In his opening statements on Tuesday for his trial in Delaware federal court, his attorney testified that Hunter Biden did n’t knowingly lie when he filled out a form to purchase a gun in 2018 and checked a box claiming he was n’t using drugs.
” He did n’t knowingly violate the law”, Biden’s lead defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told the jury as the unprecedented criminal trial for the son of a sitting president started. ” Hunter is facing charges that are not small. They are significant”.
When Biden answered “no” to a query about whether he was an active, immoral person of any controlled substance, his defence to an accusation brought by Special Counsel David Weiss appears to rely on a specialized reading of the kind. Lowell disregarded the explanation on the kind, saying that the law only asks a person if they “are” using medicines and prohibits somebody who “is” using them.
The judge was chosen on Monday to determine the first of two legal cases involving the only living child of President Joe Biden. In Los Angeles, in September, a new tax-related test is scheduled.
The politically charged test comes after former president Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying company information in connection with hush-money payments made to a porn star before the 2016 election. The anticipated 2024 presidential poll faceoff between Trump and the older Biden could become more uncertain because of the two fugitive cases, both of which are extraordinary.
According to Lowell, the prosecution wo n’t be able to establish beyond a shadow Hunter Biden’s mind when he filled out the form. He said there’s no doubt that Biden, 54, used drugs in the time before and after the purchase, but did n’t believe that he was lying on the day he bought the gun.
Prosecutors intend to make what they consider to be a simple circumstance.
” No one is above the law”, counsel Derek Hines said in his opening remarks. ” It does n’t matter who you are or what your name is”.
According to Hines, the law does n’t demand that the trial show that he was using drugs on the day he purchased the gun.
” If he had told the truth about his habit, he would not have been able to buy the gun”, Hines said. ” Living when buying a weapon is a choice, but habit may not be a decision.”
Hines said that Biden continued to use medication while he was in possession of the cannon until his ex-girlfriend took it away from him 11 days later.
Although judges often impose maximum sentences, some gun counts can be as long as 10 years, and others can be as many as five.
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