Hallie Biden, who is both Hunter’s sister-in-law and his ex-lover, testified Thursday at his trial on charges linked to firearms, telling the jury that she thought he had been using crack cocaine when he purchased a handgun in the autumn of 2018.
In the days following Hunter’s purchase of a Colt pistol on October 12, 2018, federal prosecutors questioned Hallie regarding a string of texts that she had exchanged with him.
According to Hunter’s texts, he mentioned being “sleeping on a car smoking crack” and “waiting for a dealer named Mookie.”
The texts and Hallie’s testimony are crucial pieces of evidence that the prosecution is using to show that Hunter was a drug user when he bought the gun. According to special counsel David Weiss, the president’s son lied about his drug use when he purchased the pistol and subsequently possessed it unlawfully for less than two weeks, resulting in three federal offenses.
Beau, Hunter’s brother, passed away in 2015, and Hallie was his wife. She began an intimate relationship with Hunter afterwards.
In her testimony, she detailed how Hunter seemed to be intoxicated on the morning of October 23, 2018, the same day she discarded the firearm. According to what she told, he had gotten to her house either very early that morning or very late the night before.
What she said to the jury was that he appeared as though he hadn’t slept and was fatigued.
During her search of his vehicle, she allegedly discovered crack cocaine residue and other drug paraphernalia.
In addition, she mentioned the gun. “Sure thing.”
She “panicked” and threw the gun away at a high-end grocery store in Wilmington that was close by. After finding a leather pouch in his truck, she placed the item inside, then placed the bag inside, and drove it to Janssen’s Market. She then placed the bag in an outdoor trash can.
“Looking back, I see how foolish it was, but I was worried,” she confessed.
Additionally, she stated that crack cocaine was introduced to her by Hunter, and she started taking the substance while they were together.
She expressed her sadness, humiliation, and embarrassment about the traumatic event she had to endured.
The prosecution has summoned three exes of the president’s son to testify; she is the third. While Hunter’s claimed crack cocaine consumption was detailed by his ex-wife and another woman on Wednesday, neither of them testified regarding his drug use at the specific time he purchased and had the firearm.
Hunter, according to Abbe Lowell, his attorney, had just finished a rehabilitation program and was under the false impression that he was not addicted when he purchased the firearm.
Hallie was subjected to a detailed and laborious cross-examination by Lowell, who wanted to know when her brother-in-law reached her house on October 23, when she initially became aware of his presence, and the precise moment she discovered the firearm in his vehicle. As the interrogation progressed, her recollection of those specifics appeared to deteriorate.
While Hallie did not witness him doping that day, she did acknowledge that he might have been simply weary.
In his text message to her, Hunter claimed to have met a dealer named Mookie and was caught smoking crack while lying on a car. He then asked her if she knew whether Hunter was being truthful.
She claimed ignorance regarding the veracity of the claims.
