Hunter Biden gun trial recap: Witnesses give look into Hunter's drug use, gun sale (2024)

The jury got their first real glimpse of the case facing Hunter Biden Tuesday as prosecutors and defense attorneys walked through what they plan to lay out in the coming days.

Hunter Biden faces three felonies over whether he lied on a federal gun form in 2018 that asked if he was addicted to drugs. It is the first criminal case against the child of a sitting president in U.S. history.

And Wednesday featured an array of the prosecution's witnesses, including Hunter Biden's ex-wife and ex-girlfriend, who shined a light on his struggle with drug addiction and how he spent his money.

So far, jurors have heard from FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen, Biden's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan and Gordon Cleaveland, a gun shop employee who was working when Biden purchased his weapon.

Jurors have also seen a raft of text messages prosecutors say show drug use on Hunter Biden's part, as well as heard Hunter Biden's own voice describing his challenges with addiction in excerpts from his memoir played aloud in court.

DAY 2 RECAP: Hunter Biden trial: Court hears Biden memoir excerpts, text messages

Here's what happened Wednesday.

Prosecutors may rest case against Hunter Biden Thursday

At the close of testimony Thursday, prosecutor Derek Hines said the government has six witnesses remaining, all of whom will take less time than others, so the prosecution may finish its case Thursday.

Those witnesses include Hallie Biden and police officers responsible for finding Hunter Biden's gun after it was thrown in the trash at a local grocery store.

Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's defense attorney, is expected to call multiple witnesses, likely starting Friday.

--Xerxes Wilson

Wednesday's testimony closes with gun shop employee cross-examination

During the defense cross-examination, Gordon Cleveland was quizzed about why his coworkers call him the "whale hunter."

"That is what they call me because I sold high-end guns to customers," Cleveland said.

Defense Attorney Abbe Lowell pressed Cleveland on precisely how the sale occurred, what direction Hunter Biden entered the parking lot of the store and in what sequence he picked out items for sale.

His cross-examination will continue tomorrow.

--Xerxes Wilson

Gun shop employee says he watched Biden answer crucial question

Gordon Cleveland, a city of Wilmington employee, worked at StarQuest Shooters and Survival Supply in northern Delaware part-time in October 2018 when he noticed a man driving a black Cadillac pull into the shop.

It was Hunter Biden, who he said picked out a Colt Cobra .38 special. He said he watched as Hunter Biden answered where the form asked if he was an unlawful user of or addicted to controlled substances.

“He wrote no,” Cleveland testified.

Prosecutor Derek Hines asked if Hunter Biden sought any clarification or expressed confusion about what the terms of the question meant. Cleveland answered no. Prosecutors have said that answer is the root of two of the felony charges Hunter Biden faces.

Prosecutors call gun shop employee as next witness

Prosecutors have called to the witness stand Gordon Cleveland, the man who sold Hunter Biden the handgun at the center of this trial.

Cleveland is expected to testify about watching Hunter Biden fill out the form central to the criminal charges against him.

--Xerxes Wilson

Cross-examination of Hunter Biden's ex-girlfriend begins

Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's defense attorney, began his cross-examination of Zoe Kestan by establishing that she didn't speak to him from September to November 2018, the period in which he bought the gun central to the trial."You don’t have any idea what he was doing," Lowell asked, prompting her to confirm.He then asked about her immunity agreement, stating that it was necessary because she told prosecutors about things she did in violation of the law. This prompted prosecutors to object.After the sidebar, Lowell rephrased the question before asking her about discussions with federal investigators.

--Xerxes Wilson

Kestan describes moving to California with Biden

Kestan testified that her lease in New York was expiring, and Hunter Biden wanted to move to California to get sober so the two decided to move together in early 2018.

The plan was for Hunter Biden to go to California first and detox.

“It seems like the plan had gone out the window,” she said.

She testified that she arrived at the southern California bungalow he had rented to find drug paraphrenia, alcohol, food and two women that Hunter Biden said would not leave.

Prosecutors also presented a photo of Hunter Biden wearing a shirt with a marijuana leaf and the label “addicted” as a play on the Adidas logo.

