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。
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。
法官警告辩护律师说，陪审员在打瞌睡
在晚间的边栏会议上，陪审员和记者都听不到会议内容，但其内容包含在每天结束时发布的法庭记录中，法官玛丽埃伦·诺瑞卡(Maryellen Noreika)指责亨特·拜登的律师对证人进行了冗长的提问。
在检察官对辩护律师阿贝·洛厄尔(Abbe Lowell)进行的“一贯冗长”的交叉询问提出异议后，双方进行了交流。
“这持续的时间有点长，”法官诺瑞卡告诉洛厄尔对特拉华州骑警的交叉询问从垃圾桶里找到亨特·拜登的枪的人身上找到的。
“我让陪审员在那边打瞌睡，”法官说。"那样做后果自负——但他们还在半睡半醒之中."
与洛厄尔的长时间盘问形成对比的是，检察官只花了20分钟就直接询问了这名骑警。
检察官德里克·海因斯(Derek Hines)告诉法官，“交叉询问一直很长，是我们指示的两倍，”他认为洛厄尔的一些问题“无关紧要”
政府周五搁置案件，辩方可能周一搁置
这一天的最后一个证人是埃德·班纳，这位80岁的海军老兵在亨特·拜登当时的女友哈里·拜登在超市外的垃圾桶里发现了亨特·拜登的枪支。
班纳描述说，他在翻找可回收物品时发现了枪支和其他物品，他经常开车去纽约换钱。
辩护律师阿贝·洛厄尔(Abbe Lowell)此前曾表示，在2018年10月23日枪支被丢弃到2023年底在实验室进行测试期间，在装有枪支的皮革袋上发现的可卡因残留物可能被篡改过。
“这听起来可能是一个不寻常的问题，但你家里有人使用可卡因吗?”德里克·海因斯问班纳。
“不，”班纳说，似乎对这个问题有些惊讶。
班纳还否认用袜子包装枪支，正如特拉华州一名骑警在早些时候的证词中所说的那样。
“我不知道什么袜子，”班纳说。
检察官在法庭得出结论之前说，他们还有两名证人——一名药品管理局的药品专家和一名美国联邦调查局的化学家——他们打算在周五早上休庭。
辩护律师表示，他们将传唤两三名证人，并可能在周一结束前结案。
正如洛厄尔此前建议的那样，他可能会给总统的兄弟詹姆斯·拜登和总统的长女纳奥米·拜登打电话。
他还表示，尚未决定亨特·拜登是否会为自己辩护作证。
法庭休庭一天。
一名骑警称枪是由一名男子在翻垃圾时发现的
前特拉华州警察中尉米勒德·格里尔作证说，亨特·拜登的枪被一名老人放在袜子里，这名老人在哈里·拜登丢弃它后在超市外的垃圾桶里发现了这把枪。
格里尔说，他查看了监控录像，采访了目击者，最终从以“翻垃圾”闻名的爱德华·班纳那里取回了武器。
当格里尔走近班纳并问他是否有人在超市外的垃圾桶里留下了“不属于它的东西”时，班纳回答说:“哦，是的，他们确实留下了，”格里尔作证说。
这位前警官说，在班纳的家里，他从一只袜子里拿出了手枪、一个皮袋和其他物品，并把它们交给了格里尔。
在交叉询问中，辩护律师阿贝·洛厄尔就武器的保管链向格里尔施压，包括关于武器被放在证据柜中的问题。
格里尔还作证说，在枪支被收回后，亨特·拜登选择不起诉哈里·拜登和班纳。
一名州警描述了调查“被盗枪支”的过程
特拉华州州警约书亚·马利在为检方作证时描述了他在2018年10月23日调查一份“被盗枪支”报告中的作用。
他说当时他认为亨特·拜登“是犯罪的受害者”
哈里·拜登在她当时的男友亨特·拜登的车里发现了这把枪，随后发现这把枪被她丢弃了。
马利下台前只在证人席上呆了很短时间。
政府在结案前还剩下四名证人，这意味着他们可能会持续到周五上午。
Hunter Biden gun trial: Hallie Biden says 'difficult to recall' some details from 2018
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.
