The latest: now on the stand: Zoe Kestan, ex-girlfriend of Hunter Biden

WILMINGTON, Del. The latest news on the Hunter Biden trial (all times local):

Zoe Kestan, Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend, has been called to testify in his federal gun trial.

She is testifying under grant of immunity.

Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase of a gun in October 2018. He is accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer by making a false claim on the application, saying that he was not a drug user and that he had illegally armed him for 11 days.

At the moment:

— The interrogation of the FBI agent continues Hunter Biden Gun Trialwhile the first lady appears again

– Promoters spend first day of testimony at Hunter Biden gun trial detailing his drug problems

Here are the latest:

During cross-examination, Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s defense attorney, asked his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, “Have you ever seen Hunter using drugs?”

“No,” she replied.

On redirected questioning, prosecutor Leo Wise asked Buhle how she knew Hunter was using drugs, to which she responded, “He told me.”

“I assumed he would continue to use it when I found the pipes in the car,” she said, adding that she found the pipes “about a dozen times.”

Federal prosecutors spent hours showing jurors evidence of Hunter Biden’s drug problem, trying to reveal through his own words and writing the depth of his addiction to show it still existed when, they say, he lied on a form to buy a gun of fire.

Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, testified that she discovered her husband was using drugs when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on the porch on July 3, 2015, the day after his birthday.

When she confronted him, “he acknowledged smoking crack,” she said while testifying at Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial.

Even before finding the crack pipe, Buhle suspected that Hunter Biden was using drugs, as he had been kicked out of the Navy after testing positive for cocaine.

“I was definitely worried, scared,” she said.

Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, has been called to the stand to testify in his federal gun trial.

She was married to the president’s son for about 20 years. They have three children and divorced in 2016 after his infidelity and drug use became excessive, according to her memoir, “If We Break,” about the dissolution of their marriage.

Federal prosecutors spent hours showing jurors evidence of Hunter Biden’s drug problem, trying to reveal through his own words and writing the depth of his addiction to show it still existed when, they say, he lied on a form to buy a gun of fire.

Before the break, prosecutor Derek Hines, in his subsequent questioning of FBI agent Erika Jensen, tried to refute the implication that Hunter Biden was making large cash withdrawals to pay for rent, rehab and other expenses.

The prosecutor showed bank statements indicating that Hunter Biden used a debit card to pay for his drug treatment in California in August 2018 and for Airbnb rentals.

“Did you see any evidence during your investigation that Mr. Biden was taking wads of cash and sending them to Airbnb?” Hines asked Jensen.

“No,” she replied.

Hines produced bank statements showing that Hunter Biden used his debit card to purchase alcoholic beverages.

“Do drug dealers accept credit cards?” he asked, to which Jensen replied, “Not in my experience.”

The prosecutor also attempted to refute defense suggestions that references to relapse in Hunter’s memoir referred to alcohol and not drugs.

“I smoked crack every 15 minutes,” wrote Biden after referring to his relapse in August 2018.

Hines noted that Biden wrote about not worrying about people trying to rob him as long as he continued a cycle of depravity, including drugs.

“Does he say alcohol in that sentence?” asked the prosecutor, getting a negative response from Jensen.

Prosecutors finished redirecting FBI agent Erika Jensen and the court recessed for the morning break in the Hunter Biden gun trial.

After the jury left for break, Judge Maryellen Noreika spoke with the attorneys about jury instructions.

During questioning, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, tried to cast doubt on the testimony of the FBI agent called to answer questions about personal messages on his devices that were removed by authorities.

During questioning, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, tried to cast doubt on the testimony of the FBI agent called to answer questions about personal messages on his devices that were removed by authorities.

Agent Erika Jensen’s job was to establish that Hunter Biden had a drug problem when he bought the gun in October 2018. Prosecutors don’t need to prove that he was using it the day he bought the gun, just that he was using it generally at the time. of the purchase when he is accused of having lied on the form.

Lowell examined a large number of Hunter Biden’s messages with the agent to establish that there were few messages that involved seeking or using drugs in the weeks prior to the gun purchase. The defense attorney also raised questions about how the FBI could prove that Hunter Biden was being truthful with his family when he sent text messages about seeking or using drugs.

Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, is questioning Erika Jensen, an FBI agent assigned to the case.

Previously, Lowell pointed to several purchases by Hunter at liquor stores in October 2018, the month he purchased the gun. Lowell suggested that references in Biden’s book to “relapse” refer to alcohol abuse, not drug use.

Lowell asked Jensen about text message exchanges that prosecutors say show evidence of Biden’s drug use in 2018 and 2019. Lowell pointed to a November 2018 message to Hallie Biden — the widow of Beau Biden, with whom Hunter Biden had a relationship after his brother’s death – in which Hunter confessed: “I’m drunk.”

Lowell also questioned Jensen about bank statements that show withdrawals of large sums of money from Hunter Biden’s bank accounts. Prosecutors suggested he withdrew cash to buy drugs. Lowell implied through his questioning that President Joe Biden’s son spent the money on rent and other living expenses, drug treatment, child support, tuition for his children and helping family members with their finances.

Biden Hunter He was accused of three crimes arising from the purchase of the Colt revolver when he was, according to his memories, addicted to crack.

He was accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer by making a false statement on the application that he was not a drug user and had possessed the gun illegally for 11 days.

The first day of testimony in the case brought back painful memories for President Joe Biden and his family and revealed new and highly personal details about some of his struggles with addiction as the 2024 election approaches.

For part of the day, first lady Jill Biden watched from the front row of the courtroom.