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As Jury Selection Starts In Hunter Biden’s Gun Case, President Says He Has ‘Boundless Love’ For Him
WILMINGTON, Delaware – A federal gun lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter began Monday with jury selection following the collapse of a plea agreement that would have spared the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. First Lady Jill Biden was seated in the courtroom’s front row, showing her support for her son.
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” he added, adding that he would have no further remark on the subject. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
Hunter Biden | AP News Image
As Jury Selection Starts In Hunter Biden’s Gun Case, President Says He Has ‘Boundless Love’ For Him
Hunter Biden, who spent the weekend with his parents, has been charged in Delaware with three felonies coming from a 2018 handgun purchase made when he was, according to his memoir, suffering from a crack cocaine addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally registered gun dealer, making a false claim on the application used to screen gun applicants when he stated that he did not use drugs, and illegally possessing the pistol for 11 days.
He has pled not guilty and claims the Justice Department is unfairly targeting him after Republicans criticized the now-defunct agreement as preferential treatment for the Democratic president’s son.
The trial comes only days after Donald Trump, the GOP’s expected 2024 presidential contender, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City. A jury convicted the former president of conspiring to conceal a hush money payment to a porn performer to protect his 2016 presidential campaign. The two criminal cases are unrelated, but their proximity demonstrates how the criminal courthouse has grabbed center stage in the 2024 campaign.
The judge will examine prospective jurors’ ability to serve impartially on the jury, including whether they have donated to political campaigns or run for political office. She will inquire whether their views on the 2024 presidential campaign preclude them from remaining neutral.
She’ll also ask prospective jurors if they believe Hunter Biden is being persecuted because his father is president. She will also inquire about handgun purchases and addiction issues, such as: “Do you believe someone who is addicted to drugs should not be charged with a crime?”
Hunter Biden will also face a second trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. Both cases were supposed to be concluded by a bargain with prosecutors last July, marking the end of a years-long inquiry into his financial operations.
However, Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, questioned some unusual aspects of the agreement, including a proposed guilty plea to misdemeanor offenses to resolve the tax crimes and a diversion agreement on the gun charge, which stated that if he stayed out of trouble for two years, the case would be dismissed. The lawyers argued over the arrangement and could not reach an agreement; therefore, the contract fell apart. Attorney General Merrick Garland designated the lead investigator as a special counsel in August, and Hunter Biden was indicted the following month.
This trial is not about Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings, which Republicans have used without evidence to portray the Biden family as crooked. But it will expose some of Hunter Biden’s darkest moments.
The president’s aides are anxious about the trial’s impact on the elder Biden, who has long been concerned about his only living son’s health and sobriety and must now watch as his son’s tragic past mistakes are publicly probed. He’s also protective: Hunter Biden spent the weekend with his father before the case began, riding and attending church together.
On Sunday evening, President Biden changed his plans and returned to his Wilmington complex instead of his Rehoboth Beach house. Boarding a chopper on Sunday was the president’s lone public appearance without his son this weekend.
Hunter Biden | AP News Image
As Jury Selection Starts In Hunter Biden’s Gun Case, President Says He Has ‘Boundless Love’ For Him
Hunter Biden came first at the Delaware Courthouse on Monday. The first lady, who celebrated her 73rd birthday on Monday, arrived about 15 minutes later and entered court quickly with help from US Secret Service agents. Hunter Biden’s sister, Ashley Biden, also appeared in court to support him. Later that day, the president remained at their Wilmington home until he left for a campaign reception in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Allies are also concerned that the trial will become a diversion as the president tries to campaign despite low poll ratings and prepares for an upcoming presidential debate while the procedures occur.
Prosecutors aim to prove Hunter Biden was addicted when he purchased the rifle and so lied on the documents. They have stated that they intend to utilize his published book as evidence and the contents of a laptop that he left at a Delaware repair shop and never returned. The contents made their way to Republicans in 2020 and were publicly published, including embarrassing and personal photographs of him naked and using drugs, as well as messages in which he requests suppliers for scores.
Hunter Biden | AP News Image
As Jury Selection Starts In Hunter Biden’s Gun Case, President Says He Has ‘Boundless Love’ For Him
The case against Hunter Biden arises from a time when, according to his public admission, he was addicted to crack. His spiral into drugs and alcohol began after his brother, Beau Biden, died of cancer in 2015. He acquired and owned a gun for 11 days in October 2018 and stated on the gun purchase form that he did not use drugs.
Hunter Biden has pled not guilty in both cases, and his attorneys have hinted that he may argue that he did not consider himself an addict when prosecutors claim he ticked “no” to the form question. They will also undermine the gun store owner’s credibility.
Prosecutors intend to bring as witnesses Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and his brother’s widow, Hallie, with whom he became romantically connected.
If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders seldom receive the maximum sentence, and it’s uncertain if the judge would impose it.
SOURCE – (AP)
