(Wilmington) The judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial agreed Friday to block prosecutors from telling jurors about other unflattering episodes in his personal life, but left the door open for questions on these events if the president’s son testifies.
It is unclear whether the president’s son will take the stand during the trial, which could last up to two weeks. The trial is scheduled to begin June 3 and could last up to two weeks as his father’s re-election campaign unfolds. This trial is expected to include deep disagreements over what evidence is admitted.
President Joe Biden’s son is accused of lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a gun purchase form that he kept for about 11 days in the state of Delaware.
Hunter Biden has admitted to having a crack addiction during this period, but his lawyers have said he did not break the law and that the case was politically motivated. He did not speak to reporters as he accompanied his attorneys to and from the Wilmington courthouse for a hearing Friday.
Prosecutors scored a victory on a key point in the case, as U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika ruled that they would not have to prove that Hunter Biden used drugs on the day of the purchase.
PHOTO MATT ROURKE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden’s son is accused of lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a gun purchase form that he kept for about 11 days in the state of Delaware.
Judge Noreika agreed that the defense would push to keep other details about his past secret, including a child support case in Arkansas and his discharge from the Navy after a positive drug test. If he takes the stand, however, “a number of issues could become more contentious,” the judge said. Prosecutors acknowledged that those episodes would likely be irrelevant unless he testified.
Disputed evidence
Maryellen Noreika also agreed to review defense questions about the contents of a laptop he allegedly dropped off at a Delaware repair shop.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers want to raise questions about the authenticity of the laptop data at trial. Prosecutors say there is no evidence he was compromised and that prolonged debate would be a waste of time. The laptop has been a source of controversy for years after Republicans accessed it and released personal data.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she would consider objections to specific data elements as the trial progresses.
Prosecutors also plan to show jurors portions of his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” in which Hunter Biden detailed his struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction after the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau, from cancer of the brain at the age of 46.
Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors were cherry-picking evidence, and the judge agreed that Biden’s lawyers could introduce larger passages.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, also says there is evidence the gun purchase form was altered by employees after the sale. Prosecutors say there were only minor additions unrelated to the portions Hunter Biden filled out.
Judge Noreika did not immediately rule on whether the defense could introduce a modified version of the form during the trial, which is expected to begin with jury selection on June 3.
Hunter Biden also faces federal tax charges in Los Angeles and his trial in that case is scheduled for September. He is accused of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years while living an “extravagant lifestyle” during a period in which he admitted to struggling with a addiction. The tax arrears have since been paid.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers unsuccessfully pushed both cases to have them thrown out. They argued, among other things, that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to charge their client after a plea deal fell apart in court.
The long-running federal investigation into the president’s son appeared poised to conclude with a plea deal last year, but the deal imploded after a judge raised questions about it. Hunter Biden was subsequently charged.
Under the agreement, he would have received two years of probation after pleading guilty to tax crimes. He also would have avoided gun charges if he had stayed out of trouble.
Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.