Hunter Biden trial updates: Here is what to expect next week after early court end Friday

Federal prosecutors in the trial against Hunter Biden rested their case Friday after days of personal testimony about Biden's drug use and struggle with addiction.

Jurors on Thursday heard from Hallie Biden, widow of the late Beau Biden and Hunter's ex-lover, about how she discovered and then trashed the gun at the center of the federal firearms case. Her testimony also included her own drug use during her time dating the man she referred to as her brother-in-law, as well as her attempts to help him find sobriety.

Defense attorneys for Hunter Biden on Friday called three witnesses, including Hunter Biden's eldest daughter Naomi Biden, before court was adjourned mid-afternoon for the weekend. The defense is expected to call one or two more witnesses before determining whether they will put Hunter Biden on the stand.

Naomi Biden described how her father struggled with addiction after his brother, the late Beau Biden, died from brain cancer in 2015. In mid-October, the same month Hunter Biden purchased the gun at the center of this trial, Naomi Biden said he seemed "hopeful," like he had when she visited him at a rehab facility in California.

FROM THE TRIAL: Was Hunter Biden using drugs when he bought his gun? Hallie Biden talks drug use, gun discovery

Prosecutors, however, questioned when she met up with her father in New York City, asking questions about why the meeting time was 2 a.m. and whether she knew what her father was doing in the meantime.

Here's what happened in court Friday.

What to expect for the Hunter Biden trial next week

When the Hunter Biden gun trial resumes Monday, it's likely, but not certain, the defense will call one or two more witnesses.

In opening statements, defense attorney Abbe Lowell stated that he intended to call James Biden, the president's brother to the stand. James Biden was at the courthouse today.

Once the defense finishes calling its witness, they will then have to decide whether Hunter Biden takes the stand. Prosecutors will also have to decide whether to present a rebuttal case.

There will likely also be a discussion over Lowell's motion for acquittal as well as the final instructions for the jury.

--Xerxes Wilson

Trial testimony ends Friday 

The judge came back from lunch and dismissed the jury for the day.

The trial will resume Monday morning.

The reason for the early dismissal is unclear.

--Xerxes Wilson

Court breaks for lunch

The defense is expected to continue its case after a one-hour lunch break and will resume about 1:45 p.m.

--Xerxes Wilson

Prosecutors focus on the New York visit with Naomi Biden in October 2018 

Prosecutors walked through a series of text messages between Naomi Biden and her father.

“Did he tell you he was meeting with someone named Frankie? That he had Frankie come to his hotel room? That he gave him the access key to his Wells Fargo account,” Leo Wise questioned, referencing a dealer that a prior witness told the jury Hunter Biden used in New York the year before. Naomi replied "no."

In a message around the same time, she told her father: “I can’t take this. I miss you so much. I just want to hang out with you.”

Her father replied: “I am sorry I’ve been so unreachable. It is not fair to you.”

With her father’s attorney back questioning her, she told the jury there was no confusion about whether she had time to spend with Hunter in New York.

--Xerxes Wilson

Prosecutors question Naomi Biden on New York City trip

Naomi Biden said she saw her father in New York in October 2018 to exchange vehicles and told her father's defense attorney and the court that he was doing “great.”

During cross-examination, prosecutor Leo Wise brought up text messages from when they were in New York where Hunter Biden was trying to arrange the swap in the middle of the night.

“Do you know what your father was doing at 2 a.m. and why he was asking for the car then,” Wise asked her.

Naomi Biden said she did not.

--Xerxes Wilson

Who is Naomi Biden?

Naomi Biden, 30, is Hunter Biden’s eldest daughter with his first wife Kathleen Buhl. Like several other members of the country’s first family, she is a lawyer. She attended the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Law School.

The granddaughter of President Joe Biden, she lived in the White House with her then-fiancé Peter Neal for a few months before the pair got married on the South Lawn in November 2022. She remains based in Washington, D.C.

—Rachel Barber

‘I knew he was struggling’: Naomi Biden about her father Hunter Biden

Prosecutors asked Naomi Biden about her father Hunter Biden’s drug addiction but she said she never saw him using drugs.

“I knew he was struggling with addiction,” she said.

Asked when the struggle began, Naomi Biden cited the death of Hunter Biden’s brother, Beau, from brain cancer in 2015.

“After my uncle died, things got bad,” she said.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden's daughter, Naomi: Her father 'seemed hopeful’

Naomi Biden saw her father in mid-October, she said, days after he purchased the gun central to the trial.

She had driven her father’s truck to New York to move into a new apartment. Hunter Biden then drove Joe Biden’s Cadillac to New York because he needed his truck back. She said her father seemed similar to how he was when he was in rehab in California.

“He seemed great and he seemed hopeful,” she said.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden's daughter, Naomi Biden, called by defense to testify

Hunter Biden's eldest daughter, Naomi Biden, has been called to the stand just after noon Friday.

