Hunter Biden’s trial on federal gun charges | CNN Politics (2024)

Our live coverage of the Hunter Biden trial has moved here.

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Delaware, on Monday, June 3.

The trial against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden will “absolutely not” interfere with the president’s ability to do his job, the White House said Monday.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is “the President of the United States and he always puts the American people first and is capable of doing his job.”

Jean-Pierre said she had “nothing to share” when asked how the president was monitoring the proceedings and if he spoke to his son after the court concluded on Monday.

Earlier Monday, Biden released a statement in support of his son, writing in part: “I am the president, but I am also a dad.”

Jean-Pierre read the statement in full and said that outside of the statement, she didn’t “have anything else to share.”

No cameras are allowed inside the Delaware courtroom where Hunter Biden’s trial is underway, but sketch artist Bill Hennessy captured the scene.

This sketch from court shows the scene inside the courtroom where Hunter Biden's trial is underway.

This sketch shows Hunter Biden on Monday.

First lady Jill Biden sits behind Hunter Biden during court. Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, sits to the left of the first lady.

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Judge Maryellen Noreika on Monday.

Opening statements will begin Tuesday morning in the Hunter Biden trial in Wilmington, Delaware.

Afterwards, the first witness from the special counsel’s office will be an FBI agentwho worked on the investigation.

Hunter Biden leaves federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, June 3.

Hunter Biden departed the J. Caleb Boggs federal building after court has adjourned for the first day in his gun trial and a jury was selected.

He walked out with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden.

First lady Jill Biden exited the building about 15 minutes prior.

Judge Maryellen Noreika is reading the preliminary jury instructions to the newly minted jury, which was sworn in Monday afternoon.

The judge has confirmed that opening statements will happen Tuesday morning.

The jury includes six men and six women, the majority of whom are Black.

Correction: This post has been updated to correctly reflect the breakdown of the jury.

The jury that will hear the gun case against Hunter Biden in Delaware has been selected.

The panel includes twelve jurors along with four alternates.Opening statements are expected Tuesday.

As jury selection moves into the final phase in the Hunter Biden gun trial, one man told the judge he knows the Biden family “fairly well” and couldn’t be impartial.

The man added that he had played squash with Joe Biden’s late son Beau, and he was dismissed.

Many potential jurors said they know about the case generally but not details.

Another woman quipped: “Wilmington is a small place.”

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 31.

This is a historic moment for the United States and the history of the presidency. No president has ever tried to run the country while watching his own child go on trial.

Over the decades, there are plenty of examples of presidential family members getting in trouble. George H. W. Bush’s sonfaced civil penaltiesfor violating banking laws while his father was serving in the White House.Jimmy Carter’sbrotherwas scrutinized for his foreign lobbying. But nothing has sunk to the level of a criminal trial.

CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said “there’s always somebody considered a black sheep in the presidential family,” but says Hunter Biden’s sprawling legal debacles “cut unusually close to the bone because it’s the President’s son.”

“This trial is an albatross around President Biden’s neck and weighs very heavily on his psyche,” Brinkley said.

So far, 34 potential jurors have qualified for the jury pool, with two more needed to advance to the next step.

After they have established that pool of 36, both sides will get a chance to use “strikes” to block a few people of their choosing from serving on the panel. They don’t need to provide a reason for these strikes.

The final panel will include 12 sworn jurors and four alternates.

All signs point to opening statementshappening on Tuesday morning.The judge has indicated that this is her expectation.

Both sides agreed to dismiss a Donald Trump critic who expressed support for banning all guns. She said she wanted the US to have stricter gun laws, to make it harder to “kill children at schools” and rapid-fire weapons that can “kill a lot of people at once.”

After Trump won in 2016, she joined a “resistance” group, and later supported Democratic candidates in the 2018 and 2022 midterms.

Another juror was excused from the jury pool after he said he couldn’t promise to judge the case fairly. The juror was a Fox News and Newsmax viewer. Both right-wing networks have extensively covered Hunter Biden’s scandals and legal woes over the years.

Judge Noreika thanked the man for being honest about his bias.

At least 25 people have been qualified to serve on the Hunter Biden jury so far.

The selection process is still underway, and both sides can still “strike” some of the members of the pool, which will eventually be narrowed down to 12 jurors and 4 alternates.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats are dismissing attempts to compare Hunter Biden’s trial with former President Donald Trump’s conviction last week.

“Hunter Biden is not running for president. President Donald Trump’s running for president,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland. He also noted that Democrats have not rushed to Hunter Biden’s defense in this criminal case, or alleged that the trial is a “sham” in the way that Republicans did with the Trump trial.

