Jury selection began on June 3 in the federal gun case against Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, after a plea deal that would have avoided a trial and public spectacle ahead of the November election failed.
Mr. Biden has been charged in Delaware with three felonies related to a 2018 gun purchase. Based on testimony in his memoir, he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time and has been accused of lying to the gun dealer, making a false statement that he was not a drug user on the application to screen firearm applicants, and illegally possessing the gun for 11 days.
First Lady Jill Biden attended jury selection in person, sitting in the front row of the courtroom to support her son. President Biden released a statement saying he has “boundless love” for his son and “respect for his strength.”
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today,” the president said.
“Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. A lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean.”
Mr. Biden has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He maintains that he was unfairly targeted by the Justice Department after GOP lawmakers called his failed plea deal “special treatment” because he’s the president’s son.
President Biden noted that he won’t provide further comment on “pending federal cases.”
During jury selection, the judge will screen prospective jurors for their impartiality by asking questions such as whether they have run for political office, donated to any political campaigns, or if their views about the 2024 presidential election will affect their decisions as jurors.
The judge will ask prospective jurors if they believe that Mr. Biden is facing prosecution because of his status as the president’s son. The judge will also inquire about their views on purchasing firearms while addicted to drugs, including the question, “Do you believe someone who is addicted to drugs should not be charged with a crime?”
However, this is not the only pending trial for Mr. Biden, who is also facing charges in California for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. Both cases were nearly resolved with a July 2023 plea deal, but it was scrutinized by Judge Maryellen Noreika, an appointee of President Donald Trump.
In the deal, Mr. Biden would have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses to resolve his unpaid taxes and entered into a diversion agreement on the gun case that would have dismissed his charges if he stayed out of trouble for two years. After back-and-forth negotiations between the attorneys in the case, the deal disintegrated. He was indicted a month after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel on the case in August 2023.
Unlike the GOP-led congressional hearings into Mr. Biden, the trial is not about his foreign business affairs. Still, the case highlights glum aspects of the man’s life, including his time battling drug addiction.
He spent the weekend biking and attending church with his father before arriving at the Delaware courthouse in the morning on June 3. His mother arrived roughly 15 minutes later, circled by U.S. Secret Service agents. His sister, Ashley Biden, was also in attendance.
Allies of President Biden have long worried that the trial could become a distraction during the campaign, especially now that the earliest presidential debate in history is scheduled for June 27.
The two pieces of evidence at the center of the trial are Mr. Biden’s published memoir and the infamous laptop that he left at a Delaware repair shop and never collected. Prosecutors plan to argue that he lied on his forms and was addicted to crack cocaine when he bought the gun, stemming from statements he made in his memoir. The laptop contained nude photos of the president’s son taking drugs and sending messages to various drug dealers.
Mr. Biden has said that he succumbed to drug addiction following his brother Beau Biden’s death from cancer in 2015. When he bought the gun in October 2018, he wrote on the form that he was not using drugs at the time.
He has pleaded not guilty in the Delaware and California cases. His attorneys have indicated that they will argue that he didn’t see himself as a drug addict when he wrote “no” on the gun application form. They will likely also question the gun store owner’s credibility.
However, prosecutors have also concocted a plan: to call both Mr. Biden’s ex-wife and his brother’s widow, Hallie Biden, as witnesses during the trial. He became romantically involved with her in 2016 following his brother’s death.
He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, although it’s not clear if the judge will give him prison time. First-time offenders also usually get less than the maximum sentences when convicted.
