Yeah, but the MAGA crowd doesn’t see that. Hell, Trump has been on Fox stating that he never said “lock her up,” despite there being video recordings of him saying that.
No offense or anything, but so what?
What are you gonna do?
Those idiots are going to say whatever they’re going to say.
Oh, I know there’s not really anything I can do. Doesn’t stop me from trying, though.
I’m not saying don’t try. I’m saying “Don’t alter your course due to what some deranged idiot might say.”
My understanding is that a common recovery mantra is one is always an addict no matter how long one remains clean. Which means that the question could disqualify someone 20 years clean.
Perhaps an angle for the defense to try. Basically say that the prosecution is trying to prove that ANY recovering or recovered addict, even 20 years clean can NEVER answer that poorly written question honestly with a “no”. Explain that would even apply to someone who puffed on a joint 30 years ago when they were 18.
The entire charges are ludicrous. If you live in a legal marijuana state and do a firearm transfer or purchase, and have smoked pot, you have violated this law.
I bought a gun on line, had it shipped to a local gun shop, as required. Then I go in for the FBI NICS check and form. The guy pointed out the check box to me and said, “if you mark yes then I can’t do the gun transfer,” Filled out the form, paid my $35 and away I went.
I imagine thousands, and thousands of gun purchurers have done the same.
Tens of millions of Americans have shoplifted and gotten away with it. This is no excuse if you are arrested for shoplifting, nor should it be. (Although it may be a reason to make the punishment mild.)
Does anyone know if the judge will allow the defense attorney to talk and ask about pot? I hope not. It is relevant to an internet discussion, but not to this trial.
No, it could not, because of how prosecutorial discretion is exercised.
Don’t believe me? Good. Before filling out a form 4473, consult an attorney. If you are an attorney, consult another attorney as it is hard to look at your own behavior objectively.
If you are a recent American cocaine user, you are fueling a drug war in Mexico (and to a lesser extent, fueling violence in the U.S.). IMHO, people doing that lack the high level of personal integrity appropriate for those who own guns. Like shoplifters, they get away with it almost every time. That’s unfortunate.
Oh man. This sentence. I am dead.
If Hunter was a recent user of American made meth then, clearly, he’s not a bad as a coke/crackhead!
This is a missed opportunity for “Buy American” advertising.
Of course.
That doesn’t mean it couldn’t. It just means it wouldn’t.
Unless of course the prosecutors had another agenda unrelated to normal prosecutorial practice.
per cnn:
The fourth day of trial in the Hunter Biden case is underway in Delaware.
The gun shop employee who testified about selling the gun at the center of the case to Hunter Biden is set to continue his testimony. Prosecutors have said they expect to conclude their case today.
Les Wire, one of the prosecutors, said Hallie Biden, who was married to Beau Biden and was once in a relationship with Hunter Biden, will be the second witness today.
per cnn:
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell is again drawing the distinction between the use of “have” and “are” on the federal form Hunter Biden allegedly filled out when buying a gun.
In questioning the former gun shop employee who says he sold the gun, Lowell is noting that the form asks, “are you an unlawful user” or addiction to “illegal drugs.”
Lowell has suggested prosecutors have not proved Hunter Biden was using drugs when he bought the revolver or didn’t see himself as being “addicted to” drugs at that moment.
Gordon Cleveland was about to say something on the stand about potential problems with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) paperwork, which could’ve opened the door for the defense to bring up the fact that the gun employees later altered the form.
Prosecutors objected several times, and the judge sustained their objections, cutting off Cleveland from answering Abbe Lowell’s questions.
More context: The store’s tampering with the form – in 2021, years after the sale – is important to the defense. But the judge has previously limited their ability to delve into the issue in front of the jury.
Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter Biden’s late brother, Beau, has been called to testify by prosecutors.
Prosecutors have said Hallie Biden — who dated Hunter during the time he purchased the firearm – will testify about when he owned the firearm and how she took it from his car and tossed it in a dumpster outside of a grocery store in Wilmington, Delaware.
One of my employees got caught up in a semantics issue like that. Her bartender’s license renewal was denied and when I called the city to ask why, I was told that she had a DUI and lied about it on the form. When I asked her about it, she told me what happened and I called the city back to explain to them that the form says “Have you been convicted of [crimes], she’s been accused of driving under the influence, but the court date isn’t for several months, she hasn’t been convicted of it, she didn’t lie on the form”.
She did end up getting her license and the city added another question. In addition to the “Have you been convicted…” question, it now also asks if there are any pending charges against you. I suspect the gun application will probably be reworded as well.
Am I misremembering or was he recently out of rehab when he bought the gun? If he was, I could certainly see him saying he’s not addicted to or using drugs.
Is that new information? Granted this case is [checks thread start date] almost 5 years in the making, but I don’t remember hearing that.
“We don’t want drug users and addicts buying guns, Bob, draft me a form they have to sign that will weed out those people.”
“Sure boss, you want me to define those terms?”
“No need, I’m sure it will be perfectly clear.”
“Have you used illegal drugs in the last year?”
Maybe not exactly that, but something that doesn’t allow you to check ‘no’ because you’re not high while filling out the form.
Glancing at the from, under the question “Are you an unlawful user of [drugs]”, is “Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution”
Rewording the drug question to be similar to that question would have prevented Hunter from buying the gun. “Have you ever…” is going to catch a lot more people than “Are you…”.
per cnn:
Hallie Biden also testified that she had conversations with Hunter Biden between 2017 and 2018 about his drug use, telling him “this can’t go on, we can’t do this.”
Hunter Biden’s responses would vary, sometimes saying, “leave me alone, I’m fine” and other times saying he was an addict and that I’ll figure it out my way,” she testifies.
In court, Hunter Biden has been watching Hallie Biden diligently as she testifies.
Asked to describe Hunter Biden, Hallie Biden said “he’s my brother-in-law.”
Regarding their romantic relationship, which began after Beau Biden died in 2015, Hallie Biden said “it was gradual.”
Hallie Biden said she “occasionally” saw Hunter Biden with very large crack rocks that were the size of a ping-pong ball.
Hallie Biden testified that Hunter Biden introduced her to crack in 2018, and she abused the drug.
“It was a terrible experience that I went through. I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed and I regret that period of my life,” she said.
She said she quit in August 2018.
This admission came moments after Hallie Biden described visiting Hunter Biden in Los Angeles in June 2018 at the Roosevelt Hotel. She saw him using crack there on a “frequent” basis.
On October 23, 2018, Hallie Biden says she went to clean out Hunter Biden’s truck while he was asleep and found drugs and a gun.
“I did find some remnants of crack cocaine” and drug paraphernalia, she said.
“Oh, and the gun, obviously,” Hallie Biden said, chuckling.
Hallie Biden said this was the first time she ever saw a gun up close.
Presented the gun by prosecutors and asked if it was the one she found, Hallie Biden said she “can’t know, but that looks like it.”
She described her first reaction upon discovering the gun and bullets: “I panicked and wanted to get rid of them.”
“I didn’t want him to hurt himself” or for her kids to hurt themselves, she testified.
“I was afraid to kinda touch it. I didn’t know if it was loaded,” she said.
The defense argues the gun was never loaded at any point in time.