“They do that because of the extraordinary cognitive dissonance that a party – which claims to be representing religious piety – has wrapped itself around in an adjudicated sexual assailant and fraudster who just got convicted by a jury of his peers for paying $130,000 in hush money to a p*rn star right after his fifth child was born. That’s where their party is.”

Rep. Robert Garcia of California agreed: “He’s not the president of the United States, he’s not a public figure.

“So Hunter Biden should be held accountable for whatever he’s done,” he said, adding that this “is not comparable to the multiple crimes that clearly Donald Trump has committed.”

Pressed on how Hunter’s trial could affect his father’s chances in November, Garcia replied, “I think the President loves his son. And I think that we all agree that Hunter’s made some mistakes, and he’s got to be held accountable for those. I don’t think they have anything to do with his election for president.”

A retiree who is a potential juror in Hunter Biden’s trial said he heard about Hunter Biden’s attempted plea deal – which fell apart at the same courthouse as the current trial.

He is eligible to serve on the jury, as neither side objected.

The potential juror said one of his nephews got addicted to drugs after being prescribed opioids after a football accident.

“He was a mess … better now,” he said.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer speaks to reporters following the closed-door deposition of Hunter Biden in Washington, DC, on February 28. The meeting was part of the Republicans' impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

A House Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and his family has stalled following missteps and a lack of clear consensus on what a successful conclusion would look like.

The inquiry has yet to produce evidence that the president received any financial benefit from his son’s business dealings. Hunter Biden appeared for a closed-door deposition earlier this year and insisted that his father was not involved.

He also accused Republicans of pursuing a “baseless and destructive political charade,” charging that the impeachment investigation was built on an “entire partisan house of cards on lies.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky lawmaker leading the probe, and his fellow top Republicans have been caught between the far-right wing’s early demands for impeachment and skeptical Republicans in vulnerable districts. Meanwhile, Democrats have accused their GOP colleagues of doing former President Donald Trump’s bidding.

CNN’s Annie Grayer, Melanie Zanona, Jeremy Herb, and Paula Reid contributed to this report.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers signaled that they’ll strike from the jury pool 23-year retired veteran of the Wilmington Police Department who thinks Trump, but not Democrats, is a victim of political prosecution.

He said Trump’s NY trial and “the dossier” – referring to the Trump-Russia dossier from 2016 – made him believe that prosecutors pursue some cases for political reasons.

Hunter Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell asked the potential juror if Democrats are ever plagued by this, but the juror said he wasn’t aware of it happening. Lowell later told the juror that he’d use one of his strikes against the man.

The man also said he “recently” donated to the Republican National Committee and that he previously supported a candidate who ran against Hunter’s late brother, Beau, when Beau was the Delaware Attorney General.

One man was excused from the jury pool after saying that the Donald Trump trial in New York made him think prosecutors charge cases based on politics.He had also said he might not be able to judge the Hunter Biden case fairly because some of his loved ones are struggling with addiction.

A woman in the jury pool told the judge thatshe is a bartender and has periodically served Hunter’s uncle at the bar.She is still currently eligible to serve on the panel, whichhasn’tbeen seated yet.

Both sides agreed that sheshouldn’tbe eligible to serve on the case.

Approximately 250 Delaware residents have been summoned for jury service, according to the judge. They’ll be whittled down to a panel of 12 seated jurors and four alternates.

Delaware is one of the smallest states in the country, and the Biden family looms large.

As part of the selection process – called voir dire – prospective jurorswill be askedif they can stay impartial regardless of their views about the 2024 election.

They’ll also be asked if they can keep an open mind about Hunter Biden, even if they’ve been eligible to vote in past elections for Joe Biden, who has held public office in Delaware since 1971.

Other questions touch on the highly politicized atmosphere surrounding the case, including, “Do you believe Hunter Biden is being prosecuted in this case because his father is the President of the United States?” or, coming from the other side, whether they think he “is not being prosecuted for other crimes because his father is the President?”

The federal courthouse before Hunter Biden arrives for his scheduled trial on Monday, June 3, in Wilmington, Delaware.

The judge is now questioning individual members of the large jury pool.

A potential juror who said he thinks Americans have “a God-given right” to own guns was excused and won’t participate in the case after he said he couldn’t be impartial in judging the case.

Some of the potential jurors who are still in the jury pool include a woman whose sister went to prison for drug related offenses and another woman whose brother is in rehab.

Other jurors said they know about the case from news reports but did not have a detailed understanding of the facts at issue.

One woman who volunteered for Hillary Clinton in 2008 was pressed by the judge over whether she could remain impartial.

