Can it be proved that a gun was never loaded? That seems like a bold claim to make. I would think that the gun and clip could be analyzed for scratches and marks which would indicate that it had ammo in it at one point. And if it was ever fired, I would expect that would easily be discovered.
Does it make a difference if the gun was ever loaded?
Not necessarily, but if the defense says “the gun was never loaded”, they are opening themselves up to being disproved. If the prosecution can prove that the gun was loaded (or fired), they can show that the defense’s statement was untrue. It would have been safer for the defense to say something like “the gun was never stored with ammo in it”.
Is an addiction expert on the defense’s witness list? I can assure the board, with 100% confidence, that addicts deny their own addiction. There can even be sporadic moments of clarity where the addiction is admitted, but they go away. “I made too big a deal out of it. I’m fine. Everyone leave me the fuck alone and worry about yourselves.” Any day when you don’t use, we’ll, that means you’re not a user.
And the delusion is real, and fully embraced and believed. It has to be, so you can continue using.
I have zero doubts that an addict like Hunter could have answered those questions as he did, believing it was truthful. I don’t know if he did, but it is extremely plausible. I defy the prosecution to find a reputable addiction “expert” who would dare to refute this. And I’ll bet most or all of the jurors know someone who has exhibited exactly that kind of behavior.
The Dope lacks a coterie of sufficiently pedantic 2ndA people, so I feel like I must 
HB’s handgun was a revolver, so – technically – no clip magazine; instead, a cylinder.
[/PEDANTRY]
per cnn:
Hallie Biden said that she decided to get rid of the gun and found a gift shopping bag but realized that the gun was too visible and started looking for something to use in Hunter Biden’s case.
In his truck, Hallie Biden said she found a pouch to put it in and said Hunter Biden would use the pouches for different items, including drugs.
Prosecutors say that a white powder was analyzed in 2023 from the pouch and tested positive for cocaine. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell suggested in opening statements that the pouch was Hallie Biden’s.
Hallie described throwing out the gun.
“I took it to a grocery store up the road and I threw it away … into a trash can,” she said.
Prosecutors played surveillance footage of her in the supermarket parking lot throwing out the gun.
“I was so flustered,” she said. “I realize it was a stupid idea now.”
They also showed footage of her inside the store, called Jansen’s.
Hallie Biden said she later went back to the grocery store to look for the gun she thew out.
The jury was shown security footage of Hallie Biden hurriedly looking through trash bins outside, going back and forth between different bins five times.
Hallie Biden said she went inside to ask employees if the trash had been taken out and later filed a police report.
Prosecutors showed the jury some very personal messages from the critical period when Hunter Biden owned the gun.
“I’m afraid you are going to die,” the text said, from Hallie Biden to Hunter Biden on October 4, 2018.
Prosecutor Leo Wise asked if she was afraid of him dying from an “overdose.”
“Maybe. Suicide. I didn’t know,” she said, haltingly.
Hallie Biden described the immediate fallout after Hunter Biden realized that she threw out his gun.
“He was angry with me,” she testified.
Their frantic texts from that day – which are being shown to the jury – show a scramble to deal with the matter.
“The fucking FBI, Hallie, its hard to believe anyone is that stupid,” Hunter Biden texted.
“I’m sorry, I just want you safe. That was not safe,” she replied in the text.
All of these text messages from the day Hallie Biden trashed the gun were found by investigators on Hunter Biden’s laptop, they say.
rc: seriously! who throws out a gun in the trash! even if the rubbish bin isn’t yours. that just puts the gun in the wild. anyone could pick it up. just a seriously bad decision there.
Seems like a 5th amendment violation - are you going to ADMIT on a GVT form, that is provided to GVT authorities - that you are, in fact, an ‘unlawful’ user of drugs?
I’d say someone who was panicking and in fear of the safety of people they love is not so much stupid as they are operating with impaired judgement.
yep, that is why i went with seriously bad decision, rather than “stupid idea”.
it does depend on where you live and what possibilities there are. rivers and storm drains are very popular where i live.
This whole thing with checking a box, “No,” when asked if you’re a drug user is so friggin’ stupid. Who in the hell is going to answer, “Yes?”
“Golly, I forgot I snorted some meth this weekend, does that count?”
You know how you weed out drug users from buying guns? You regulate the friggin’ guns, you don’t ask the drug users if they’re cool.
I suspect the jury will feel the same way and find the question too ambiguous to create criminal liability.
per cnn:
During cross-examination by Abbe Lowell, Hallie Biden confirmed that it was difficult to recall, blow by blow, the events of October 2018.
“Yes, it’s difficult,” Hallie said when asked.
She also said testifying about the time period in her life was hard and confirmed that prosecutors granted her immunity in testifying.
Hallie Biden said she went to rehab in Pennsylvania in early October 2018.
Hunter attended some “counseling” with her as part of the treatment, she said. Lowell suggested this was the reason why Hunter Biden returned to Delaware from Los Angeles.
What happens then in this case where Hunter can say he answered truthfully, but he was actually in violation of the law.
For instance, say you’re stopped by a cop and he asks “Is your car properly registered?” You say it is, because you have a current registration sticker from the state. But unbeknownst to you, there’s a law which says you also have register your car with the school district in which you live. You wouldn’t be guilty of lying because you honestly didn’t know about that registration requirement, but you would be guilty of not answering the question correctly. I would assume that you would only be subject to the penalty for not registering your car with the school district and not for lying to the cop.
