WILMINGTON, Del. – Hunter Biden’s trial on felony gun charges resumed Wednesday with testimony from the FBI agent who investigated him, his ex-wife, former girlfriend and the gun shop employee who sold him the weapon at the center of the case.
Prosecutors expect to spend three days laying out their case against President Joe Biden’s son to jurors. Hunter Bidenfaces three felonies over whether he lied on a federal gun formin 2018 that asked if he was addicted to drugs.
Among the dozen of witnesses still expected to testify is the mother of his youngest daughter,Lunden Roberts. Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, is also expected to testify. She and Hunter Biden were in a relationship following Beau Biden's 2015 death. His ex-wife,Kathleen Buhle, took the stand and described his drug use on Wednesday.
On the first day of testimony Tuesday, jurors heard audio of Biden’s narrating his memoir, where he graphically recounted his drug use. Jurors also heard an FBI agent detail text messages, bank statements and book excerpts describing his drug use in 2018 when the gun was purchased.
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Prosecutors may rest case Thursday
At the close of testimony Thursday, prosecutor Derek Hines said the government has six witnesses remaining. He said those witnesses will take less time than other so the prosecution may finish its case Thursday.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's defense attorney, is expected to call multiple witnesses, likely starting Friday.
– Xerxes Wilson
Wednesday's testimony closes with gun shop employee cross examination
During the defense cross examination, Gordon Cleveland was quizzed about how his coworkers call him the "whale hunter."
"That is what they call me because I sold high end guns to customers," Cleveland said.
Defense Attorney Abbe Lowell pressed Cleveland on precisely how the sale occurred, what direction Hunter Biden entered the parking lot of the store and in what sequence he picked out items for sale.
His cross examination will continue tomorrow.
– Xerxes Wilson
Hunter Biden attorneys begin cross examining former gun shop employee
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's lawyer, has started cross examining Gordon Cleveland, the man who sold the president's son the gun at the center of the federal case.
– Marina Pitofsky
Gun shop employee says he watched Hunter Biden answer crucial question
Gordon Cleveland, a city of Wilmington employee, worked at StarQuest Shooters and Survival Supply in northern Delaware part time in October 2018 when he noticed a man driving a black Cadillac pull into the shop.
It was Hunter Biden, who he said picked out a Colt Cobra .38 special. Cleveland watched as Hunter Biden filled out the federal form central to the trial. He said he watched as Hunter Biden answered where the form asks if he was an unlawful user of or addicted to controlled substances.
“He wrote no,” Cleveland testified.
Prosecutor Derek Hines asked if Hunter Biden asked for any clarification or express confusion about what the terms of the question meant. Cleveland answered no. Prosecutors have said that answer is the root of two of the felony charges Hunter Biden faces.
– Xerxes Wilson
Prosecutors calls gun shop employee as next witness
Prosecutors have called to the witness stand Gordon Cleveland, the man who sold Hunter Biden the handgun at the center of this trial.
Cleveland is expected to testify about watching the president's son fill out the form central to the criminal charges against him.
– Xerxes Wilson
3 House GOP chairmen call for charges against Hunter Biden, James Biden
Three House Republican chairmen urged the Justice Department on Wednesday to press charges against Hunter Biden and James Biden, the son and brother of President Joe Biden, for allegedly lying to Congress.
Joe Biden denied benefitting from the business deals of his relatives and the White House has called the investigation baseless and partisan.
Reps. James Comer of Kentucky, who heads the Oversight and Accountability Committee; Jim Jordan of Ohio, who heads the Judiciary Committee; and Jason Smith of Missouri, who heads the Ways and Means Committee, wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland arguing Hunter and James Biden made statements that could implicate the president in influence peddling.
“Our investigation has revealed President Biden knew about, participated in, and benefitted from his family cashing in on the Biden name around the world,” Comer said.
The Justice Department reviews such recommendations from Congress and decides independently whether to pursue charges. The department declined comment on the letter from the GOP chairmen.
– Bart Jansen
Cross examination of Zoe Kestan begins:
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's defense attorney, began his cross examination of Zoe Kestan by establishing that she didn't speak to him from September to November 2018, the period in which he bought the gun central to the trial.
"You don’t have any idea what he was doing," Lowell asked, prompting her to confirm.
He then asked about her immunity agreement, stating that it was necessary because she told prosecutors about things she did in violation of the law. This prompted prosecutors to object.
After the sidebar, Lowell rephrased the question before asking her about discussions with federal investigators.
