Prosecutor Derek Hines delivered a powerful opening statement in Hunter Biden’s gun trial on Tuesday, emphasizing to the jurors that “no one is above the law.”
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is,” Hines stated. Defendants are tried “because of the choices they made,” he elaborated, as reported by court reporters noted, adding that Hunter “chose to illegally own a firearm” and that “we’re also here because he chose to lie.”
“We would not be here today if he was just a drug addict,” Hines declared.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, faces charges of one count of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, one count of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and one count of making a false statement related to information mandated to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer.
According to various photos from his abandoned laptop, Hunter was using crack when he bought the firearm, which was later found discarded in a public trash can near a school. The Secret Service is alleged to have intervened in the investigation of the incident.
The form that Biden filled out to purchase the gun was shown to the jurors, and Hines explained each part of the form. Dealers depend on the honesty of the person completing the form, Hines pointed out. “Mr. Cleveland will testify” that Hunter Biden checked a box on the form indicating he wasn’t using drugs or alcohol, Hines said.
Prosecutors presented jurors with an image of Hunter’s revolver and images of “hollow-point” ammunition he purchased that day, as reported by CNN:
Biden’s lawyers previously mentioned in filings that he never used or loaded the gun during the 11 days he had it before his girlfriend discarded it. … Prosecutors showed the jury the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives] form that was completed when Biden purchased the firearm. “He lied” on the ATF form, Hines informed the jury.
The judge prohibited TV, audio, and Slack messages during Hunter’s trial, causing court reporters to rely “on notes, runners, or for reporters to come out of the courthouse in person,” as noted by CNN.
The case is United States v. Hunter Biden, No. 24-1703 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
