Hunter Biden’s gun trial could last up to 2 weeks, starting June 3

WILMINGTON, Del. —  The judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s federal firearms charges trial agreed Friday to block prosecutors from telling jurors about some other unflattering episodes from his personal life, but left the door open to allowing them in if he testifies.

It’s unclear whether President Biden’s son would take the stand during the trial, which could last up to two weeks during the presidential campaign and is likely to include sharp disagreements over evidence.

Hunter Biden is charged with lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware. A trial is set to begin June 3 and could last up to two weeks.

Hunter Biden has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law and the case is politically motivated. He didn’t speak to reporters as he accompanied his lawyers to and from the Wilmington courthouse for a hearing on Friday.

Prosecutors won a victory on a key point as U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika found that they wouldn’t have to prove that he used drugs specifically on the day of the purchase.

She agreed to a defense push to keep out other details about his past, including a child-support case in Arkansas and his dismissal from the Navy after a positive drug test. If he does take the stand, however, “there’s a number of issues that may become more contentious,” Noreika said. Prosecutors have acknowledged those episodes probably won’t be relevant unless he testifies.

She also agreed to consider defense questions about the contents of a laptop that he is alleged to have dropped off at a Delaware repair shop.

Hunter Biden’s attorneys want to raise questions about the authenticity of the laptop’s data at trial. Prosecutors say that there’s no evidence it has been compromised and that a drawn-out fight would be a waste of time. The laptop has been a source of controversy for years after Republicans accessed and disseminated personal data from it.

Noreika said she will consider objections to specific pieces of data as the trial unfolds.

Prosecutors also plan to show jurors portions of his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” in which he detailed his struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse after the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau, of brain cancer at age 46.

Defense attorneys argued prosecutors were cherry-picking evidence, and the judge agreed to allow Biden’s attorneys to introduce wider selections.

His attorney Abbe Lowell also says there are indications that the gun-purchase form was changed by employees after the sale. Prosecutors say there were only minor additions unrelated to the parts Hunter Biden filled out.

Noreika didn’t immediately rule on whether the defense could introduce an altered version of the form at trial.

Hunter Biden is also facing federal tax charges in Los Angeles and is set for trial in that case in September. He’s accused of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years while living an “extravagant lifestyle” during a period in which he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. The back taxes have since been paid.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers have pushed unsuccessfully in both cases to have them dismissed. They have argued, among other things, that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to indict him after a plea agreement hit the skids in court and was criticized by Republicans, including former President Trump.

Trump, who is running to unseat the Democratic president, faces his own significant legal problems. He is charged in four criminal cases, including a hush money trial underway in New York.

The long-running federal investigation into the president’s son had looked ready to wrap up with a plea deal last year, but the agreement imploded after a judge raised questions about it. Hunter Biden was subsequently indicted.

Under the deal, he would have gotten two years of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor tax charges. He also would have avoided prosecution on the gun charge if he stayed out of trouble.

Lauer and Whitehurst write for the Associated Press. Lauer reported from Wilmington, Whitehurst from Washington. AP writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.