美国总统乔·拜登的儿子亨特·拜登于2011年11月16日在特拉华州受审三项重罪指控与他在2018年据称吸毒成瘾时试图获得枪支有关。
年轻的拜登不服罪去年10月被特别顾问魏红星起诉后，否认了指控。在任总统的儿子从未面临过刑事审判。
更多:随着亨特·拜登因持枪指控接受审判，以下是他的律师计划如何为一个“简单的案件”辩护
该审判紧随前总统唐纳德·特朗普之后重罪指控定罪与2016年封口费付款有关，以提高他在2016年总统选举中的选举前景。
6月5日上午9:01
亨特·拜登的律师说，“如果需要的话”，他的女儿可以作证;为被告出庭作证敞开大门
在记者听不到的边栏对话中，亨特·拜登的律师阿贝·洛威尔告诉法官，如果“有必要”，他可能会传唤纳奥米·拜登——也就是总统的长女——出庭作证
这一发现出现在法庭结束几小时后发布的诉讼记录中。在法官洛厄尔和两名政府检察官之间不时出现的紧张交流中，洛厄尔透露了他对证人的期望。
当检察官暗示洛厄尔隐瞒他计划如何提交某些证据时，洛厄尔首先提出了传唤亨特·拜登的一个女儿作为证人的想法:
海因斯先生:没错，我们问过洛厄尔先生，但他不肯告诉我们。
洛厄尔先生:那不是我说的。
海因斯先生:他不能告诉我们是哪个证人。
洛厄尔先生:我说了我在做一个提议，法庭——我知道规则，每一个都将有一个证人提交，我不必事先告诉他们是哪个证人，但我在向法庭做陈述，有三四个证人，包括他的叔叔和女儿，如果需要的话。
洛厄尔后来澄清说，亨特·拜登与前妻凯瑟琳·布勒的女儿、总统的大孙女纳奥米·拜登在他的证人名单上。
洛威尔还为亨特·拜登作证敞开了大门，“如果到了那一步的话”，这一赌博将使他的客户面临联邦检察官的现场交叉询问。这是在一次关于洛厄尔计划如何证明亨特·拜登“仔细阅读ATF表格4473”的讨论中发生的
法院:等等。我想说清楚，你是想说他真的读过这些东西，还是说他选择了读而没有告诉他们。
洛厄尔先生:都有。
法庭:你有什么证据证明他确实仔细阅读了所有这些东西?
洛厄尔:如果这件事传到法官那里，那么拜登先生就有责任这么说。
在同一个法官会议上的一场辩论中，法官Maryellen Noreika就Lowell打算在开庭陈述中提出的一个论点打电话给辩护律师，要求他打断她。
法官，这不是争论的焦点。
法庭:听起来你是这么告诉我的，你是说他不知道那是什么。
洛厄尔先生:没有。
法庭:你一直打断我，你想提出你的论点，我知道你想提出你的论点，但你需要理解它，所以你需要理解我的立场。
她说，法官后来告诉洛厄尔，“不要把话强加给我。”
“我知道你只是想热情地代表你的客户，”她说，“但在你给我机会做出裁决之前，不要假设我的裁决。”
6月5日早上5点49分
证人承认亨特·拜登的吸毒不是连续的
亨特·拜登的律师在对美国联邦调查局特工艾丽卡·詹森的交叉询问中，试图反驳检察官的说法，即亨特·拜登在枪支购买表上称自己没有吸毒时正在吸毒。
一个关键的证据来自亨特·拜登2021年的回忆录，他在其中描述了他在8月离开康复中心几周后的“复发”——就在购买枪支的六周前。
“我戒了两个星期的毒，然后又复发了，”亨特·拜登在他的书中写道。
辩护律师阿贝·洛威尔在交叉询问时质疑亨特·拜登的复发暗示他指的是他的吸毒行为的假设——相反，这表明他指的是他的酒瘾。
“当他在书中提到这一点时，他是在说重新吸毒和酗酒吗?你知道他是什么意思吗?”洛厄尔问道。
“我只能陈述陈述的内容，”詹森说。
“也就是说，‘然后我复发了?’”洛厄尔问道。
“就像上面写的那样，‘我复发了’”詹森回答道。
詹森还承认，她无法证实亨特·拜登从2015年到2019年一直在吸毒，她说:“我记得有一些摘录中他主要在吸食快克可卡因。我没有感觉到这就是全部历史。”
“也就是说有一段时间他不是?“洛厄尔问道。
“我认为有-包括8月份我们有一些康复发票的时期，也有一些时期没有发票的时期，”詹森说。
这对辩方来说是一个重要的时刻，因为洛厄尔成功地证明了亨特·拜登对毒品的使用并不一致——这加强了他的论点，即总统的儿子在购买枪支时没有吸毒。
