Crime
Hunter Biden Trial: Ex-Girlfriend Testifies About Alleged Drug Use & Firearm Possession in Landmark Case
Hunter Biden's ex-girlfriend testifies in trial, alleging frequent crack cocaine use. Biden faces charges related to firearm possession while using narcotics, potentially facing up to 25 years in prison if found guilty.
5 min read
Originally published by nationnews.com (opens in new tab)
Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend has told a jury he was abusing crack cocaine “every 20 minutes or so” when they first met.
The US president’s son is on trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on charges related to his possession of a firearm while allegedly using narcotics.
Zoe Kestan, who met Mr Biden, 54, during a “private dance” at a “gentleman’s club” in New York, told the court he was often withdrawing cash for drug deals.
It is the first criminal trial for the son of a sitting US president.
He is accused of knowingly lying on federal paperwork when he said he was not a drug user in order to buy a revolver and ammunition from a Wilmington gun shop on 12 October 2018, as well as illegally having the gun for 11 days.
Mr Biden could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of all three federal counts in the case.
He has pleaded not guilty and his legal team says he was in recovery at the time he bought the weapon.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case on Thursday after calling on another six witnesses, including Hallie Biden, Mr Biden’s former partner and the widow of his brother, as well as Delaware state police officers, a DEA agent and a forensic expert.
Among the other prosecution witnesses was Gordon Cleveland, the former employee of the gun store who sold Mr Biden the gun in 2018.
In his testimony on Wednesday, Mr Cleveland said he told Mr Biden – and all other customers – to “truthfully” fill out the form.
The prosecution is trying to prove that Hunter Biden, who wrote a memoir about his drug addiction, was abusing crack cocaine at the time he bought the weapon.
During opening remarks earlier this week, Mr Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, told jurors that the revolver was an impulse buy stemming from the tactics of a pushy salesman – Mr Cleveland.
In his testimony, Mr Cleveland acknowledged his reputation as a “whale hunter” known for being able to “sell whatever you had”, mostly expensive, high-quality guns.
He denied, however, ever trying to “upsell” Mr Biden, who he claimed had come into the store and “brought up” buying a gun, specifically a revolver.
On Wednesday, the defendant’s stepmother, US first lady Jill Biden, was again in court.
She sat in the first row behind Hunter Biden, along with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and a Secret Service agent.
