WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden’s federal trial on gun charges got off to a rocky start Tuesday morning, as opening statements were delayed when jurors couldn’t make it to the courthouse on time.
Judge Maryellen Noreika told prosecutors and lawyers for the first son that the court had received an email from the juror — identified as number 16 during Monday’s jury selection and who lives in Milford, Del. — saying that she doesn’t have a car and “I live an hour away.”
The judge said she would let the woman out of serving due to hardship and the vacant spot will likely be filled by one of the four alternates.
Proceedings were also delayed from their 9 a.m. scheduled start time because four of the other panelists hadn’t arrived yet, Noreika informed the lawyers.
While they waited, lead defense lawyer Abbe Lowell delivered impassioned arguments on some last minute motions.
The jury of six men and six women was seated Monday. The group is slated to hear opening remarks by prosecutors from the office of special counsel David Weiss, who showed up to court Tuesday. Hunter’s team will deliver their opening statements after.
Hunter, 54, arrived to the federal courthouse Tuesday morning wearing a suit and tie and an American flag pin on his lapel. He was accompanied again by his wife Melissa Cohen, who held his hand on their way inside.
First lady Jill Biden also came to court for a second day to support her stepson, as did Hunter’s stepsister Ashley.
Prosecutors teased Monday that they will likely call FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen as their first witness, and the jury may see evidence of Hunter’s infamous laptop.
“Jensen will introduce the defendant’s messages included in the 1006 summary chart… admissions in his book/audiobook, as well as introduce other evidence included on the government’s exhibit list,” prosecutors previously wrote in their trial brief about the witness.
That summary chart features evidence construed in part from an authentic copy of the first son’s hard drive.
Specifically, the chart “accurately summarizes electronic evidence derived from search warrants of the defendant’s Apple iCloud account and the defendant’s laptop and hard drive,” according to prosecutors.
During a pretrial conference last month, Noreika gave the go-ahead for prosecutors to use select information from the laptop while permitting the defense to pose objections on a case-by-case basis.
The summary chart features scores of Hunter Biden’s communications, which prosecutors are banking on to prove that he was in fact addicted to crack cocaine when he purchased the .38 caliber revolver on Oct. 12, 2018.
The judge has ruled that prosecutors do not have to prove that the first son was high at the time of the purchase.
Text messages from Hunter Biden’s laptop showed he corresponded with an individual not long before the gun purchase who has a rap sheet that includes drug charges. The two appear to have met up a day after the purchase, according to messages from his laptop.
During jury selection Monday, whenever a potential jury noted a personal connection to law enforcement such as a cop in the family, Lowell almost always jumped at the chance to ask whether they’d be able to weigh law enforcement testimony evenly with potential witnesses brought by the defense.
The defense attorney also questioned potential jurors who had experience filling out paperwork to purchase a firearm about the extent to which they were guided by store employees — hinting at another likely line of defense.
Lowell additionally pressed potential jurors who suggested drug addicts shouldn’t be able to buy guns whether they could set aside their biases or they believed there’s a distinction between being high while making the purchase and having an addiction problem in the past.
The onus will be on the government to prove the facts of the case, as Noreika repeatedly impressed upon the jurors on Monday.
Beyond Hunter Biden’s communications, prosecutors plan on using passages from his 2021 book, “Beautiful Things” in which he chronicled his addiction struggles.
Prosecutors have namedropped a suite of other potential witnesses in their trial brief, including Delaware State Police Senior Corporal Joshua Marley and former Delaware State Police Lieutenant Millard Greer to testify about the law enforcement response to Janssen’s Market after the firearm was tossed into the trash.
They also revealed their plans to pursue testimony from an employee of Starquest Shooters who claims to have witnessed Hunter Biden fill out the sheet to purchase the gun, Forensic Chemist Dr. Jason Brewer about alleged cocaine residue on the gun pouch, and DEA Supervisory Special Agent Joshua Romig to provide testimony of coded language allegedly used in the first son’s test messages.
Additionally, prosecutors teased plans to call forward three witnesses that The Post has identified as Hunter Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, and Hallie Biden.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to all three counts against him.
Charges against Hunter Biden
COUNT 1: False Statement in Purchase of a Firearm
Faces a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, three years of supervised release, a special assessment of $100.
COUNT 2: False Statement Related to Information Required to be Kept by Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer
Faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, three years of supervised release, a special assessment of $100.
COURT 3: Possession of a Firearm by a Person who is an Unlawful User of or Addicted to a Controlled Substance
Faces a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, three years of supervised release, a special assessment of $100.
He is facing a separate tax evasion case in Los Angeles slated to commence trial on Sept. 5.
The Delaware case is not expected to last longer than two weeks.