检察官还输入了与亨特·拜登巨额取款有关的证据记录-从2018年9月到11月超过15万美元，其中包括他购买枪支当天的5000美元取款。检察官暗示这些现金被用于购买毒品;洛厄尔在反诘问中证实，亨特·拜登为武器和配件支付了900美元现金。
法庭随后休庭一天，洛厄尔对詹森的交叉询问定于周三上午继续。
检察官暗示，海莉·拜登将是詹森之后的下一位证人，因此第一位作证的拜登家庭成员很可能将在明天某个时候出庭作证。
6月5日凌晨4点35分
检察官展示关于枪支的愤怒短信
美国联邦调查局特别探员艾丽卡·詹森为检方作证时出示了一份证据，内容涉及2018年亨特·拜登和哈里·拜登之间的短信交流。哈里·拜登是他哥哥博的遗孀，也是亨特·拜登当时的浪漫伴侣。
愤怒的亨特·拜登在海莉·拜登发现他的枪的当天给她发了短信。
“是你从我这里拿走的吗?...你完全不负责任，精神错乱，”文中写道。
“我只希望你安全。这是不安全的，”她回答说，指的是他对枪的处理。
亨特·拜登的律师阿贝·洛威尔反对詹森关于短信的证词——这是通过法院发出的传票获得的——认为当政府传唤哈里·拜登作为证人时，她会受到质疑。
检察官结束了对詹森的询问，之后辩方开始反诘问。
6月5日凌晨3点24分
检察官介绍臭名昭著的笔记本电脑作为证据
检察官在询问第一位证人美国联邦调查局特工艾丽卡·詹森时，将亨特·拜登臭名昭著的笔记本电脑作为证据。
检察官向詹森询问了在笔记本电脑和亨特·拜登的iCloud账户中发现的电子邮件信息，这些信息似乎与他在2018年吸毒有关。
政府曾在1996年表示预审法庭文件计划将笔记本电脑上的资料作为本案的证据。
近年来，这台笔记本电脑已成为围绕总统儿子的法律和政治争议的象征。亨特·拜登的律师此前曾试图排除将这台笔记本电脑作为庭审证据的可能性，称他们“有大量理由相信，在调查人员获得电子材料之前，数据已经被篡改和泄露。”
但特别顾问魏红星在法庭文件中辩称，亨特·拜登的律师没有“提供任何证据或信息表明他的笔记本电脑包含虚假信息”，法官同意将其作为证据。
笔记本电脑上的数据据称获得并随后传播2019年，特拉华州威尔明顿的一名电脑修理工将笔记本电脑送到他的店里进行维修。
考虑到这种情况，检察官并不依赖笔记本电脑本身;调查人员说，他们交叉参考了苹果公司的每封电子邮件、WhatsApp信息、iMessage和短信，以确定数据的可信度。
“最终，在检查那台笔记本电脑时，调查人员能够确认那是亨特·拜登的笔记本电脑吗?“检察官德里克·海因斯问詹森。
“是的，”詹森说。
“怎么会?”海因斯问道。
詹森说:“除其他外，这台笔记本电脑背面有一个序列号，与他们在2019年获得的苹果传票记录相匹配，因此它将这台特定设备的注册与特定日期的iCloud账户相匹配。”
“那么根据笔记本电脑和硬盘上的数据，你——你接下来做了什么，或者美国联邦调查局在评估成瘾证据时接下来做了什么?”海因斯问道。
詹森说:“因此，从iCloud备份和这台笔记本电脑中提取的数据来看，调查人员能够浏览大部分WhatsApp信息、iMessages信息和短信，并在这些信息中发现了成瘾的证据。”
检察官还向陪审员出示了一张85美元的电脑维修店发票，这张发票是亨特·拜登将笔记本电脑送去维修的地方。发票被发送到了亨特·拜登的一个电子邮件地址。
“你说苹果公司提供了这一点...从iCloud吗?”海因斯问道。
“是的，”詹森说。
Hunter Biden gun trial: Defense lawyer says Hunter Biden's daughter could testify
President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden is on trial in Delaware onthree felony chargesrelated to his efforts to obtain a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs.
