The weapons possession trial against Hunter Bidenson of the current president of the United States, Joe Bidenbegan this Monday in a court in Wilmington (Delaware) with the selection of the jury and with the presence of the American first lady, Jill Biden.
The panel is made up of 12 people, but four others were chosen as substitutes, the network noted. cnn.
Oral arguments are scheduled to begin this Tuesday.
Among the reasons why some people were rejected to be part of the jury was that they argued that they knew the Biden family “quite well” or that they could not be impartial because they already had an opinion of the accused based on what was published by the media.
Hunter Biden is the son of the president’s first wife, the late Neilia Biden, and could end up in prison if found guilty. The president’s current wife went to court to support him.
Is the first time in US history that the son of a sitting president faces trial which, in this case, can affect Joe Biden’s electoral campaign in the presidential elections on November 5 since the Republicans, especially donald trumpthey frequently use it as a weapon against them.
Biden’s son is accused of lying in October 2018 when he failed to acknowledge drug use on a form to purchase a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver, which he then kept for 11 days.
His lawyers asked to postpone the trial to have time to find more witnesses and review the evidence provided by prosecutors, but the Delaware district judge Maryellen Noreika rejected the request.
This Sunday, Noreika also dealt a setback to the defense of the president’s controversial son.
Noreika agreed to a request from the special prosecutor investigating the case, David Weissto prevent one of Hunter Biden’s experts, a Columbia University psychiatrist who would have tried to find loopholes in prosecutors’ claims that the president’s son knew he was an addict when he bought the gun, from testifying.
Lawyers were also prevented from using a key piece of evidence, in their view, an altered version of the federal firearms form that Hunter Biden filled out when he purchased the gun and that was modified in 2021 by store employees.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him for the illegal purchase and possession of weapons, which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, although the sentences are usually lower for those without a criminal record.
For lying on said form in a Wilmington store He is accused of two crimes for having made false statementsthe first for having checked a box where he assured that he was not addicted to drugs and the second for having provided that information knowing that it was false.
The third crime charged is possession of that weapon for 11 days.
Hunter Biden, 54, He publicly acknowledged that he had struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for decades.which was aggravated after the death of his brother Beau Biden in 2015 from a brain tumor.
When he bought the gun he was immersed in a spiral of depression after having divorced Kathleen Buhle, with whom he had three children and, in addition, he was going through a particularly difficult time due to his addiction to crack, as he narrated in his memoirs ‘Beautiful Things’, published in 2021.
The charges against him are the result of an investigation that was opened in 2018 during the Trump Administration (2017-2021) and that the former president himself, future Republican candidate for the November elections, has used to attack his opponent Biden. .
Joe Biden spoke this Monday about the beginning of the process without wanting to enter into evaluations: “As President, I do not and will not comment on pending federal cases, but as a father, I have boundless love for my son, trust in him, and respect for his strength.“he said in a text published shortly after the start.
The president’s son faces another trial in California in which he is accused of having evaded paying $1.4 million in taxes.
(With information from EFE)
