June 4, 2024 - Hunter Biden gun trial jury hears he texted about smoking crack after purchasing the firearm (2024)

A jury of Delaware residents has been empaneled in the criminal trial of Hunter Biden on federal gun charges.

Opening statements in the case involving President Joe Biden’s son were delivered on Tuesday, following the dismissal of one juror who cited difficulty getting to the courthouse each day.

One of the four originally selected alternates who also hear the case will replace that juror.

Here’s what to know about the juryas it stands now:

Under cross-examination, a key government witness conceded that Hunter Biden might not have been using drugs continuously from 2015 to 2019, which covers when he bought the gun in 2018.

This is notable because, earlier in the day, prosecutors highlighted how Hunter Biden said in his memoir that he was an “active” addict during that 5-year period.

Hunter lawyer Abbe Lowell is also trying to point out discrepancies between what his client wrote in his 2021 memoir and what actually happened. For example, in one case, Biden went on a flight that he claimed he missed or skipped.

Lowell is likely doing this because prosecutors are relying on the book as key evidence to support their case.

The second day of the Hunter Biden federal gun trial has ended. The first, and as of yet, only witness, FBI agent Erika Jensen, remains on the stand for cross-examination.

Court will resume at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

Prosecutors have shown several videos to the jury they say were obtained after subpoenaing his electronic devices.

One video showed a shirtless Hunter Biden holding what appeared to be a pipe. Another video showed a white substance on a scale.

Prosecutors are done questioning the FBI agent that they used to introduce a trove of Hunter Biden texts and photos to the jury.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers are now starting their cross-examination of the witness, FBI agent Erika Jensen.

The defense has previously raised concerns about the authenticity of some of the messages that were shown to the jury today.

In the days after he purchased the firearm, Hunter Biden texted that he was smoking crack, according to an FBI agent testifying Tuesday.

In one text the day after he bought the gun, Hunter Biden said he was “waiting for a dealer,” the agent said.

On an almost daily basis, Hunter Biden was withdrawing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in cash around the time he purchased the firearm in 2018, according to an FBI agent.

On October 12, the day Hunter Biden bought the weapon, he withdrew $5,000 in cash, according to a receipt shown to the jury.

Hunter Biden, prosecutors say, paid for the gun in cash.

Prosecutors introduced into evidence the ATF form that was filled out when Hunter Biden bought the gun on October 12, 2018.

Hunter Biden’s answer to question #11E is the basis of 2 of the 3 charges against him. Biden checked the box saying he wasn’t a user of, or addicted to, illegal drugs.

Prosecutors say that was an unlawful false statement.

Prosecutors on Tuesday afternoon showed the jury photos of drugs that they found on Hunter Biden’s devices.

They show a white substance that appears to be cocaine, as well as a scale often used to weigh drugs.

FBI special agent Erika Jensen testified that investigators found the images on Hunter Biden’s devices, which were subpoenaed in 2019. Those devices included his iCloud backup as well as his laptop.

Prosecutors say the pictures of drugs were exchanged between Hunter and some of his drug dealers in California. Hunter described in his memoir that “depravity” and drug binges that dominated his time in Los Angeles that year.