– Xerxes Wilson
Zoe Kestan speaks about Hunter Biden drug use in late 2018
Zoe Kestan, Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend, told a jury that he continued to use drugs through the summer of 2018 while living in California.
Kestan walked the jury through a series of episodes during that summer after they have moved to California. Her testimony included the introduction of multiple photos of hotel rooms with drug paraphernalia strewn about.
She moved back to New York in August 2018, but visited Hunter Biden again in Malibu in September 2018. She testified that he continued to use drugs at that time, less than a month before he is accused of lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm.
She said throughout their relationship, he was cognizant he was addicted.
“He spoke about no matter how long you are sober you will be an addict,” she told the jury.
– Xerxes Wilson
First lady Jill Biden returns to courthouse
First lady Jill Biden returned to the Delaware courthouse where Hunter Biden is on trial Wednesday afternoon after the court broke for lunch.
– Marina Pitofsky
Biden family pastor attends Hunter Biden trial
The Biden family’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. Christopher Bullock was at the trial, seated in the second row.
“I am here to offer moral and spiritual support to the family,” he told USA TODAY, adding that the “Biden family is Delaware. There is a lot of support here for them.”
Bullock has known the family for 37 years. He say the first lady was a woman of “immense courage” and that if President Joe Biden could be here, he would be.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Hunter Biden trial breaks for lunch
The Delaware courtroom is on a lunch break until about 2 p.m. ET
– Marina Pitofsky
Zoe Kestan addresses Hunter Biden's recovery efforts in 2018
Kestan testified that her lease in New York was expiring, and Hunter Biden wanted to move to California to get sober so the two decided to move together in early 2018. The plan was for Hunter Biden to go to California first and to work on his recovery.
“It seems like the plan had gone out the window,” she said.
She testified that she arrived to the southern California bungalow he had rented to find drug paraphrenia, alcohol, food and two women that Hunter Biden said would not leave.
Prosecutors also presented a photo of Hunter Biden wearing a shirt with a marijuana leaf and the label “addicted” as a play on the Adidas logo.
“I thought that was funny because he didn’t smoke weed,” she said.
– Xerxes Wilson
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Former prosecutor turned GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy says Hunter Biden's trial is unusual
Trey Gowdy, a former Republican lawmaker from South Carolina, told Fox News on Tuesday that both Donald Trump's hush money trial and Hunter Biden's trial would not have come to fruition if not for their stature.
Before becoming a four-term representative, Gowdy served as a state and federal prosecutor. He told Fox News that he has prosecuted similar gun possession cases, but he added that Hunter Biden's case remains unusual.
"There are a lot of people who cannot possess firearms," he said, rattling off cases he worked on involving defendants with domestic violence restraining orders, fugitives and convicted felons. "I never once did an unlawful user of controlled substance."
He said he wonders if the trial came about because of Biden's name.
"I struggle, Neil, that this is really the best use of federal resources. We have a lot of real crime in this country," Gowdy said.
– Kinsey Crowley
Zoe Kestan testifies about drug use
Prosecutors are taking Kestan through her growing connection with Hunter Biden.
Kestan has described hotel stays in New York, where she lives, as well as Atlantic City. She said Hunter Biden used crack cocaine during these rendezvous through early 2018.
“I already felt myself really caring for him and starting the discussions about this addiction,” Kestan told the jury.
– Xerxes Wilson
What is Hunter Biden being charged with?
The president's son faces three firearms felonies.
In October 2018,Hunter Biden walked into a gun shopnorth of Wilmington, Delaware, and purchased a revolver. People who purchase firearms are required to fill out a standardized form that asks whether they are an unlawful user or are addicted to controlled substances, narcotics and other listed substances. Biden is accused of answering "no" to that question on the form.
But Biden has been open about his longtime struggles with crack cocaine addiction. He's written about it in his 2021 memoir, "Beautiful Things," and discussed it during a court hearing last year, stating he's been sober since 2019.
Biden faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted, although first-time and non-violent offenders are often given shorter terms.
– Xerxes Wilson
Zoe Kestan describes meeting Hunter Biden at gentleman’s club
Kestan was working part time in 2017 at a gentleman’s club in New York. She was about the clock out when she was asked to do one more private dance.
Kestan and another woman entered the room to find Hunter Biden. She didn't know who he was. The club was getting ready to close and the music was off so Hunter Biden played a Fleet Foxes song on his phone. The room had a balcony and she said Hunter Biden used it to smoke. She said she assumed it was crack cocaine.
“He was incredibly charming and charismatic, and I felt really safe around him,” she said.