“I thought that was funny because he didn’t smoke weed,” she said.

--Xerxes Wilson

Ex-girlfriend addresses Hunter Biden's cash withdrawals

Keston told the jury Hunter Biden would have her withdraw cash from his bank account multiple times.

She said he could use an app on his phone to issue a code to allow her to access his account at an ATM.

“He took out a lot of cash,” Kestan said. “I knew a good amount of it was for buying drugs.”

However, she also noted that he once withdrew $800 for her to go to Supreme and buy clothes for his kids.

She said he would also use his bank app to allow drug dealers to access his account for payment.

--Xerxes Wilson

Zoe Kestan testifies about drug use

Prosecutors are taking Kestan through her growing connection with Hunter Biden.

Kestan has described hotel stays in New York, where she lives, as well as Atlantic City. She said Hunter Biden used crack cocaine during these rendezvous through early 2018.

“I already felt myself really caring for him and starting the discussions about this addiction,” Kestan told the jury.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden's ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan describes meeting him at gentleman’s club

Zoe Kestan, an ex-girlfriend of Hunter Biden, took the stand next, testifying that she was working part-time in 2017 at a gentleman’s club in New York. She was about to clock out when she was asked to do one more private dance.

She said she and another woman entered the room to find Hunter Biden. She didn't know who he was. The club was getting ready to close and the music was off so Hunter Biden played a Fleet Foxes song on his phone.

The room had a balcony and she said Hunter Biden used it to smoke. She said she assumed it was crack cocaine.

“He was incredibly charming and charismatic, and I felt really safe around him,” Kestan said.

He asked her to return to his hotel. She declined but gave him her number and they would meet again.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden's ex-wife never saw him use drugs

Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, told jurors she searched his car for drug paraphernalia on occasions dating to 2019.

However, during cross-examination, she told the jury she wasn’t aware he was living in California in the summer of 2018 nor was she aware that he returned to Delaware in fall 2018.

She said she didn’t know the exact days she searched his vehicle. She added that she never actually saw Hunter Biden use drugs.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden's ex-wife talks searched his car after divorce

Kathleen Buhle told the jury she would search Hunter Biden’s car following their divorce in 2017 out of concern for their children.

“I would check the car to make sure they were not using the car with drugs in it,” she told the jury.

She said she continued to do these checks until 2019, following the period in which Hunter Biden purchased the gun.

This ended the prosecution's questioning before the defense had the opportunity to cross-exam Buhle.

--Xerxes Wilson

Ex-wife Kathleen Buhle testifies about discovering Hunter Biden's drugs

Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, told the jury about the first time she knew Hunter Biden was using drugs.

She said she found a pipe in the ashtray on the porch of their Washington D.C. home in July 2015 and confronted him about it.

“It was very short,” she said. “He acknowledged smoking crack.”

Buhle said she had feared he was using drugs since he was discharged from the Navy for testing positive for cocaine.

“I was worried, but I had no proof,” she said. “I was worried, scared.”

--Xerxes Wilson

Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, called to testify

Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, was called as the second witness in his federal trial on gun charges, where she is expected to testify about her complaints about his drug use.

The two were married from 1993 to 2017 and they have three children: Naomi, Finnegan and Maisey.

In 2022, Buhle published "If We Break: A Memoir of Marriage, Addiction, and Healing," which details Hunter Biden’s struggles with addiction.

Prosecutors have said she will testify that through 2018, she would search his vehicles because she didn’t want her children around drugs. She told investigators she discovered drugs in his vehicles on at least a dozen occasions, according to pretrial filings.

--Xerxes Wilson

'Do drug dealers accept credit cards?': Prosecutor asks FBI agent

Prosecutor Derek Hines continues questioning FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen about bank records, specifically transactions at liquor stores.

She noted that all the liquor store transactions were paid with check cards.

“Do drug dealers accept credit cards?” Hines asked Jensen.

Abbe Lowell, Biden’s defense attorney, has noted Hunter Biden also struggled with alcohol abuse at this time, but that is not part of the criminal charges in the trial. He's also sought to explain large cash transactions evidenced in bank records as being for things other than drug purchases.