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.
Jurors were 'nodding off,' judge warned defense attorney
In a late-day sidebar conference that occurred out of the earshot of jurors and reporters -- but whose contents were included in the court transcript released at the end of each day -- Judge Maryellen Noreika chastised Hunter Biden's attorney for his lengthy questioning of witnesses.
The exchange came after prosecutors took issue with the "consistently lengthy" cross-examinations being conducted by defense attorney Abbe Lowell.
"This is going on a little long," Judge Noreika told Lowell about hiscross-examination of the Delaware state trooperwho recovered Hunter Biden's gun from the man who found it in the trash.
"I got jurors over there nodding off," the judge said. "Do that at your peril -- but they are half sleeping."
In contrast to Lowell's long cross-examination, prosecutors spent just twenty minutes questioning the trooper on direct examination.
"The crosses have been consistently lengthy, two times our directs," prosecutor Derek Hines told the judge, arguing that some of Lowell's questions were "irrelevant."
Government to rest case Friday, defense might rest Monday
The day's final witness was Ed Banner, the 80-year-old Navy veteran who recovered Hunter Biden's firearm from the trash receptacle outside a supermarket after Hunter Biden's then-girlfriend Hallie Biden had disposed of it there.
Banner described finding the firearm and other items as he was rummaging for recyclables that he would often drive to New York to return for money.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell had previously suggested that cocaine residue discovered on a leather pouch that held the gun could have been tampered with between the time the firearm was discarded on Oct. 23, 2018, and when it was tested in a lab in late 2023.
"This may sound like an unusual question, but does anyone in your household use cocaine?" Derek Hines asked Banner.
"No," Banner said, appearing somewhat surprised by the question.
Banner also denied wrapping the firearm in a sock, as a Delaware state trooper suggested in earlier testimony.
"I don't know nothin' about no sock," Banner said.
Prosecutors said before court concluded that they have two witnesses left -- a DEA drug specialist and an FBI chemist -- and that they intend to rest their case on Friday morning.
Defense counsel said they would call two or three witnesses and would likely rest their case by the end of the day on Monday.
As Lowell previously suggested, he may call James Biden, the president's brother, and Naomi Biden, the president's eldest granddaughter.
He also said that no decision has yet been made on whether Hunter Biden will testify in his own defense.
Court then was recessed for the day.
Trooper says gun was found by man rummaging through trash
Former Delaware State Police lieutenant Millard Greer testified that Hunter Biden's gun was placed in a sock by an elderly man who found the weapon in the trash outside a supermarket after Hallie Biden discarded it.
Greer said he reviewed surveillance footage, interviewed witnesses, and ultimately retrieved the weapon from Edward Banner, who was known to "rummage through trash."
When Greer approached Banner and asked him if someone left "something that didn't belong" in the trash outside the supermarket, Banner replied, "Oh yes, they did," Greer testified.
At Banner's home, he pulled out the firearm from a sock along with a leather pouch and other items, and handed them to Greer, the former trooper said.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Abbe Lowell pressed Greer about the chain of custody of the weapon, including questions about it being placed in an evidence locker.
Greer also testified that Hunter Biden chose not to press charges against Hallie Biden and Banner after the gun was retrieved.
State trooper describes investigating 'stolen gun'
Delaware state trooper Joshua Marley, testifying for the prosecution, described his role in investigating a report of a "stolen gun" on Oct. 23, 2018.
He said that at the time that he believed Hunter Biden "was the victim of the crime."
The gun turned out to have been discarded by Hallie Biden after she discovered it in her then-boyfriend Hunter Biden's car.
Marley spent only a short time on the stand before stepping down.
The government has four witnesses left before resting its case, meaning they will likely continue into Friday morning.
