Hunter Biden is in court facing his criminal gun charge. Following his infamous laptop leak, Biden’s dirty laundry has been aired. While Joe has been relatively untouched, Hunter’s diary and videos have revealed a plethora of crime.
Chief among these, Hunter purchased a firearm while being a drug user, violating numerous gun laws and perjury. In addition, Hunter disposed of it close to a school, yet another crime. The Associated Press says:
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday painted President Joe Biden’s son Hunter as deceptive and driven by addiction, a man whose dark habits ensnared loved ones and who knew what he was doing when he lied on a federal form to purchase a gun in 2018.
Jurors also got their first look at the document at the center of the case, and Hunter Biden’s attorney argued that his client did not believe he was in the throes of addiction when he stated in the paperwork that he did not have a drug problem. In the short time that he had the gun, he did nothing with it, and the weapon was never even loaded, attorney Abbe Lowell said in his opening statement.
Hunter’s trial will prove a critical contrast to Trump’s. His treatment will be likely be very different, with a more lenient judge who does not have prejudice against him. Hunter is lucky that he is being tried in Delaware, where he will benefit from a friendly jury. The Washington Post reports:
Proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person used drugs when they were in possession of a gun can be challenging without a drug test, which law enforcement does not have for Hunter Biden. Legal experts say that is why it’s relatively rare that prosecutors charge someone with these types of gun violations without attaching them to another crime. Investigators wouldn’t know someone who possesses a gun was on drugs unless they tested them for narcotics because they were in custody for something else, such as an armed burglary.
But Biden’s memoir is an unusual piece of evidence and provides a road map for prosecutors to help prove he was a drug addict around the time he purchased the weapon and then kept it for 11 days. He is not accused of committing a crime with the gun, and his attorney said in court Tuesday that Biden never loaded or used it.
Hunter’s case could also inform gun rights. Drug use and gun free zones near schools could be overturned with this precedent, though not likely.
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