidence in this case that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," prosecutor Derek Hines said.

Hines pointed to Hunter Biden's book, which details his drug use around the time of the gun purchase, telling the jury that they have to believe Biden was lying in his memoir to find him not guilty.

Earlier, defense attorneys argued that Hunter Biden had recently been in rehab and there is no evidence that he was using drugs at the time of the gun purchase.

Over the week-long trial, both sides have tried to make their case about the timeline of Hunter Biden's drug use.

Among the witnesses called by prosecutors was Hallie Biden, widow of President Joe Biden's other son Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015. Hunter and Hallie were later romantically involved.

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Hallie Biden provided the court with a timeline of Hunter's alleged drug use and efforts to become sober. She also recalled an incident when she disposed of a gun outside of a Delaware grocery store. Surveillance footage showed she later went back to the grocery to look for the gun. She filed a police report about the missing gun after talking to grocery store staff.

Prosecutors also called on two Delaware State Police officers to provide testimony on how they were able to track down the gun, which they said was found by a man known around the area to rummage through trash to collect recyclables.

Naomi Biden, Hunter’s daughter, also testified about her father’s drug use. But she noted that she saw him in October 2018 to borrow his truck to help with moving. She said the truck was clean and there was no drug paraphernalia inside it.

Biden is facing three federal charges in the case, and up to a 25-year prison sentence if convicted.

First lady Jill Biden, President Joe Biden's sister Valerie Biden Owens, President Biden's brother James Biden and Hunter's sister Ashley Biden were all in attendance at the courtroom on Monday.