He asked her to return to his hotel. She declined but gave him her number and they’d meet again.
– Xerxes Wilson
Who is Zoe Kestan?
Zoe Kestan is up next to testify in Hunter Biden's felony gun trial. The two were in a relationship from approximately December 2017 to October 2018, according to pretrial filings in the case.
She has said she witnessed Hunter Biden frequently using drugs, according to the filings, though she also said she visited him as he sought recovery in 2018.
– Xerxes Wilson
Hunter Biden's ex-wife says she never saw him use drugs
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, told jurors she searched his car for drug paraphernalia on occasions dating to 2019.
However, during cross examination, she told the jury she wasn’t aware he was living in California in the summer of 2018 nor was she aware that he returned to Delaware in fall 2018.
She said she didn’t know the exact days she searched his vehicle. She added that she never actually saw Hunter Biden use drugs before concluding her testimony.
– Xerxes Wilson
Why was Hunter Biden discharged from the Navy?
Less than a year after he was commissioned in 2013, Hunter Biden was administratively discharged from the Navy aftertesting positive for cocaineon a drug test.
On the presidential debate stage in 2020, former President Donald Trump falsely claimed Hunter Biden was dishonorably discharged from the Navy.
"Hunter got thrown out of the military," Trumpsaid. "He was thrown out, dishonorably discharged for cocaine use."
An administrative discharge is standard procedure after failing a drug test. It is different from a dishonorable discharge which is usually the result of misconduct.
– Rachel Barber
How many kids does Hunter Biden have?
Hunter Biden has five children. He has three daughters with his ex-wifeKathleen Buhlenamed Naomi Biden, Finnegan Biden, and Maisy Biden. In 2019, he welcomed a son with his second wife Melissa Cohen, Beau Biden IV., named after hislate older brother.
It was alsorevealedthat he had secretly fathered another daughter with an Arkansas woman named Lunden Roberts in 2018. Her name is Navy Roberts. President Joe Bidenfirst publicly acknowledgedhis granddaughter in 2023.
– Rachel Barber
Hunter Biden’s ex-wife describes searching his car for drugs
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, testified she would search Hunter Biden’s car following their divorce in 2017 out of concerns for their children.
“I would check the car to make sure they were not using the car with drugs in it,” she told the jury.
She said she continued to do these checks until 2019, following the period in which Hunter Biden purchased the gun in October 2018.
– Xerxes Wilson
Hunter Biden’s ex-wife testifies about finding his drugs
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, told the jury in his federal trial on gun charges about the first time she knew he was using drugs. She said she found a pipe in the ashtray on the porch of their home in Washington, D.C., in July 2015. She said she confronted him.
“It was very short,” Buhle said. “He acknowledged smoking crack.”
She said he had feared he was using drugs since he was discharged from the Navy for testing positive for cocaine.
“I was worried, but I had no proof,” she said. “I was worried, scared.”
– Xerxes Wilson
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, called to testify
Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, was called as the second witness in his federal trial on gun charges, where she is expected to testify about her complaints about his drug use.
The two were married from 1993 to 2017 and they have three children: Naomi, Finnegan and Maisy. In 2022, Buhle published "If We Break: A Memoir of Marriage, Addiction, and Healing," which details Hunter Biden’s struggles with addiction.
Prosecutors have said she will testify that through 2018, she would search his vehicles because she didn’t want her children around drugs. She told investigators she discovered drugs in his vehicles on at least a dozen occasions, according to pretrial filings.
– Xerxes Wilson
Prosecutor asks whether drug dealers accept credit cards
FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen testified that Hunter Biden bought liquor with check cards, despite his lawyer arguing that he often withdrew large amounts of cash from his account because he had no credit cards.
“Do drug dealers accept credit cards?” prosecutor Derek Hines asked Jensen.
"Not in my experience," Jensen responded.
--Xerxes Wilson
Hunter Biden paid bills with check card: FBI
FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen testified that Hunter Biden paid for rehabilitation services and an Airbnb in 2018 with a check card, according to bank statements submitted in his federal trial on gun charges.
Prosecutor Derek Hines highlighted the use of a check card after Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, had argued that Biden withdrew large sums of cash from because he had no credit cards. Prosecutors have suggested Biden could have used the cash to buy drugs.
–Xerxes Wilson
Defense questions Hunter Biden texts implying drug use
FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen acknowledged during questions from defense lawyer Abbe Lowell that the bulk of Hunter Biden’s text messages referring to drug use occurred well before he bought the gun at issue in his federal trial, but two messages stood out.
