Takeaways from Day 1 of the Hunter Biden federal gun trial
Wilmington, Delaware (CNN) — Guns, addiction and politics hung over jury selection at Hunter Biden’s criminal trial Monday, with at-times emotional questioning that resulted in the selection of a diverse 12-member panel.
Throughout the day at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, prospective jurors were asked for their thoughts on the politicization of the criminal justice system, the state of US gun laws and their relationships with people struggling with addiction.
These topics will weigh heavily in the case against Hunter Biden, who made history Monday by becoming the first child of a sitting US president to go on trial. He pleaded not guilty to unlawfully buying and possessing a firearm while abusing drugs, which is against federal law. Hunter Biden is a recovering alcohol and crack cocaine addict.
The final 12-member jury is evenly split between six men and six women. A majority of the panel is Black, according to CNN’s observations. There are also four alternates.
Opening statements are set for 9 a.m. ET Tuesday, where prosecutors will spell out their allegations that Hunter Biden was an active drug user when he bought a revolver at a Wilmington gun shop in October 2018. They have contemporaneous texts and testimony from three of his romantic partners who, they say, can back up their case.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys take issue with the case itself – they claim special counsel David Weiss was motivated by political bias against the president. But Judge Maryellen Noreika blocked them from arguing this to the jury. So, their defense will likely focus on narrower questions about the definition of “addict” and the forms involved in the gun purchase.
Here are takeaways from the first day of Hunter Biden’s long-awaited trial:
Pain of addiction takes center stage
Throughout the day, prospective jurors opened up about their loved ones who struggled with addiction, in front of a fully packed courtroom with reporters from around the world.
Several of those jurors, who all hail from Delaware, made it onto the final jury panel.
One woman on the jury said her sister was a “recovering addict” who was previously convicted of drug crimes and credit card fraud and did time in Delaware state prison.
Another woman who is on the jury said her best friend from childhood died from a heroin overdose. One man who wasn’t picked for the jury had trouble getting the words out when he talked about his nephew’s multiple stints in and out of rehab.
This all ties into the case because prosecutors will need to zero in on Hunter Biden’s long-acknowledged struggles with addiction to win a conviction. They plan to highlight deeply personal and traumatic messages that he exchanged with family, where he fought about his sobriety, and said drugs “ruined every relationship I’ve ever cherished.”
How the jurors interpret Hunter’s addiction may determine the verdict.
Jurors were also pressed on another key aspects of the case: guns
The jury pool included a wide range of views on gun rights in the US, with some saying certain firearms – like so-called assault weapons – should be banned and others praising the Second Amendment.
Several jurors selected said they owned a firearm, one of whom had a concealed carry license and said he believed “our Second Amendment right is very important, and I stand with it.”
When asked about her views on drugs and gun ownership, a woman selected said people who smoke marijuana should be allowed to own firearms, saying that “weed, to me, isn’t as bad as” other drugs, like heroin.
Another juror selected as an alternate said she believed that mental health evaluations should be part of the process to possess a firearm, citing school shootings and saying that gun laws should be “more strict.”
A family affair
This is personal for the Bidens.
President Biden issued a rare statement about his son’s case. And first lady Jill Biden was in the courtroom throughout the day, sitting in the pews, a few feet from Hunter, as she celebrated her 73rd birthday.
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” President Biden’s statement said. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us.”
The president was clear to say that “I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases,” and didn’t say anything about the prosecutors or their motivations in going after his son.
As president, if Biden wanted to shut down this case, he could do so today, by issuing a full pardon to Hunter. But the White House has repeatedly and explicitly ruled that out.
In the courtroom in Wilmington, the first lady was flanked her daughter Ashley Biden and by Hunter’s current wife Sandi Cohen. Also sitting in the same row was Kevin Morris, the Hollywood lawyer who has bankrolled Hunter Biden’s lofty legal bills over the past several years.
CNN’s Kit Maher and Macayla Cook contributed to this report.
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