WILMINGTON, Del. Biden HunterNaomi’s eldest daughter took the stand in her father’s defense on Friday, telling the court how her father appeared to have taken control of his drug use months before prosecutors said he lied on a drug verification form. government background.
“He looked the clearest I’d seen him since my uncle died, and he looked really great,” she said of visiting him during a stint in rehab in Los Angeles with her then-boyfriend Peter Neal.
Hunter Biden wiped away tears as she testified that she was proud of him.
Naomi Biden told the court that she saw her father again just a few months later in New York when he came to pick up his truck after she and Neal borrowed it.
“He looked great. He seemed hopeful,” the younger Biden said of the visit, which occurred some time after his father purchased the gun at the center of the case against him.
Her memories became more complicated for her father’s defense when she was questioned. Biden is accused of illegally purchasing a Colt Cobra gun and lying about his drug use on a federal form. His brother’s widow, with whom he maintained a romantic relationship later Beau BidenThe defendant’s death witnessed the discovery of the weapon inside a truck – belonging to the defendant – filled with “remains” of drugs, before throwing it away. Biden has pleaded not guilty to three charges.
President Joe Biden said in an interview that he would not pardon his son, who faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison if found guilty.
Behind the defendant sat First Lady Jill Biden, who came from France and is expected to return to Europe on Saturday. Hunter held her hand as he left the courtroom after his daughter’s testimony, with his wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden, walking behind him.
Before the government rested its case Friday morning, a drug enforcement agent testified in court that Hunter Biden’s texts presented by prosecutors were linked to drug use and trafficking, and a forensic chemist testified about the small amount of white powder found in the bag in which Biden stored his firearm.
Court was adjourned Friday morning after the judge sent the jury home.
Here’s what you missed on Day 5 of the Hunter Biden trial:
Naomi’s testimony
Hunter Biden visited his daughter in New York in mid-October after she used his truck to help move her boyfriend into his apartment. Naomi Biden told the court that she probably only saw her father once during the three days he was there and acknowledged some difficulty coordinating with him, which she attributed in part to her commute to work in Brooklyn.
At one point, prosecutor Leo Wise asked about a late-night conversation with his father, who texted him at 2 a.m. asking “where are the keys to the truck?” and “Can Peter take it to 57 and 5, and I’ll swap cars with him?” Hunter Biden used Joe Biden’s Cadillac to make the trip to New York and they were supposed to switch, Naomi explained to the court, referring to her grandfather as “Pop.”
“Right now?” She had texted her father at the time, with no response. She said she never saw him use drugs.
Wise later asked Naomi about other messages from her father during her time in New York and how she seemed dismayed at not being able to contact him.
“I’m sorry dad, I can’t take this,” her message read after sending him a sad face emoji. “I don’t know what to say. I just want to hang out with you.
She also said she saw no drug residue in the car and no drug paraphernalia when she picked it up and returned it to him.
In what seemed like a particularly blunt moment, Wise asked Naomi if her father had told her that he was going to meet “someone named Franky” or that this person was going to come to his hotel room.
“I don’t remember,” she said.
A former girlfriend of Biden told the court in earlier testimony how, early in their relationship, she was introduced to someone of the same name who sold her drugs in New York.
As she left the courtroom, Naomi Biden wiped away a tear.
The defense chose not to put Hunter Biden’s uncle, James Bidenat the booth after the lunch break.
The prosecution closed the case
The government rested its case on Friday after presenting evidence from several witnesses who testified about Biden’s drug use, including an ex-girlfriend and his brother Beau’s widow.
On Thursday, Hallie Biden, the prosecution’s star witness, testified about Biden’s drug use and the day she remembered finding, throwing away, and then going to look for his gun in the trash can where the dropped.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers said Friday they would weigh the decision over the weekend on whether to put him on the stand when court resumes on Monday. The defense also said it would file a written motion Friday afternoon asking for acquittal, arguing that the case is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