It seems like in Hunter’s case, he would only be subject to the penalties of being a drug user and a gun owner. “Lying” on the form might not apply.
per cnn:
During cross-examination, Hallie Biden testified that she did not witness Hunter Biden doing drugs between October 6 and October 22, 2018, while he was in Delaware.
This could be helpful for Hunter Biden’s defense, because that window covers when he bought and possessed the gun. However, earlier, when Hallie was questioned by prosecutors, she said she believed that he appeared to be high when she saw him that month.
Hallie Biden also testified that Hunter Biden, during their complicated on-again-off-again, complicated relationship that he wouldn’t tell her the truth at times and would lie about where he was.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell has argued that in the days after Hunter Biden bought the gun he was trying to hide from Hallie Biden when he texted her about smoking crack, which, Lowell said, wasn’t true.
per cnn:
Prosecutors have raised several complaints that defense attorney Abbe Lowell is leading the witness, Hallie Biden, as she testifies about Hunter Biden’s whereabouts one day before she threw out his gun.
Hallie Biden is struggling to remember what happened on October 22, 2018. Lowell has her texts from that day and is trying to use them to refresh her memory. But prosecutors have raised several objections.
The judge has, on a few instances, instructed Hallie Biden to testify about her actual memories, and not simply recite what her texts say.
One of the messages from Hallie Biden to Hunter Biden said, “are you in NY with Zoe?” in reference to Hunter Biden’s former girlfriend Zoe Kestan.
The court is in a lunch break.
Cross-examination of Hallie Biden will resume when the court is back in session.
This makes sense. If someone is trying to remember what happened on a particular day, and they can’t get the facts totally correct, then that’s useful to know. It shows that their recall isn’t great. It doesn’t mean she’s lying, she’s being asked to recall specific things that happened 5 1/2 years ago. But it does cast doubt on any other testimony around that time involving specific details.
Texts are evidence and witness testimony is evidence, there’s not much point in having a witness just recite what’s in a text. That’s redundant.
Is that not the case the way it’s currently worded? Is it any different than the IRS asking if you have any income from illegal activities?
Also, considering answering “yes” to that question means your application will be denied, you could simply stop filling out the form.
There’s nothing forcing you to buy a gun, you’re not being compelled to disclose this information. I’m not sure it’s a 5th Amendment violation to voluntarily disclose information about crimes you’ve committed in the past anymore than it’s a HIPAA violation for me to tell you I had the flu last week.
As described, it’s actually more nuanced than that.
If a witness can’t remember something, a lawyer has the opportunity to refresh their recollection. But the information to refresh the recollection isn’t actually admitted into evidence; it’s just shown to the witness, and then the witness can testify from memory.
It sounds like she’s being shown the text, then “recalling” exactly what the text says, instead of just using the text as a reminder so she can answer from memory.
Since those texts aren’t in evidence, that’s an end run around evidence rules, and improper.
(Why aren’t the texts in evidence? Defense is cross examining this witness; they haven’t had a chance to call their own witnesses to introduce this evidence)
Wow – that looks like an appealable error if Biden’s convicted. Tainted evidence.
per cnn:
On cross-examination, Hallie Biden said she saw a “dusting” of drugs in Hunter Biden’s truck when she found the gun in October 2018.
Hallie Biden added that she didn’t recall where she saw the remnants of drugs or paraphernalia.
“I don’t recall exactly what it was,” she said.
Hallie agreed with defense attorney Abbe Lowell when asked if she was “not certain” when she went to his truck or saw him that day.
Before lunch, Hallie Biden was pressed by Lowell on her memory of the morning she says she found Hunter Biden’s gun in his truck.
Defense Attorney Abbe Lowell is having Hallie Biden go through a detailed recounting of the day she says she found Hunter Biden’s gun and threw it away.
According to Hallie Biden and call records, Hunter Biden texted her nearly half an hour after she threw out the gun asking if she had taken the revolver.
“Tell me now Hallie,” he texted.
The pair then had a phone call where Hallie Biden told him what she had done, and Hunter Biden told her to report it to police.
Hallie Biden has had trouble recalling many of the details from that day nearly six years ago.
“I don’t recall,” Hallie Biden said repeatedly in response to questions from Lowell.
Lowell showed phone logs indicating that Hallie Biden and Hunter Biden had a flurry of calls that day. Hallie could not recall details of many of the calls.
rc: in an interview with david muir, pres. biden says he will not pardon hunter if he is found guilty of the charges.
At the end of cross-examination, Hallie Biden acknowledged that she doesn’t know if Hunter Biden was using drugs in October 2018, when he bought the gun. She also said she never saw him drinking in that month, including specifically from October 12-23, which is when he owned the gun in question.
rc: from what i am reading i am quite stunned by team fed’s case. hallie biden was billed as their “star witness”. just…
onward, per cnn:
Delaware State Police Senior Corporal Joshua Marley, who responded to the report from Hallie Biden on throwing out the gun, is the next prosecution witness.
Marley testified that he reviewed footage from the grocery store and searched trash cans and interviewed Hunter Biden that day.
“We couldn’t find the gun,” Marley said.