Hunter Biden’s former sister-in-law and ex-girlfriend Hallie Biden has testified about her chaotic relationship with the president’s son at his federal gun trial in Wilmington, Delaware.
Hunter stands accused of having lied about his drug use on a form to buy a firearm on 12 October 2018. The prosecution has attempted to prove to the jury that Biden was aware that he struggled with substance abuse at the time.
His defense has argued that when he bought the gun, which he only had for 11 days before it was discarded, he wasn’t actively using illicit drugs.
Hallie, the widow of Hunter’s brother Beau Biden, testified that she has known Hunter since middle school, adding that their relationship began in late 2015 or early 2016 following the death of her husband.
She agreed it was sometimes “intense” but always “complicated.”
She began her testimony on Thursday by saying that she initially found crack cocaine in her house in Wilmington, Delaware, the city where the trial is taking place. She had to google it to understand what it was but Hunter also didn’t deny it, instead telling her what it was.
Having gotten married over the weekend, Hallie was accompanied to court by her new husband, whom she stole glances at during her testimony for support.
Both the prosecution and the defense focused heavily on the events surrounding 23 October 2018 when Hallie found the gun and worried someone might get hurt, drove to a nearby market, and disposed of it in a trashcan.
When Hunter realized the firearm was gone, he told Hallie to go back and get it, but when she got back to the grocery store, it was gone. Hallie filed a police report regarding the missing gun alongside shop staff, and police were able to locate an elderly man going through trash for recyclables as being the one having removed it.
Also testifying on Thursday were Gordon Cleveland, the then-salesman at the StarQuest gun shop where Hunter bought the gun in 2018, Joshua Marley, one of the officers called to the scene after the gun vanished at Janssen’s Market, Miller Greer, the investigator who located the gun after it had been removed from the trashcan, and Edward Banner, the elderly man gathering recyclables who found the gun and brought it home.
The President’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens walked in about an hour into the proceedings and sat mostly stony-faced throughout Hallie’s testimony alongside Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen. Hunter spoke with his lawyers during Hallie’s testimony but mostly looked down, at times clasping his hands in front of his face.
Hallie testified she saw Hunter use drugs in Washington, DC, and was also present for him buying drugs, which she said ranged in size from smaller than a marble to larger than a ping pong ball. She added that she saw his behavior change, that he became “agitated” and “high-strung” but also that he was “functioning.”
“This can’t go on, we can’t do this,” she texted him, telling the court that Hunter was often in denial about his substance abuse.
"Leave me alone, I’m fine, I’ll figure it out my way," he replied.
Crack and alcohol were both "issues" during the relationship, Hallie testified.
She also spoke of her drug use which began after she was introduced to crack cocaine by Hunter.
"It was a terrible experience, I’m ashamed and I regret that period of my life,” she said on Thursday.
But the key issue during Thursday’s testimony was the finding and the discarding of the 38 Colt Special as well as the ammunition and a speedloader.
"I panicked and I wanted to get rid of them because I didn’t want him to hurt himself or my kids to hurt themselves,” she told the court.
"I was so flustered ... I realize it was a stupid idea now,” she added.
While she said Hunter “looked like he hadn’t slept” when she first saw him on 22 or 23 October 2018, she was unable to outline large parts of the timeline of events under intense questioning from the defense.
She explained that it was a “typical pattern” that she and at times her children would clean out his car of drugs and paraphernalia and that it was during one of these searches that the gun was found.
Hallie appeared calm on the stand but also spoke with some hesitancy. When she left the room after her hours-long testimony, she briefly looked at the defense’s table but then averted her gaze as she got closer while Hunter looked at his desk.
In the lead-up to the discarding of the gun, Hallie appeared increasingly concerned for Hunter’s wellbeing.
“I just want to help you get sober,” she wrote to him in the preceding days. “I’m afraid you’re going to die.”
On Thursday, Hallie shared that she was concerned that Hunter may die by suicide.
While at the grocery store, Hallie told Hunter to “check yourself into a local rehab.”
“I don’t want to live like this anymore,” she said later.
“Who in their right mind would trust you to help me get sober,” Hunter wrote at one point.
