Members of the Biden family sitting in a Wilmington courtroom for the start of Hunter Biden’s gun trial on Monday share many of the difficulties as the jurors who will weigh the fate of the president’s son. Hunter Biden himself is a former drug addict, who is on trial for illegal gun possession and making false statements. He is divorced and remarried. He has experienced death, like when his brother died of a brain tumor in 2015.
Hunter Biden is also the president’s son; a distinction that was impossible to ignore, as jurors repeatedly cited members of the Biden family during jury selection, or sheepishly admitted that: yes, they once donated to a political campaign — and yes — it was to the “Bidens.”
Looking over his peach-colored glasses, Hunter sat bolt upright as dozens of potential jurors passed through Judge Maryellen Norieka’s courtroom during a sometimes grueling selection process. Noon had already passed when Hunter’s lead lawyer, Abbe Lowell, gently asked, “As for the schedule, we’re wondering, I forgot whether there should be a lunch break today or not?”
Seated behind him were not only the lawyers, reporters and cartoonists who normally pack the courtroom for high-profile cases, but also first lady Jill Biden, who hugged her son, her sister and even her son-in-law.
It was an emotional scene in a historic case in which the president’s son faces up to 25 years in prison. The first lady described the accusations as “cruel” in an interview with MSNBC earlier this year. She sat directly behind her son, closely observing the process and offering support to him and other family members.
Sometimes she shook her head, as she did when a former police officer, a potential juror, described the case on the news. The first lady also sometimes put her arm around Melissa Cohen-Biden, Hunter’s wife.
“We’ll be here tomorrow,” Melissa Cohen-Biden muttered softly to the advocacy group later in the day.
Here’s what you missed on the first day of Hunter Biden’s trial:
Jury sworn in
When voir dire began Monday morning, there were dozens of potential jurors in the benches of Judge Maryellen Noreika’s courtroom. In the end, a jury of twelve people – including six men and six women – and four alternates were sworn in. The group included an Obama voter, gun owners and people who have seen addiction up close.
The jurors — who said they receive news from a variety of sources, including broadcast, cable TV and even YouTube — are prohibited from researching and talking about the case. This includes one juror who reported that she learned the trial would be underway from her father this morning while on her way to court.
Noreika told the panel to ignore targeted ads, or pop-up ads, as they use the Internet, warning that “even foreign governments” may try to “influence” or “persuade” them during the trial.
During the selection process, Hunter’s lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, analyzed jurors’ personal opinions about firearms, including whether they considered it appropriate for drug users or alcoholics to have access to them. Lowell also sought clarity about what exactly the people who expressed some knowledge of the case understood — and where they got the news from.
If they or a family member had purchased a gun, they would be asked whether they had passed a background check. Hunter faces three felony charges related to purchasing a gun in which he failed to disclose his drug addiction.
One potential juror was left angry after explaining how he discovered “there was supposed to be a deal” in the case last year, “then the deal was not accepted by the judge.” Lowell suggested that she was unsure whether she could be impartial and decided to attack the person for cause.
“When you say you think you could be fair and impartial, it gives people heartburn,” Lowell said. “I know she corrected herself later and said ‘I think’.”
Another potential juror promised to be impartial after explaining how he believed U.S. government agencies such as the DOJ and FBI had pursued politicized cases, including those involving former President Donald Trump, and cited the Steele dossier and the recent conviction of Trump in a secret affair in New York. . This person was not chosen.
The Biden family appears
Before Hunter stepped into the courtroom on Monday, a powerful quorum of allies and family was ready to surround and support him. First to arrive were Hunter’s sister, Ashley, and Kevin Morris, an entertainment lawyer who is helping pay the president’s son’s legal fees.
Peter Neal, Hunter’s son-in-law, exchanged notes in a notebook with Morris. Morris could be seen writing on post-it notes that he handed to the defense. There was also Jack Owens, Biden’s brother-in-law, duly recognized by a potential juror who tended a bar that Owens, the brother of Biden’s sister Valerie, frequented in Kennett Square.
Joe Biden’s longtime friend Richard “Mouse” Smith, president of the Delaware NAACP branch, was also among the group’s ranks. Smith, who has known the president since they met at a Delaware pool when they were teenagers, hugged Hunter during a break in the morning proceedings.
A family source said they expected a “steady stream” of friends and family to be present throughout the trial.
Also present was David Weiss, the special counsel appointed by Trump, who arrived at the court after the first break and was present until the end. He scanned the room, looking at the ceiling, the jury, or the press.
It was impossible to ignore the contrast with Trump, who saw high-profile aides and defenders flood the courtroom behind him during his secret trial in New York last month. Days passed before members of Trump’s family joined him in the courtroom of Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the case. Melania Trump, his wife, never showed up.
Delaware Degrees of Separation
A former police officer described himself as an acquaintance of Jill Biden from the time he worked at the same school. “And I met her husband,” added the man, who was not stuffed.
Asked what he knew about the case, another man explained that Delaware was not a place where local news went unnoticed. “I live in Delaware; you can’t shake a cat without hearing something,” he said.
Others said they were more closely associated with the Biden family, not just passing colleagues but family friends, the kind you might say “hello” to socially, one woman said. She added that her husband was “very good friends with Beau” as she choked up.
Another juror, who described playing in a squash tournament at Wilmington Country Club with Beau in 2010, said he coached Beau’s son “a few times” in baseball, basketball and flag football. His wife is also “very good friends” with Hallie Biden due to her connection to a private college prep school in the area, he said.
“The connection at Tatnall School is strong,” the man explained. He admitted the connection would make it difficult for him to remain impartial in the case.
Sometimes this familiarity was more prosaic, as when a potential juror who was shot told Lowell about his familiarity with the location of the supermarket where Hunter’s gun was found.
But it was impossible to escape the presence of the first family, their influence and long history hanging over the court.
At one point, Noreika repeated a statement made by a woman who said she knew the Bidens and felt sorry for Hunter: “Don’t you think it’s easy being the president’s son?”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
