BBC
Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend has testified that she “panicked” when she searched his car and found a gun – a moment that set off a chaotic string of events that has brought the president’s son to a federal courtroom.
Hallie Biden, who is also the widow of the defendant’s late brother, said she discovered the revolver amid piles of clothes and litter in the console of Hunter Biden’s truck.
Ms Biden, 50, also told the court she was “embarrassed and ashamed” to have started smoking crack cocaine herself after Mr Biden, 54, introduced her to the drug.
It is the first trial for the son of a sitting US president. He could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to three charges related to his possession of a firearm while allegedly using narcotics.
He is accused of knowingly lying on federal paperwork when he purchased the revolver and ammunition from a gun shop in Wilmington, Delaware, on 12 October 2018.
His defence team says he was in recovery at the time, so was truthful when he indicated on the paperwork that he was not a drug user.
On Thursday, the court heard from a central figure in the case – Hallie Biden – who became romantically involved with the defendant shortly after the 2015 death of his brother and her husband, Beau Biden.
In an often emotional, detailed testimony, she spoke of the pair’s “volatile” and “off-on” relationship, as well as their struggles with drug use and agonising battles to recover.
Concerned after seeing Mr Biden looking “exhausted” and fearing he could have relapsed into crack use, Ms Biden told jurors she searched his truck early in the morning on 23 October 2018 – something she frequently did.
There, among piles of clothes and garbage, she found “remnants” of crack cocaine as well as drug paraphernalia.