“I don’t’ see any relation between the politics,” she said, telling the judge that she would be fair.

President Joe Biden issued a statement of support for his son Hunter Biden as the trial against him began Monday morning.

Biden said that since he is president, he “won’t comment on pending federal cases,” but did express his “boundless love” for Hunter Biden. He also said he and first ladyJill Biden “are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support.”

The full statement from President Joe Biden:“I am the President, but I am also aDad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. A lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean. As the President, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases, but as aDad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength. Our family has been through a lot together, and Jill and I are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support.”

Hunter Biden arrives at federal court on Monday, June 3 in Wilmington, Delaware.

The federal judge overseeingHunter Biden’s gun trialdealt his defense two setbacks Sunday, on the eve of jury selection, by blocking one of his expert witnesses and excluding a key piece of evidence the president’s son hoped to use.

The rulings from Judge Maryellen Noreika resolved some of the sticking points that were still simmering. Taken together, these decisions could make a tough case for Hunter Biden even more challenging to win. President Joe Biden’s son has pleaded not guilty to illegally buying and owning a gun while abusing illicit drugs.

Noreika granted a request from special counsel David Weiss to block one of Hunter Biden’s expert witnesses from testifying. The defense had lined up a Columbia University-based psychiatrist who would’ve tried to poke holes in prosecutors’ assertions that Hunter Biden knew he was an addict in 2018 when he bought the gun that led to his indictment.

The judge also blocked Hunter Biden’s lawyers from using what they thought was a key piece of exculpatory evidence: an altered version of the federal firearms form he filled out when he bought the gun in 2018 that was tweaked in 2021 by the gun store employees.

Read the full story.

The Hunter Biden trial began Monday with jury selection at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware.

Judge Maryellen Noreika gaveled in the proceedings at 8:45 a.m. ET.

The large jury pool of Delaware residents was sworn in for the jury selection process, where prospective jurors will be quizzed about their political activities, their thoughts on gun control and addiction, and their ability to judge the case impartially.

First lady Jill Biden is attending the trial against Hunter Biden in Delaware. The first lady entered the courtroom Monday morning as jury selection is set to kick-off shortly.

Jill and Hunter, surrounded by Secret Service agents, greeted each other with a hug as attorneys in the case discussed courtroom logistics.

Hunter’s wife Melissa Cohen Biden is also in attendance.

First lady Jill Biden arrives ahead of Hunter Biden's trial at federal court on Monday, June 3, in Wilmington, Delaware.

First lady Jill Biden arrived at the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, where the first day of jury selection in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial is set to begin.

Hunter Biden arrived at court in Wilmington, Delaware, at 8:09 a.m. for the first day of jury selection in his federal gun trial.

Biden, 54, is accused of illegally purchasing and possessing a gun in 2018 while abusing drugs, a violation of federal law. He pleaded not guilty to the three charges, though he has been open about his struggles with alcohol and crack cocaine addiction.

So much of the 2024 presidential election cycle has been caught up in the legal sphere, with the four criminal prosecutions against former President Donald Trump, the Hunter Biden trial this week, and various Supreme Court hearings on Trump and abortion, among others.

What most of these have in common is a lack of public access on some level.

Trump’s criminal trial in New York allowed no TV or audio, meaning news coming out of the courtroom was via email, messaging clients or social media from reporters in the courthouse, despite its historic nature.

Hunter Biden’s trial access will be even more limited. Journalists will not be allowed to have electronics in the Wilmington federal courthouse to send out information in real time, and will instead have to leave the building or use runners to relay news to the public.

US President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden disembark from Air Force One at Hanco*ck Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, on February 4, 2023.

Hunter Biden is President Joe Biden’s youngest son, and his indictment last September marked the first time in US history that the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president.

Hunter Biden has had a longtime battle with crack cocaine addiction — which he and the president have publicly spoken about —and it is at the center of this case.

He has been charged with making false statements on a federal firearms form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person related to a gun he purchasedin 2018 despite struggling with crack addiction at the time of purchase — and then lying about it on the form.

In a 2021 memoir, Biden detailed a 2018 relapse, how meeting his wife Melissa Cohen eventually led him to seek help, and the support of his father, including an intervention led by the president and first lady at their Delaware home.

Hunter Biden is a graduate of Yale Law school and spent several years at a law and lobbying firm, worked at the US Commerce Department, and as a part of the board of directors at Amtrak, among other gigs.

He also served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, which Republicans have used to tout unverified bribery allegations against him and the president.

CNN’s Daniel Dale contributed to this post.