One exception was a text to his sister-in-law, Hallie Biden, the week he bought the gun in October 2018 stating he was waiting on a dealer named Mookie. Another text stated he was smoking crack on a car.
Under Lowell’s questioning, Jensen said she didn’t know if Mookie actually exists and does not know whether Hunter Biden was actually smoking crack on a car at that time.
Jensen also testified she did not investigate to what extent Hunter Biden was spending money to help his family members, pay for his children’s tuition and other living expenses.
--Xerxes Wilson
FBI agent cites no evidence in memoir of Hunter Biden drug use in October 2018, month he bought a gun
FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen testified Wednesday she had no recollection of descriptions of drug use in Hunter Biden’s memoir from the same month as he purchased the gun central to the case in October 2018.
Defense lawyer Abbe Lowell noted Jensen provided excerpts that have “granular” descriptions of drug use in 2017 and early 2018. Lowell asked if she would have provided any from the month Biden bought the gun, if they existed.
“It would have been added if they were there, that’s fair,” Jensen said.
Lowell has argued Biden didn’t intend to lie on a federal form and to the gun dealer about his drug use because he had just completed a rehabilitation program when he bought the gun. Prosecutors charged Biden with lying on the form and to the deal because of his addiction.
--Xerxes Wilson
Cross-examination continues for FBI agent who investigated Hunter Biden
FBI Special Agent Erika Jensenremains on the witness stand Wednesday as Hunter Biden’s defense continues questioning her investigation into the president’s son.
Jensen helped the prosecution introduce texts as evidence of Biden’s addiction to unlawful drugs, records of his cash withdrawals from banks and his 2021 memoir that chronicled his drug abuse.
Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, began questioning Jensen on Tuesday about the fewer texts in October 2018, when Biden bought the gun at issue in the federal trial.
Biden is charged with lying on a federal form aimed at screening out gun buyers who use or are addicted to drugs. But Lowell has argued Biden didn’t intend to mislead on the form because he had recently completed a rehabilitation program when he bought the .38-caliber revolver.
--Bart Jansen
Jury hears from Hunter Biden despite him not taking witness stand
Hunter Biden hasn’t yet taken the witness stand in his trial on federal gun charges, but the jury has already heard from him.
Jurors listened Tuesday to a recording of the president’s son as he narrated an unvarnished account of his life as an alcoholic and a drug addict from his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things.”
“I’ve bought crack cocaine on the streets of Washington, D.C. and cooked up my own inside a hotel bungalow in Los Angeles,” Biden said. “I’ve been so desperate for a drink that I couldn’t make the one-block walk between a liquor store and my apartment without uncapping the bottle to take a swig.”
−Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
GOP mum about Hunter Biden trial, focused on Trump conviction
After a year and a half investigating Hunter Biden'soverseas business dealings and struggle with drug addiction, Republicans on Capitol Hill and former President Donald Trump’s campaign have been nearly silent about his felony gun trial that started Monday.
Republicans told USA TODAY it's no mystery why they haven't addressed the president's son's trial: They're still focused on Trump's historic conviction last week in his New York hush money case.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told USA TODAY thatTrump's 34-count felony convictionon Thursday has angered their base, and they're concentrated on how GOP voters are feeling in the unprecedented moment. Hunter Biden also faces a second tax-related trial later this year.
"Republicans and independents are so angry about the miscarriage of justice that occurred when former President Donald Trump was found guilty," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. "So, changing the subject from what has them riled up to something about Hunter Biden – nope, doesn't matter, it's immaterial."
−Sarah D. Wire, Ken Tran and Riley Beggin
Who is Hunter Biden?
Hunter Biden isPresident Joe Biden'syoungest son. He's facing three firearms felonies in Delaware.
The first two relate specifically to the form he filled out to purchase a gun in 2018, accusing Biden of lying about this drug use on the form.
The third charge pertains to Biden's possession of a firearm while he was allegedly an unlawful user or addicted to controlled substances.
– Xerxes Wilson
What happened yesterday in Hunter Biden's trial?
Justice Department special counsel David Weiss’ team began by laying out their case against Hunter Biden and saying “no one is above the law” in opening statements.
Defense lawyers followed later in the morning, alleging that Hunter Biden didn’t knowingly lie when he filled out a form in October 2018 denying he used illegal drugs as he purchased a gun.
Prosecutors also called their first witness on Tuesday, questioning FBI special agent Erika Jensen to discuss the investigation into the president's son.
– Xerxes Wilson
