Hunter Biden's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle took the stand Wednesday in his federal gun trial following testimony from an FBI agent called to verify personal messages allegedly from his devices.
Buhle, who was married to Hunter Biden for 20 years and shares three daughters with him, is one of three women romantically linked to Hunter Biden who are expected to testify. The other two are Zoe Kestan, who was involved with Hunter Biden around 2017-2018, and Hallie Biden. Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter Biden's brother Beau, was involved with Hunter and found and discarded the gun at the center of the case.
Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies stemming from his purchase of a revolver in October 2018. He is accused of making false statements on a federal gun form about his drug use, certifying he was not a user of or addicted to any controlled substance during a period when prosecutors allege he was addicted to crack cocaine. He was in possession of the gun for 11 days before Hallie Biden discarded the weapon.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
FBI agent testimony
Prosecutors first called FBI special agent Erika Jensen, who was called to verify personal messages on Hunter Biden's devices.
On Tuesday, Jensen testified about the authenticity of a laptop that Hunter Biden left behind at a Delaware repair shop and never retrieved. She said the laptop contained "evidence of addiction."
She read aloud Hunter Biden's text messages that used coded language such as "baby powder" and "chore boy" to conceal his crack cocaine use as he appeared to be arranging to buy drugs in the months leading up to the gun purchase.
The day after the gun purchase, she testified, Hunter Biden sent a message to Hallie Biden about "waiting for a dealer named Mookie." The next day, he sent another to her that said, "I was sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney."
Jensen also testified that bank statements showed Hunter Biden withdrawing more than $151,000 in cash between September 2018 and November 2018. He made cash withdrawals on all but four days in October, the month he purchased the gun. He withdrew $5,000 on Oct. 12, 2018, the day he bought the gun.
Hunter Biden's voice recordings
Prosecutors played audio recordings of Hunter Biden reading his memoir, "Beautiful Things" in which he detailed his drug use the same time as the gun purchase. In one of the recordings, Hunter Biden said "I used my superpower, finding crack anytime, anywhere, less than a day after landing at LAX in the spring of 2018."
During this reading of the audio recordings, Hunter Biden's family reacted emotionally, including first lady Jill Biden. As they played the recordings, some of the jurors grimaced while Ashley Biden and Jill Biden reacted emotionally, with Melissa Cohen Biden offering support to the first lady and the first lady putting her arm around Ashley Biden's shoulder. Ashley Biden eventually left the courtroom.
Charges against Hunter Biden
In the three-count indictment, the president's son is charged with making false statements on a federal gun form about his drug use, certifying he was not a user of or addicted to any controlled substance during a period when prosecutors allege he was addicted to crack cocaine. Hunter Biden purchased a Colt Cobra .38 Special revolver, and it remained in his possession for 11 days before it was discarded in an outdoor receptacle by Hallie Biden, his romantic partner at the time.
The president's son faces up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if convicted on all counts.
Separately, he faces nine federal tax charges in the central district of California in a second indictment brought by Weiss' office where federal prosecutors allege Hunter Biden engaged in a "four-year scheme" to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. References to the tax charges are not admissible in his gun trial in Delaware. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
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