The younger Biden, whopleaded not guiltylast October after being indicted by special counsel David Weiss, has denied the charges. The son of a sitting president has never before faced a criminal trial.
MORE: As Hunter Biden goes to trial on gun charges, here's how his attorneys plan to defend a 'simple case'
The trial comes on the heels of former President Donald Trump'sconviction on felony chargesrelated to a 2016 hush money payment made to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Jun 05, 9:01 AM
Hunter Biden's lawyer says his daughter could testify 'if need be'; leaves door open for defendant to take the stand
During a sidebar conversation out of earshot of reporters, Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, told the judge that he might decide to call Naomi Biden – aka the president's oldest granddaughter – to testify at trial "if need be."
The revelation emerged in a transcript of the proceedings released hours after court concluded. During what at times appeared to be a tense exchange between Lowell, the judge and two government prosecutors, Lowell divulged his expectations for witnesses.
When prosecutors suggested Lowell was hiding the ball on how he planned to present certain evidence, Lowell first introduced the idea of calling one of Hunter Biden's daughters as a witness:
MR. HINES: Exactly, we have asked Mr. Lowell and he won't tell us.
MR. LOWELL: That's not what I said.
MR. HINES: He couldn't tell us which witness.
MR. LOWELL: I said I'm making a proffer and the court -- I understand the rules, each one of these will be submitted with a witness, I don't have to tell them in advance which witness it is, but I am making a statement to the Court, there is three or four witnesses, including his uncle and his daughter, if need be.
Lowell later clarified that Naomi Biden, Hunter Biden's daughter with ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, and the president's eldest granddaughter, was on his witness list.
Lowell also left the door open for Hunter Biden to testify "if it gets to that," a gamble that would put his client in the position of facing live cross-examination from federal prosecutors. It came during a discussion about how Lowell planned to demonstrate that Hunter Biden read the ATF Form 4473 "carefully."
THE COURT: Wait. Just so I'm clear, are you going to suggest that he did in fact read these things or just that if he had chosen to and didn't tell them.
MR. LOWELL: Both.
THE COURT: What is your evidence going to be that he did in fact read all of these things carefully?
MR. LOWELL: If it gets to that judge, then it will be Mr. Biden's job to say that.
During a debate at the same bench conference about an argument Lowell intended to make in his opening statement, Judge Maryellen Noreika called the defense attorney for interrupting her.
MR. LOWELL: That's not the argument judge.
THE COURT: That is what it sounds like you're telling me, you're saying he doesn't know what it was.
MR. LOWELL: No.
THE COURT: You keep cutting me off, and you want to make your argument, and I know you want to make your argument, but you need to understand it, so you need to understand where I am.
The judge later told Lowell, "Don't put words in my mouth," she said.
"I know you're just trying to zealously represent your client," she said, "but don't assume my ruling before you give me a chance to make it."
Jun 05, 5:49 AM
Witness acknowledges Hunter Biden's drug use was not continuous
Attorneys for Hunter Biden, in their cross-examination of FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen, attempted to push back on prosecutors' contention that Hunter Biden was abusing drugs at the time he said on a gun-purchase form that he was drug-free.
A key piece of evidence comes from Hunter Biden's 2021 memoir, in which he described his "relapse" just weeks after leaving rehab in August -- just six weeks before purchasing the firearm.
"I stayed clean for two weeks then relapsed," Hunter Biden wrote in his book.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, on cross-examination, questioned the assumption that Hunter Biden's relapse implied that he was referring to his drug use -- suggesting instead that he was referring to his alcohol addiction.
"When he was referring to that in his book, was he talking about relapsing to drugs and alcohol, or do you know what he meant?" Lowell asked.
"I can only state what was stated," Jensen said.
"Which is, 'Then I relapsed?'" Lowell asked.
