Three of Hunter Biden’s exes, including his brother’s widow, will testify at his federal gun charges trial next month – a new filing from the prosecution indicates.
Special counsel David Weiss, who brought the three gun-related charges against Mr Biden last September, indicated he will present personal testimony from the three unnamed witnesses to speak about Mr Biden’s substance use disorder in and around October 2018 – a fact that is crucial to the heart of the case.
Though the three witnesses are unnamed in the filing, Mr Weiss provided enough information to conclude that the witnesses are likely Kathleen Buhle Mr Biden’s ex-wife; Hallie Biden, his late brother’s widow whom he dated briefly; and Lunden Roberts, a woman whom Mr Biden fathered a child with.
Mr Biden had separate romantic relationships with all three women shortly before, during, or directly after October 2018 when prosecutors allege he illegally purchased a firearm.
Their testimony will corroborate the government’s claim that Mr Biden “chose to lie on a federal background check form… by falsely stating he was not an unlawful user of a controlled substance or an addict” when purchasing a gun.
Ms Buhle, who was married to Mr Biden from 1993 until 2017, will testify about finding “drugs or paraphernalia” in her ex-husband’s vehicle “on approximately a dozen occasions” throughout 2018.
Though the two were divorced at the time, Ms Buhle allegedly checked Mr Biden’s vehicle periodically because “she did not want their children in a vehicle with drugs.”
Hallie Biden, who was married to Beau Biden until he died in 2015, dated Hunter Biden from 2016 until 2019. According to prosecutors, she observed Mr Biden “using drugs on multiple occasions” and searched his bags, vehicle, and backpacks “in an effort to help him get sober”.
Mr Biden lived with Hallie and her children for some time.
Prosecutors allege Hallie removed the alleged gun Mr Biden purchased from his vehicle in October 2018 and “discarded” it in an outdoor trash container.
Prosecutors say Ms Roberts, who was in a brief romantic relationship with Mr Biden between December 2017 and October 2018, “observed [Mr Biden] using crack cocaine frequently – every 20 minutes except when he slept”.
In addition to the three women’s testimony, Mr Weiss said the prosecution will provide excerpts from Mr Biden’s 2021 memoir and audiobook Beautiful Things, in which he detailed his “nearly four years of active addiction”.
The government’s evidence and witness testimony will support their claim that Mr Biden knowingly lied on a firearm background check form and to a firearms dealer while purchasing the gun.
Mr Biden is charged with three federal charges: making false statements during a background check, making false statements on a background check form, and illegal possession of a firearm.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
