(New York Post) 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