"Just what it says, 'I relapsed,'" Jensen replied.
Jensen also acknowledged that she could not verify that Hunter Biden was continuously using drugs from 2015 to 2019, saying, "My recollection is that there are excerpts where he was principally occupied with smoking crack cocaine. I didn't get the sense that it was the entire history."
"Meaning that there were periods of time that he was not?" Lowell asked.
"I think there -- including the period in August where we have some invoices for rehab, that there were periods where there was not," Jensen said.
It was an important moment for the defense, as Lowell managed to establish that Hunter Biden's use of drugs was not consistent -- cuing up his argument that the president's son was not on drugs at the time of his firearm purchase.
Prosecutors also entered into evidence records related to enormous cash withdrawals Hunter Biden made -- more than $150,000 from September through November of 2018, including a $5,000 withdrawal on the day he purchased the gun. Prosecutors suggested this cash was used to procure drugs; Lowell, on cross-examination, established that Hunter Biden paid $900 in cash for the weapon and accessories.
Court was subsequently recessed for the day, with Lowell's cross-examination of Jensen scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.
Prosecutors suggested that Hallie Biden would be the next witness after Jensen, making it likely that the first Biden family member to testify will take the stand at some point tomorrow.
Jun 05, 4:35 AM
Prosecutors present angry text messages about gun
Testifying for the prosecution, FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen presented evidence involving a 2018 text message exchange between Hunter Biden and Hallie Biden, his brother Beau's widow who was Hunter Biden's romantic partner at the time.
An angry Hunter Biden texted Hallie Biden on the day she discovered his gun.
"Did you take that from me? ... You're being totally irresponsible and unhinged," the text said.
"I just want you to be safe. That was not safe," she replied, referring to his handling of the gun.
Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell objected to Jensen's testimony regarding the text messages -- which had been obtained by a court-issued subpoena -- arguing that Hallie Biden would be questioned when the government calls her as a witness.
Prosecutors concluded their questioning of Jensen, after which the defense began its cross-examination.
Jun 05, 3:24 AM
Prosecutors introduce infamous laptop as evidence
Prosecutors have introduced Hunter Biden's infamous laptop as evidence while questioning FBI agent Erika Jensen, their first witness.
Prosecutors asked Jensen about email messages found on the laptop and in Hunter Biden's iCloud account that appear to be about his drug use in 2018.
The government had said inpretrial court filingsthat it was planning to introduce materials on the laptop as evidence in the case.
The laptop has become a symbol of the legal and political controversy surrounding the president's son in recent years. Attorneys for Hunter Biden had previously attempted to preclude the laptop as evidence in the trial, arguing that they have "numerous reasons to believe the data had been altered and compromised before investigators obtained the electronic material."
But special counsel David Weiss argued in court filings that attorneys for Hunter Biden had not "provided any evidence or information that shows that his laptop contains false information," and the judge agreed to admit it as evidence.
Data from the laptop waspurportedly obtained and later disseminatedin 2019 by a Wilmington, Delaware, computer repairman after the laptop had been dropped off at his shop for repair.
With that context in mind, prosecutors did not rely on the laptop on its own; investigators said they cross-referenced every email, WhatsApp message, iMessage, and text message with Apple Inc. to establish the credibility of the data.
"Ultimately, in examining that laptop, were investigators able to confirm that it was Hunter Biden's laptop?" prosecutor Derek Hines asked Jensen.
"Yes," Jensen said.
"How?" Hines asked.
"Among other things, there was a serial number that's on the back of this laptop that matches the Apple subpoena records that they obtained in 2019, so it matches the registration of this particular device to the iCloud account at a particular date," Jensen said.
"So from the data from the laptop and the hard drive, did you -- what did you do next, or what did the FBI do next when assessing the addiction evidence?" Hines asked.
"So from the data that was extracted from both the iCloud back ups and this -- the laptop, investigators were able to go through largely WhatsApp messages, iMessages, and text messages, and found evidence of addiction within the messages," Jensen said.
Prosecutors also showed jurors an invoice for $85 from the computer repair shop where Hunter Biden dropped off the laptop for repair, which had been sent to an email address belonging to Hunter Biden.
"You said Apple Inc. provided that ... from the iCloud?" Hines asked.
"Yes," Jensen said.
