Jury Selection Begins in Hunter Biden Gun Trial

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Facts

• Jury selection for the criminal gun possession trial of US Pres. Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, began Monday. He stands charged with lying about his drug use when purchasing a revolver in 2018 and illegally possessing the firearm.¹
• Prosecutors allege that Biden lied on a background check form that he was not a user of illegal drugs. They intend to use excerpts from his memoir and witness testimony to detail his crack cocaine and alcohol addictions during that time.²
• A grand jury indicted Biden last September over gun and tax charges after a plea deal fell apart. The deal collapsed after Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the extent of criminal immunity the president's son would be granted for any future charges.³
• The prosecution will call upon Hunter's ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and his late brother Beau Biden's widow Hallie Biden, with whom Hunter had a romantic relationship following Beau's death. They'll reportedly also show images from Hunter's computer of him using drugs.⁴
• The defense team will argue that Biden did not view himself as a drug addict when he purchased the firearm. The maximum sentence Biden faces is 25 years, though as a first-time offender, it would be unlikely that he sees jail time.⁵
• First Lady Jill Biden attended court with her son, while Pres. Biden is in Connecticut for a fundraising event. While the president didn't comment on the case, he did express his 'love' and pride for his son as the trial began.³

Sources: ¹reuters.com, ²NPR Online News, ³CBS, ⁴wsj.com and ⁵Associated Press.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by The Hill. A prosecutor and a judge both appointed by Trump are determined to humiliate the Biden family in this clearly retaliatory case, in light of Trump's own legal travails. Hunter has been open about his addiction and his recovery, and the case is more about his father than the rarely ever pursued charge of addict-in-possession. The GOP is doing everything they can to distract from Trump and sully the Biden name.
• Republican narrative, as provided by The Washington Times. No one is above the law, as Democrats like to remind the country, and the son of the president is no exception. Hunter Biden detailed his crimes in his very own memoir, and his legal team has been relying on technicalities to get the case thrown out. For once in his life, his powerful father cannot stop Hunter from facing the consequences of his actions, as he finally gets his day in court.

Predictions