Hunter Biden trial: Key takeaways from ex-wife’s testimony in felony gun case
Kathleen Buhle, who was married to Biden for over two decades, testified that she first learned of his drug use in July 2015 when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on the side porch of their home.
Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial resumed Wednesday in Wilmington, Del., where his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan were called by the prosecution to testify about his drug use.
President Biden’s 54-year-old son is facing three felony charges over whether he lied about his addiction to crack while applying to purchase a firearm six years ago. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege that Biden falsely claimed he was not a drug user on the application and illegally possessed the handgun for 11 days. He faces up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if found guilty of all three charges.
Here’s what happened in court on Wednesday.
Hunter Biden’s ex-wife took the stand
Buhle was called to the stand after the prosecution’s first witness, FBI special agent Erika Jensen, concluded her testimony.
Under direct examination, Buhle, who was married to Biden for over two decades, testified that she first learned of his drug use in July 2015, when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on the side porch of their home.
Buhle said she found drugs in Biden's car multiple times — including in 2018, the year he bought the gun — and would check his car for paraphernalia before their daughters used it. She described his demeanor at the time as “angry” and “short-tempered.”
Under cross-examination from defense attorney Abbe Lowell, Buhle conceded that she did not know exactly when she checked Biden’s car and found drug paraphernalia — and that she never witnessed him doing drugs.
Biden's ex-girlfriend testifies that she helped him buy drugs
Zoe Kestan, an ex-girlfriend of Hunter Biden’s, was called by prosecutors to the witness stand after Buhle. Kestan recalled how she first met Hunter in December 2017 at a gentlemen’s club where she worked..
Kestan said she found Biden to be “charming,” playing a Fleet Foxes song for her when the music was turned off at the club.
The same night, she said she witnessed him smoking what she assumed was crack cocaine from a pipe.
As their relationship progressed, Kestan testified that Biden’s crack use became more frequent and that she once witnessed him smoking it “every 20 minutes or so.”
Kestan also testified that she helped him buy drugs, bringing a drug dealer to meet him at his hotel and using his mobile banking app to get cash from an ATM.
First lady Jill Biden is in court again today
First lady Jill Biden returned to court for the third consecutive day to support Hunter Biden.
Jill Biden left Tuesday's proceedings early to return to Washington, D.C., to attend the annual White House congressional picnic. But she was back at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Del., early Thursday.
Hunter Biden’s current wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and younger sister, Ashley Biden, were also in court to support him this week.
President Biden is not planning to attend the trial but did release a rare statement on Monday about the case.
“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” Biden said. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
Jury selection concluded Monday with 12 jurors and four alternates seated after being questioned about their relationships to people struggling with addiction. One juror was dismissed prior to opening arguments on Tuesday.
Hunter Biden’s trial comes just days after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 charges of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star whose alleged affair with him threatened to torpedo his 2016 election campaign.