An attorney who lives in Washington D.C., she spoke about visiting her father in California in the summer of 2018 when he was in rehab.

“He seemed like the clearest he had been since my uncle died,” she said. “He seemed really great.”

--Xerxes Wilson

Defense picking at issue judge previously ruled out:

In pretrial hearings, defense attorneys contend there are two different versions of the ATF form center to Hunter Biden’s trial. One was sent to state police investigators 11 days after the gun was purchased and another was sent to federal investigators years later.

The two versions are different. The original one only lists Hunter Biden’s passport as the document used to verify his identity. Passports do not typically list addresses. The one sent to investigators later includes vehicle registration as a supplemental address verification.

Lowell claims the form was “doctored” and in pretrial hearings sought to explore that at trial. The judge ruled it was not relevant the week before trial.

In his testimony, Turner claimed that he wrote the vehicle registration into the form on the day of the sale, pointing to the original version of the form on the projector saying, “that form is wrong.”

Lowell then asked him why he said that, prompting prosecutor Leo Wise to object.

THE DETAILS: Janssen's, StarQuest Shooters and more: The Delaware people, places part of Hunter Biden's trial

Ron Palimere, the gun store owner, is now testifying.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden's defense grills gun store employee over forms

Defense Attorney Abbe Lowell is walking former gun store employee Jason Turner through the exact sequence of him approving the background check necessary for Hunter Biden to buy a gun, including details like the color of the ink he wrote the form in and what identification Hunter Biden showed to verify his address.

Lowell has previously claimed the gun shop did not receive proper identification from Hunter Biden and annotated the form years later to indicate that Hunter Biden presented vehicle registration documents as supplemental identification.

On the stand, Jason Turner said he wrote that on the form the day of the sale.

Original ATF Form by Xerxes Wilson

--Xerxes Wilson

Gun shop employee is first defense witness

Jason Turner was an employee at the StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Talleyville and was working the day

Hunter Biden purchased the gun center to the criminal trial in October 2018.

He said he would run background checks and make sales as part of his employment there.

--Xerxes Wilson

Defense previews witness list

As court was going into a short recess, defense attorney Abbe Lowell noted to the judge which witnesses he intends to call today.

Those include the owner, as well as a manager, at the store where Hunter Biden purchased the gun, as well as another police officer involved in the Janssen's incident.

Lowell did not mention any Biden family members as potential witnesses today.

--Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden’s defense asks judge to dismiss charges

With the prosecution resting, Defense Attorney Abbe Lowell moved that the court acquit his client before the jury gets the case, a standard maneuver in criminal cases.

He made the motion orally, but said he’d file paperwork outlining his argument later today. He said the motion is based on the charges being unconstitutional, legislative changes in the relevant statute in recent years and that prosecutors presenting insufficient evidence to convict his client.

“We will take a look,” presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika told him.

Lowell noted what he described as her “skeptical” smile.

“It didn’t mean I was skeptical, it was kind of an interesting concept,” she said describing one of his arguments.The court is now in recess for a short break.

--Xerxes Wilson

Prosecution rests gun case against Hunter Biden

After about three and a half days of trial testimony, featuring 10 different witnesses, the government rested its case Friday morning.

Action now moves to the defense case, which attorneys indicated yesterday will feature “two or three” witnesses. Those witnesses are expected to include James Biden, the president’s brother.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell said Thursday that after those witnesses, they will decide whether to call Hunter Biden to the stand.

--Xerxes Wilson

Defense, DEA agent spar over bong photo

One photo prosecutors showed the jury depicted what appeared to be a bong.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell asked how DEA special agent Joshua Romig could know it was used for cocaine. He conceded that one could smoke meth, heroin or even pipe tobacco out of the device.

“Any drug could be in there – even a non-controlled substance,” he said.

Romig contested Lowell referring to the device as a “water pipe,” explaining he felt it was used for crack cocaine because of burn marks on the pipe.

--Xerxes Wilson

Defense cross-examines DEA agent

On cross-examination, DEA special agent Joshua Romig stated that he did not take any steps to further investigate what he felt the meaning of the messages were.

“This is not my investigation,” he said.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell then took Romig back through each message and video that prosecutors had him interpret, asking him about the dates those messages were sent or received. Most were dated months before or after the October 2018 gun purchase central to the trial.

--Xerxes Wilson

DEA agent testifies about videos, slang

Joshua Romig, a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, testified about one message sent by Hunter Biden in February 2019 that read “I think it may be fentan.”

Romig identified "fentan" as another way of saying fentanyl and explained that drug dealers sometimes cut their product with fentanyl.

Prosecutors outlined another message sent to Hunter Biden that stated “I have a ball on me.” Hunter Biden replied stating he felt he was being scammed. Romig said “ball” is slang for eight ball or 3.5 oz of crack cocaine.

