President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden is on trial in Delaware on three felony charges related to his efforts to obtain a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs.
The younger Biden, who pleaded not guilty last October after being indicted by special counsel David Weiss, has denied the charges. The son of a sitting president has never before faced a criminal trial.
MORE: 4 big takeaways from Day 4 of Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial
The trial comes on the heels of former President Donald Trump’s conviction on felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment made to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
In an unexpected move, court recessed for the day following the lunch break, with the defense telling the judge they are “down to that last decision” — suggesting that they will determine over the weekend if Hunter Biden takes the stand Monday in his own defense.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the court the defense decided not to call one of its expert witnesses.
It also appears defense attorneys reversed course on testimony from Hunter Biden’s uncle James Biden, who was already at the courthouse and who Lowell had earlier indicated would be testifying. James Biden was subsequently seen leaving the building.
Prosecutors said they are “still considering” whether they will put on a rebuttal case after the defense rests.
Judge Maryellen Noreika dismissed the jury, telling them to “enjoy a long weekend.”
“We are starting to wrap the evidence in this case,” she said.
The parties are scheduled to be back in court Monday at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Naomi Biden, the 30-year-old daughter of Hunter Biden, testified that her father “seemed great, he seemed hopeful” when she saw him on Oct. 18 or 19, 2018, in New York, where she was returning his vehicle to him — several days after he purchased the gun at the center of the case and just days before his then-girlfriend Hallie Biden discovered and discarded it.
Earlier, in August, Naomi Biden described visiting him in Los Angeles, where he was in a drug rehab program. “He seemed the clearest I’d seen him since my uncle died,” she said, referring to Hunter Biden’s brother Beau Biden.
It was important testimony for the defense in their attempt to show that Hunter Biden was not using drugs around the time of the gun purchase.
Defense counsel Abbe Lowell asked Naomi Biden about the car trip she and her then-boyfriend took from Washington, D.C., to New York in mid-October 2018 to return her father’s truck — a Ford Raptor — to him.
On cross-examination, prosecutor Leo Wise asked Naomi Biden if she ever witnessed her father using drugs — she said she had not — or whether she would know if he was using drugs based on his behavior.
“I guess not,” she said.
Wise also established that Naomi Biden did not leave any drugs or drug residue in the vehicle before returning it to her father — suggesting that the drug residue and paraphernalia Hallie Biden observed in the car days later arrived there after Hunter Biden retrieved the truck.
Jurors also saw some emotional text messages between Naomi Biden and her father during that mid-October timeframe.
“I’m really sad, I can’t take this,” she wrote her father, adding that “I really want to hang out with you.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been so unreachable,” Hunter Biden replied. “It’s not fair to you.”
On the stand, Naomi Biden spoke quietly, at one point saying, “Sorry, I’m nervous.” Her husband, Peter Neal, sat in the gallery next to first lady Jill Biden, and had his hand over his mouth for much of the testimony.
Hunter Biden appeared emotional and was seen at times touching his face during her testimony.
When her testimony concluded, she embraced her father before leaving the courtroom, and court recessed for lunch.
Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi took the stand as the defense’s third witness.
Jason Turner, an employee at the gun shop that sold Hunter Biden the Colt revolver at the center of the case, corroborated on the stand clerk Gordon Cleveland’s earlier testimony of the sequence of events that occurred in the store when Hunter Biden filled out the ATF form and purchased the gun.
Turner, who appeared defensive and confrontational during some of his testimony, testified that he never spoke to Hunter Biden.
When shown the ATF Form 4473 that Hunter Biden filled out, Turner said Hunter Biden provided his car registration as an alternate form of ID because the passport he provided did not have an address.
The defense said in court papers filed earlier that confusion over how Hunter Biden’s form of ID was recorded on the ATF form raised questions about “who wrote what on the form, and when.”
When defense attorney Abbe Lowell, questioning Turner, highlighted the box on the form that asks for the type of alternate ID, it was blank.
“When I wrote that out, I wrote ‘car registration,'” Turner said. “It’s not there,” he testified.
Lowell also pressed Turner on what he was doing after Hunter Biden’s background check came back until the firearm was purchased.
“I would have put on my ritual tone and sat in a marble room,” Turner said sarcastically.
Ron Palmieri, the owner of the gun store, then took the stand.
