Hunter Biden’s trial continued today on its second day. I was seated 2 rows behind the Biden family consisting of Ashley, Jill and Melissa for the day’s hearing.

The day started with a delay as 5 jurors were missing. I was informed by the Washington Post reporter sitting next to me that Juror #3 (Juror 16 yesterday) had emailed the judge stating that she did not have a vehicle and lived over an hour away. She would not be able to attend the trial.

Once the judge & jury finally entered the courtroom, the judge immediately asked the jury if anyone had researched the case on their own.

The trial began with the prosecution making their opening arguments. The prosecuting attorney stated that no one was above the law and they were there because of what Hunter did and not because of who Hunter was. The prosecution made reference to Hunter’s drug addiction by stating that “even if addiction isn’t a choice, purchasing a gun is”.

The prosecution stated that they could have brought drug charges, however they decided to focus on the gun charge. The prosecution stated that on 10/13/18 Hunter Biden visited Star Quest Shooters & Survival Supply and purchased a .38 special Colt Cobra, a speed loader, a Gammo BB gun, a survival tool, a flashlight and a box of Hornady ammunition. In doing so Hunter lied on his form 4473 in box 11.

The prosecution stated that Hunter stored the firearm in his Ford Raptor pickup truck regularly. The prosecution stated that the particular question which Hunter had lied about was one of the few questions that could prevent a gun from being possessed by a prohibited person.

The prosecution stated that Gordon Cleveland was the salesman of the firearm from a licensed Federal Firearms dealer. The prosecution then stated that Hunter Biden illegally owned the weapon for 11 days before it was taken from Hunter by Hallie Biden out of concern. The prosecution stated that the gun was removed from Hunter’s unlocked truck while it was parked with the windows down.

In their opening argument the defense stated that Hunter had sadly previously been an addict and had relapsed after the gun incident. They made the argument that Hunter was not a drug user at the time of his gun purchase, rather he was an alcoholic at that time. They made the argument that purchasing and owning a gun as an alcoholic was not against the law.

The prosecution then called their first and only witness of the day which was FBI special agent Erika Jensen. The prosecution entered approx. 15 pieces of evidence which were audio clips from Hunter Biden’s audio book memoir Beautiful Things. In each of these clips Hunter described his rabid search for crack as he traveled around the country. He also chronicled his drug use throughout this time. The book was published in 2021 and Hunter clearly states in the prologue that he has had 4 years of active addiction. He states that he was briefly clean, however he took a trip with his daughter to Monaco for a Burisma board meeting where he was offered cocaine in a restroom, and he then went on a bender.

The next clip then entered into evidence where he chronicled a trip to Nashville, TN where he spent weeks on a crack fueled binge. During the audio clips of Hunter’s Nashville adventure Ashley Biden became visibly upset. She was regularly wiping her eyes with a tissue before briefly leaving the courtroom flanked by secret service officers.

The defense argued that Hunter referred to himself as an addict due to the facts that addicts often refer to themselves in that manner. The defense made the statement that “giving up drugs is hard, but giving up alcohol is harder”. They also stated that people that knew Hunter personally were so used to seeing him on drugs that they attributed any negative behavior displayed by Hunter as a result of drugs. The defense stated that they could show the timeline of Hunter’s pre-recovery drug use and his post relapse drug use. The defense argued that Hunter did not knowingly violate the law.

The defense argued that Hunter had been actively spending time with family in the time period around the gun purchase and that was not the behavior of a drug addict. The defense stated that Hunter’s Colt handgun only left the lockbox in Hunter’s truck one time. The only time that the gun left the lockbox was when it was removed by Hallie Biden. The prosecution stated that Hallie was concerned that Hunter would hurt himself with the firearm, so she removed the firearm without Hunter’s knowledge. On the day that the firearm was removed Hunter was driving from Delaware to Washington DC. He allegedly noticed that the firearm was missing approx. 20 minutes into his drive and immediately text Hallie. It is worth noting that it would not have been legal for Hunter to possess the firearm inside of Washington DC.

Hallie had allegedly removed the gun, placed it inside of Hunter’s leather pouch and then placed the pouch inside a gift bag. She drove the weapon to Jannsen’s Market and placed the entire bag inside of a trash can out front. The bag was then discovered by a gentleman who regularly searched for recyclables.

Hunter was panicked when he heard of what Hallie had done and immediately instructed her to go back and retrieve the gun. When she arrived at the store to do so, the bag containing the gun was missing so she went to speak with store personnel to see if she could locate the missing firearm. After speaking with store staff, the Delaware State Police were called. Through viewing video, they were able to then locate and subpoena the man who had retrieved the gun. The original investigation into the incident began around 10/24/2018.

In addition to the memoir written by Hunter Biden, the prosecution introduced Hunter Biden’s laptop into evidence. When questioned on the authenticity of the laptop, the FBI agent confirmed that ownership of the laptop was confirmed to Hunter’s by a matching serial number confirmed by subpoena to Apple. They also stated that the laptop contained an email from Mac Shop addressed to Hunter Biden for repairs. The address on the email matched Hunter Biden’s Apple ID. The invoice was for 85.00 and was entered into evidence.

The laptop was used to introduce multiple SMS and WhatsApp messages into evidence. These messages demonstrated that Hunter was actively conducting drug transactions during the period before, during and after the gun ownership.

The prosecution also introduced Hunter’s financial information into evidence showing large cash withdrawals demonstrating regular crack purchases. In 2018, Hunter Biden’s personal bank account had an inflow of 1.4 million dollars, and $494,000 was withdrawn via ATM machines. In addition to Hunter’s personal account, he also had access to two different business accounts based on companies he was owned. Hunter’s business accounts had an inflow of 3.4 million dollars and an outflow of 3.4 million dollars in 2018. $399,000 was withdrawn from the business accounts via debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals during 2018 alone. During October of 2018 alone, there were only 11 days that Hunter did not make ATM withdrawals. These withdrawals ranged from $204 to $16,000. On the day of the gun purchase Hunter made a $5,000 cash withdrawal.

Multiple videos were displayed from Hunter’s laptop showing crack on scales, as well as Hunter with crack pipes in his hand. The prosecution used meta data to show that the videos and photos were taken during the time period in question.

The physical laptop was displayed by the witness after lunch. She stated that the FBI had been in possession of the laptop. iCloud search warrants were issued for Hunter’s account on 8/26/2019. Noticeably absent from the courtroom during the post lunch break of the day was Jill Biden. Jill was not present during the laptop presentation.

The defense attempted to point out the amount of liquor store purchases on the bank statements in support of their statement that Hunter was an alcoholic. The defense also questioned if there were messages contained on the laptop from 10/13 containing language regarding drug purchases. The prosecution showed multiple messages before and after 10/13 with communication regarding drug purchases. Some of these messages were even specific as to the quality of drugs and disputes over purity.

DC Patriot will go into further detail about the messages contained on the laptop tomorrow. This is a developing story.