The Lawyers Clean Up All Details Since Daddy Had to Lie: Hunter Biden's Delaware Trial - Day 6 (Updated)

Monday marked Day 6 of First Son Hunter Biden's trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on federal gun charges.

When things wrapped early on Friday, Hunter's daughter Naomi had testified in a bit of a mixed bag for the defense, with her noting both that Hunter seemed to be doing well in the time frame around the gun purchase yet erratic in his messages with her and ability to spend time with her. The defense elected not to call James "Jimmy" Biden, Hunter's uncle and President Joe Biden's brother, to the stand. They were going to determine over the weekend if they would call Hunter himself to the stand.

Ahead of Monday's proceedings, Townhall's Mia Cathell provided a detailed explanation of the evidence presented during the trial.

On October 12, 2018, Hunter Biden walked into StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Wilmington, Delaware, and answered "No" to Question 11.e on ATF Form 4473, a federal background check form, certifying that he was not doing drugs or… pic.twitter.com/sE7ju1EZVb
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) June 10, 2024

Flanked once again by family members — including stepmom Jill, sister Ashley, wife Melissa, Uncle Jimmy, and Aunt Valerie Biden Owens — Hunter returned to the courtroom Monday morning. The day commenced with an instruction conference between the parties and Judge Maryellen Noreika.

The defense's Abbe Lowell is asking that "knowingly" be added to the verdict form, stipulating that the jury has to find that Hunter intentionally deceived a federally licensed firearms dealer in order to illegally obtain the gun at issue.
The prosecution, on the other hand, wants the verdict form to simply follow what's stated in the statutes that preclude the word "knowingly" even though the jury instructions do mention it.
Judge Maryellen Noreika decides to go with the government's standard (the statute) and sides with the prosecution.

Ultimately, the defense elected not to call Hunter to the stand, opting instead to rest their case.

The prosecution then called a brief rebuttal witness: FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen came back to the stand to shore up the infamous laptop's authenticity.

...While the risk of jury nullification votes could not be higher, it is not certain and the prosecutors are driving home the overwhelming strength of the evidence. They want to make it as difficult as possible for jurors to ignore the obvious.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) June 10, 2024

Jensen testified regarding location data and the timeline of events in and around the time of the gun purchase.

We're going through texts again between Hunter and presumed drug dealers. "Can you meet me at 7/11 now?" one of Hunter's messages to "Junior" from October 10, 2018 says.
"It’s Q. I’m at 7-11 now," another party texted Hunter on October 11. "Meet me at 7/11 at 3,” Hunter wrote back.

The defense, on cross-examination, attempted to highlight potential discrepancies.

Lowell says that Hunter was heading to Philadelphia on October 11, 2018, to meet his daughter Finnegan. Jensen confirms. Lowell focuses on the names "Junior" and "Q" not matching the previously mentioned "Bernard" and "Mookie."

After a brief re-direct, the prosecution rested. Judge Noreika read preliminary instructions to the jury prior to their dismissal for lunch, with closing arguments set to begin after lunch.

See How They Run Like Pigs From a Gun: Hunter Biden's Delaware Trial - Day 5

Following the lunch break, prosecutor Leo Wise delivered the government's closing argument. He began by noting that "People sitting in the gallery are not evidence." Wise noted the unseemly nature of the evidence:

Prosecutor Leo Wise said the evidence in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial is “personal,” “ugly” and “overwhelming," but added that it is "necessary."
Hunter's own nonfiction book, "Beautiful Things," was "key evidence that Hunter was using drugs," Wise said, adding that his closing statements would focus on the evidence showing Hunter was addicted to drugs and “that he knew it."

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, for his closing, emphasized the prosecution's high burden of proof.

The defense accused the prosecution of using a "magician's trick," showing you part of the image in one hand but not giving you the full picture in the other.
They also talked issues with the timeline of events, accusing the defense of trying to connect issues of past behavior with the time of the gun purchase, noting that Biden's past behavior doesn't mean he was doing the same thing at the time of the purchase.
The defense also questioned the use of Biden's memoir, arguing that it's not a diary and it is what Biden remembers about being a drug addict.
In regards to the text messages sent around the time of the alleged gun purchase, the defense pointed out that Biden could have been lying about meeting a dealer or smoking crack, pointing to previous lies.

Ah...the old: "I wasn't lying when I bought the gun — I was lying when I told my sister-in-law/lover that I was meeting my crack dealer" defense.

Alternatively, Lowell pointed a finger at gun salesman Gordon Cleveland for attempting to make the sale and Hallie Biden for attempting to dispose of the gun.

“On Oct. 23, Hallie did something incredibly stupid,” Lowell said, slamming Hallie Biden for deciding to take the gun, bullets and speedloader out of what he characterized as a locked safe in the car, put all of that in a plastic gift bag and dump it in an open trash can at a grocery store.
Lowell argued that Hallie Biden's testimony that the car safe was “broken” contradicts testimony from Naomi Biden, who testified that it was fine days previously when she had the car. Lowell suggested that instead, Hallie Biden broke into the safe using a code she knew.

After Lowell rested, the court took a brief break, and then Derek Hines presented the prosecution's rebuttal argument.

“Mr. Lowell suggested you have this man’s life in your hands. You don’t have this man’s life in your hands," Hines said. “He keeps saying he’s telling you a story … That’s exactly what he’s done in this case. It’s simply a story. A fictional story.”
“Who called the defendant’s daughter as a witness in this case?” “Not us,” Hines said, as he called Naomi Biden’s testimony “uncomfortable.”
Hines said he believes the prosecution has proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt, "seven ways to Sunday.”

Closing arguments are now concluded, the judge has read the roughly 30 pages of instructions to the jurors, and the case was submitted to the jury at around 3:30 pm Eastern. Will they return with a verdict today and save themselves another day in court? We'll know soon.

Update - 4:40 pm Eastern — The jury has wrapped for the day and been excused, with plans to return Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. and resume deliberations.

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