Jurors in Hunter Biden’s criminal trial got a look at the gun he bought in October 2018
Jurors in Hunter Biden’s criminal trial got a look at the .38 caliber Colt revolver he bought back in October 2018. They saw Form 4473, the firearms transaction record at the center of the case. And they’re hearing testimony from the former store clerk who watched as the president’s son checked off “no” to the question of whether he was “an unlawful user of or addicted to” marijuana, stimulants, narcotics or any other controlled substance.
Federal prosecutors have argued Hunter Biden was in the throes of a heavy crack addiction when he bought the gun, and they’ve accused him of lying on the form. He’s been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty and said the Justice Department is bending to political pressure from Republicans and he is being wrongly targeted.
Gordon Cleveland, the former clerk at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply, told jurors he walked Hunter Biden through a few options before he settled on the $900 gun and he watched Biden sign the form, which includes a warning about the consequences of submitting false information.
“Everything he bought, he ultimately decided on,” he told jurors.
Much of the prosecution’s case so far has been dedicated to highlighting the seriousness of his crack addiction and showcasing to jurors bare-chested moments with ex-girlfriends, infidelity, crack pipes — judgment lapses they believe prove he was actively using when he checked off no. Prosecutors argue it’s necessary evidence to show his state of mind when he bought the gun.
The proceedings are unfolding after a plea deal collapsed that would have resolved the gun charge and a separate tax case, and spared the Biden family the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election.