Prosecutors also played a video showing white rocks on a scale, which Romig said appeared to be cocaine. They also showed multiple photos of Hunter Biden holding what Romig said appeared to be a crack pipe.

Cross-examination of Romig is now starting.

--Xerxes Wilson

Prosecutors show photographs depicting drugs

During DEA special agent Joshua Romig's testimony, prosecutors showed photographs pulled from Hunter Biden’s electronic devices.

Romig offered his expert opinion that photographs, sent in April 2018, depict cocaine.

Prosecutors also read out corresponding text messages which Romig said show that he was “upset that the amount is a lot smaller than what he paid for.”

--Xerxes Wilson

DEA Agent says cocaine trade ‘basic economics.”

Joshua Romig, a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, explained to the jury his opinion on how cocaine flows into the United States and was asked why so much cocaine comes into the country.

“We have a lot of cocaine users in the United States,” he said. “It’s kind of basic economics.”

He told the jury that for years his “primary function” was conducting wiretap investigations, so he’s listened to “thousands and thousands” of calls between buyers and sellers. He said he’s also reviewed thousands of text messages between buyers and sellers, reviews that involved interpreting slang and code.

Prosecutors now beginning to walk him through Hunter Biden’s messages.

--Xerxes Wilson

DEA agent outlines expert qualifications:

Joshua Romig, a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent. is being offered by prosecutors as an expert witness qualified to testify about his professional opinions, as opposed to simply facts.

He outlined his 25-year career in law enforcement investigating narcotics and leading to his current job as the assistant special agent in charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia field office.

“It’s literally all I’ve done for the last almost quarter century,” Romig told the jury.

--Xerxes Wilson

Prosecutors call DEA agent to witness stand

DEA Special Agent Joshua Romig will be the prosecution's second witness of the day. He's expected to testify on his opinions regarding “coded messages” pulled from Hunter Biden’s electronic devices.

Several messages make outright reference to drugs, but prosecutors have argued that others, referring to terms like “baby powder” and “chore boy,” are also references to drug use.

--Xerxes Wilson

Defense: Pouch not tested for five years

The brown leather pouch was recovered with Hunter Biden’s gun in October 2018. On cross-examination, Brewer testified that he conducted his tests on the pouch in October 2023 and that it was the first such test on the pouch to his knowledge.

He agreed with the defense attorney that the residue collected “was minimal.” He also agreed that the tests do not indicate who put the residue on the pouch or how long it had been on the pouch.

--Xerxes Wilson

Chemist testifies about tests on pouch

Brewer’s testimony focuses on a brown leather pouch that Hallie Biden said she placed Hunter Biden’s gun in before trashing it.

Prosecutors put photos of the pouch onto a projector screen in the courtroom and Brewer pointed out where he found a “minimal amount” of “off-white powder” in two spots on the pouch.

“Cocaine was identified within the residual white particles I sampled,” he told the jury.

Much of Brewer’s testimony has focused on explaining in detail the various tests he uses to determine whether a residue is a controlled substance. He told the jury he was not asked to analyze the pouch for fingerprints or DNA and that he couldn’t determine who put any residue on the object.

--Xerxes Wilson

Forensic chemist begins Friday testimony

Prosecutors began day four of trial testimony with Jason Brewer, a forensic chemist with the FBI, on the stand.

Brewer is expected to testify about residue found on a brown leather pouch recovered with Hunter Biden’s gun.

Prosecutors contend the pouch evidences Hunter Biden’s crack cocaine use around the time he purchased and owned the gun.

Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s attorney, argued in opening statements that detectives don’t know whether it was his client or Hallie Biden who is responsible for the residue on the pouch.

--Xerxes Wilson

Meet the man who found Hunter Biden's gun

When Hallie Biden went looking for the gun she discarded of Hunter Biden's only to find it no longer there, she "panicked," she told the jury Thursday.

This prompted her to file a police report − and for police to go on a quest to find a dumpster-diving man often seen around shopping centers in Greenville. Meet Edward Banner, who prosecutors called to the stand Thursday.

In a trial where testimony has been heavy with sorrow and emotion, Banner's questioning, as well as that of the Delaware State Police detective who tracked down him and the gun, provided moments of levity and answered an odd question: Who was the man that was fishing through the garbage and unknowingly found a gun owned by the president's son six years ago?

--Xerxes Wilson and Isabel Hughes

NEED TO KNOW: Janssen's, StarQuest Shooters and more: The Delaware people, places part of Hunter Biden's trial

President Biden says he wouldn’t pardon his son if he is convicted

President Joe Biden said he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden, who is on trial for federal gun charges, according to a wide-ranging exclusive interview with ABC News.

ABC anchor David Muir, interviewing President Biden in France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, asked whether he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial.

“Yes,” the president said.

Muir also asked if he would rule out a pardon for his son.

“Yes,” the president said.

--Bart Jansen

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Hunter Biden trial: Here is what to expect after early end Friday