Attorneys concluded their questioning of the FBI special agent who investigated Hunter Biden just before 11 a.m.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden paid bills with check card: FBI

FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen testified that Hunter Biden paid for rehabilitation services and an Airbnb in 2018 with a check card, according to bank statements submitted in his federal trial on gun charges.

Prosecutor Derek Hines highlighted the use of a check card after Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, had argued that Biden withdrew large sums of cash because he had no credit cards. Prosecutors have suggested Biden could have used the cash to buy drugs.

--Xerxes Wilson

Defense questions Hunter Biden texts implying drug use

FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen acknowledged during questions from defense lawyer Abbe Lowell that the bulk of Hunter Biden’s text messages referring to drug use occurred well before he bought the gun at issue in his federal trial, but two messages stood out.

One exception was a text to his sister-in-law, Hallie Biden, the week he bought the gun in October 2018 stating he was waiting on a dealer named Mookie. Another text stated he was smoking crack on a car.

Under Lowell’s questioning, Jensen said she didn’t know if Mookie actually exists and does not know whether Hunter Biden was actually smoking crack on a car at that time.

Jensen also testified she did not investigate to what extent Hunter Biden was spending money to help his family members, pay for his children’s tuition and other living expenses.

--Xerxes Wilson

FBI Agent: descriptions of October 2018 drug use not in memoir

FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen testified she had no recollection of descriptions of drug use in Hunter Biden’s memoir from the same month as he purchased the gun central to the case.

Hunter Biden’s defense attorney Abbe Lowell noted that the agent pulled excerpts that have “granular” descriptions of drug use in 2017 and early 2018, asking if she would have included such examples in evidence from October 2018 if they existed.

“It would have been added if they were there, that’s fair,” Jensen said.

This is part of a defense strategy that seeks to create distance from Hunter Biden’s admitted drug use from October 2018 as a way of arguing he didn’t knowingly lie about being a drug user or being addicted to drugs when he purchased the gun.

--Xerxes Wilson

Cross-examination of FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen to continue

Trial testimony will continue Wednesday morning with the special agent who investigated the case on the stand.To recap, prosecutors on Tuesday used her testimony primarily to introduce dozens of text messages and photos of drugs pulled from Hunter Biden’s phone account and laptop hard drive.

The agent testified that the messages show him arranging drug deals and discussing drug use in the months leading up to and following the October 2018 gun purchase central to the trial.

The messages also include missives sent days before the gun purchase in which he claims he was smoking crack and waiting on a drug dealer.

They also introduced dozens of book excerpts in which Hunter Biden discusses his struggles with drug abuse.At the end of Tuesday’s trial proceeding, Abbe Lowell, began his cross-examination, seeking to emphasize that most of the messages far predate or come after the gun purchase.

During opening arguments, Lowell claimed Hunter Biden was in recovery when he purchased the gun and did not knowingly lie on the gun form central to the trial.

--Xerxes Wilson

Who might testify Wednesday?

Abbe Lowell will continue his cross-examination of Jensen Wednesday.

Then, if prosecutors call witnesses in the order they outlined to the jury in opening statements, Kathleen Buhle, Hunter's ex-wife will testify, followed by Zoe Kestan, his ex-girlfriend and then Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden's former lover and his brother's widow.

It's unclear if prosecutors will call those witnesses in that order or how many witnesses the trial will get through Wednesday.

--Xerxes Wilson

Who is FBI agent Erika Jensen?

Erika Jensen is an FBI agent who has served for 20 years and was assigned to Biden's case in the fall of 2023,NBC News reported.

Jensen is also the subject of an HBO limited series by"The Wire" creator David Simon, "We Own This City." She ran an investigation into the Baltimore Police Department Gun Trace Task Force. Eight officers were convicted as a result of the investigation, for charges on racketeering, robbery, extortion and overtime fraud charges, according toNBC affiliate WBFF.

WHAT TO KNOW: The first witness in Hunter Biden's trial is an FBI agent who was portrayed in an HBO show

--Kinsey Crowley