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WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden’s criminal trial on gun charges opened in a federal courtroom Monday with the selection of 12 jurors and four alternates, raising the curtain on the closely watched prosecution of President Biden’s son in the midst of his reelection campaign.
Among the 12 jurors seated in the federal firearms case are several who expressed strong views about gun rights and others who became emotional while talking about family members or other loved ones who suffered from addiction. Hunter Biden, 54, has had a well-publicized addiction to crack cocaine.
The jury comprises three White women, three Black women, four Black men and two White men. The four alternate jurors are two Black women and two White women.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee, said both sides will begin opening arguments in the case on Tuesday. Prosecutor Derek Hines said his first witness will be FBI agent Erika Jensen.
Hunter Biden is accused of lying on a federal gun form about his drug use to purchase a Colt Cobra revolver in 2018. He is charged with two counts related to false statements in purchasing a firearm and a third count of illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs.
If convicted on all counts, Hunter Biden will face up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.
SEE ALSO: Potential jurors’ views on guns complicate Hunter Biden trial
Moments before jury questioning began, the president issued a statement saying he had “boundless love” for his son and “respect for his strength.”
“I am the president, but I am also a Dad,” he said. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
The jury was seated after a rocky start. Roughly 30 prospective jurors were dismissed, and several said they couldn’t be impartial because of their opinions about Hunter Biden and the president based on news reports.
When Mr. Hines asked a potential juror for her opinion of Hunter Biden, she replied, “Not a good one. Sorry.”
“We are not off to an auspicious start, given that we got rid of so many jurors,” Judge Norieka told prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The trial begins just days after a Manhattan jury convicted Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, of 34 felony counts in a case involving hush money payments to an adult film actress.
SEE ALSO: Biden ‘proud’ of Hunter as jury selection begins for gun trial
Among those seated in Hunter Biden’s trial, several expressed strong beliefs about gun ownership, and others told stories about loved ones who battled various addictions.
One of the jurors, a Black woman, told the court that people who smoke marijuana should be allowed to buy guns. Another juror, a middle-aged Black man with a concealed carry permit in Delaware and Florida, said he has owned more than six guns in his lifetime. He told the court that the “Second Amendment is very important.”
A Black man who made the jury said he had an older brother who was addicted to PCP and heroin and didn’t believe people should own guns if they are addicted to drugs. A middle-aged White female told the court that her best friend died of a heroin overdose and that her family hunts and owns rifles, but she didn’t own any guns.
An alternate juror, a Black female, said she donated to President Obama’s campaign but could be impartial despite Hunter Biden’s father serving as vice president in the Obama administration.
The Biden family circled the wagons around Hunter Biden before his first day in court. First lady Jill Biden sat in the front row of the court all day. Hunter Biden’s sister, Ashley Biden; his wife, Melissa Cohen, and longtime ally Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer, were also in court. The family did not react as jurors answered questions.
When the court recessed for lunch, Hunter Biden walked over to Jill Biden and leaned over the railing separating the seating area from trial participants to give her a hug and a kiss. Monday was her 73rd birthday. She is expected to join President Biden later this week in France to mark the anniversary of D-Day in World War II and be hosted for a state visit.
Hunter Biden had sought to resolve the gun charges, as well as separate criminal charges on failing to pay $1.4 million taxes, through a plea deal with prosecutors last July that would have spared the first son jail time.
Judge Noreika said the deal was unusual. She questioned the diversion agreement on the gun charge, which would have kept Hunter Biden out of prison if he stayed out of trouble. She ordered the attorneys to develop a new agreement, but both sides couldn’t reach a new deal and the plea agreement fell apart.
David Weiss, a special prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in August, brought criminal charges against Hunter Biden. The tax case will head to trial in California this fall.
During the gun trial in Wilmington, prosecutors are expected to induce evidence detailing Hunter Biden’s drug use during the period he purchased a firearm. In pretrial court filings, they reference his admission of drug addictions, including excerpts from his memoir and photos and videos obtained from the infamous laptop that he left at a Delaware repair shop.
Witnesses for the prosecution include a slew of Hunter Biden’s former romantic partners, including his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother, Beau Biden. DEA and FBI agents are also expected to testify.
Defense attorneys plan to call expert witnesses in addiction, forensic psychiatry and forensic toxicology. They have suggested in court filings that Hunter Biden was not addicted to illegal substances when he purchased the gun.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys have also accused Mr. Weiss of buckling under political pressure to bring criminal charges after Republicans slammed the plea agreement as a sweetheart deal. Mr. Weiss has refuted such claims.
“The charges in this case are not ‘trumped up’ or because of former President Trump — they are instead a result of the defendant’s own choices and were brought in spite of, not because of, any outside noise made by politicians,” prosecutors wrote in a pretrial motion.
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