(CN) — Hunter Biden on Monday became the first child of a sitting president to face a federal criminal trial. He confronts three felony charges centered around a firearm that prosecutors say he purchased illegally in 2018.
Biden’s trial will also delve into his highly publicized drug use and addiction — particularly in October 2018, when he purchased a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver from a gun shop north of Wilmington, Delaware.
Before his purchase, Biden was required to fill out a federal firearms transaction record asking whether he used illegal drugs or was addicted to controlled substances.
Biden is accused of falsely answering “no” on the form before he successfully bought the revolver. He kept the weapon for about 11 days before his partner threw it into a grocery store trash can.
Two of Biden’s three felony charges focus on the form Biden filled out when buying the gun. Prosecutors say he knowingly lied about his drug use and/or addiction.
The third charge focuses on Biden’s possession of the revolver. This charge is related, with prosecutors saying he knowingly maintained ownership of the revolver while illegally using or being addicted to controlled substances.
In order for lead prosecutor David Weiss to prove Biden guilty on any charge, he must first prove that Biden was either using or addicted to drugs at the time of the alleged crime.
The ambiguous nature of terms like “unlawful user” and “addict” have remained a source of contention between prosecution and defense, as without clear criteria, a jury can’t reasonably determine whether a crime was committed.
“You would like the law to always be very clear [and] to give notice to people of what they’re not allowed to do,” said Emily Spottswood, a law professor at Penn State.
In this case, she said, that leads to inquiries like: "How recently do you have to have used [an illegal substance]? What does it mean to be a user versus someone who has used it ever?"
"There’s real questions about that," Spottswood added.
In May, Weiss successfully petitioned to bar Biden from arguing or suggesting that he can only be found guilty if he illegally used a controlled substance on the day of the firearm purchase.
Instead, prosecutors only need to show that “unlawful use has occurred recently enough to indicate that the individual is actively engaged in such conduct." That's a slightly clearer but still ambiguous benchmark.
Even determining that Biden was actively using or addicted to a controlled substance at the time of purchase would not be enough to convict him. In order to prove that Biden knowingly lied about his addiction and knowingly possessed a firearm while addicted, prosecutors will likely have to prove that Biden recognized his addiction at the time of his alleged crimes.
“They have to prove not just that he was an addict but that he knows he’s an addict in order to make this stick,” Spottswood said. “So, that’s going to get a little bit complicated.”
Court documents filed by Biden’s attorneys suggest this may be a core part of their defense. Earlier this month, Biden's lead defense attorney Abbe Lowell requested permission to seek testimony from a specialist who can talk about how people with addiction view their own drug habits.
“Someone like Mr. Biden, who had just completed an 11-day rehabilitation program and lived with a sober companion after that, could surely believe he was not a present tense user or addict,” Lowell wrote in one court document.
While prosecutors will have to prove vague criteria on drug use and addiction as well as Biden’s own awareness of it, Weiss has amassed a slew of evidence pertaining to Biden’s drug use in an effort prove his case.
That includes several statements made by Biden himself.
Weiss submitted as evidence multiple excerpts from Biden’s 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” including a statement from Biden that he was facing “active addiction” for four years leading up to March 2019.
Additionally, Weiss has brought forward several text messages sent by Biden regarding his drug use. Some contained what prosecutors say are coded terms for drugs, including “baby powder,” “Party Favor” and “chore boy.”
Others are more explicit. One message sent by Biden on Oct. 14, 2018 reads: “I was sleeping in a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney,” referring to an intersection in Wilmington.
Weiss also told the court that he plans to call to the stand several people close to Biden’s family, including unnamed witnesses matching the identities of his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle and his former partner Hallie Biden. The trial, set to begin Monday at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, is anticipated to last about two weeks.
Weighing similar cases, Spottswood suggested that Biden may face long odds at trial’s end.
“Prosecutions for unlawful weapons purchases, unlawful weapons possession — these have a high rate of success on average, because they’re normally fairly simple cases,” Spottswood said.
“I think the best thing that Biden can get into and Biden’s attorneys can get into just gets to: What was his state of mind with respect to these things? And the slight vagueness there," she added. "But I think there’s going to be a pretty good chance, I would say, of a guilty verdict.”
If convicted, Biden faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. However, experts say several factors — including his lack of prior convictions and yearslong sobriety — would likely result in a shorter sentence if he is ultimately convicted.
In addition to the firearms-related charges, Biden also faces nine federal tax-related charges, including tax evasion. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts and is scheduled to face trial in that matter on June 20.
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