Hunter Biden gun trial Day 4: Live updates and latest news | AP News

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.

Judge Noreika said that during Hallie Biden’s testimony, attorneys cannot use statements made by Hunter Biden in text exchanges with her because they would be hearsay. Her own statements in the exchanges are a different matter.

“As to the texts from Ms. Biden to Mr. Biden, I think we’ll have to play that one at a time,” the judge said.

The attorneys also argued over whether expected testimony from Hallie Biden, about her text message exchanges with Hunter, contains inadmissible hearsay.

Hallie is the widow of Beau Biden, who also had a romantic relationship with Hunter Biden after his brother’s death.

The lawyers argued back and forth about exchanges of documentary evidence between the prosecution and defense. The discussion involved text messages extracted by the prosecution from Hunter’s laptop hard drive.

“You’re not giving them the information in the same way they gave it to you,” Judge Noreika told a defense attorney.

Lowell told the judge that the defense plans to file a motion later today, after the prosecution rests its case, challenging the sufficiency of the prosecution’s case.

Judge Maryellen Noreika told Lowell that if he thinks she will be able to read the motion, consider the prosecution’s response and issue a quick ruling, he has “an elevated view” of her ability.

“I appreciate that, but it’s not going to happen,” she said.

The trial has resumed for the day, with attorneys and the judge discussing Wednesday’s testimony of a gun store clerk who sold a revolver to Hunter in October 2018.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the judge that he would like to continue his cross-examination by asking former clerk Gordon Cleveland about how another gun store employee became involved in the transaction.

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter is headed to trial on federal gun charges in a case brought by his father’s Justice Department at a time when America’s political and legal worlds are colliding like never before.

The case playing out in Wilmington, Delaware, stems from a gun the younger Biden bought in October 2018, months before his father announced his bid for the presidency.

Take a look at some key witnesses in the trial.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, CLAUDIA LAUER, RANDALL CHASE, COLLEEN LONG

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday painted President Joe Biden’s son Hunter as deceptive and driven by addiction, a man whose dark habits ensnared loved ones and who knew what he was doing when he lied on a federal form to purchase a gun in 2018.

Jurors also got their first look at the document at the center of the case, and Hunter Biden’s attorney argued that his client did not believe he was in the throes of addiction when he stated in the paperwork that he did not have a drug problem.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the three federal firearms charges filed after his earlier deal imploded. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

By CLAUDIA LAUER, RANDALL CHASE, COLLEEN LONG, MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

The courtroom grew quiet when Kathleen Buhle, who was married to Hunter for 20 years, walked in Wednesday. She testified that she discovered her husband was using drugs when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on their porch on July 3, 2015, a day after their anniversary.

When she confronted him, “he acknowledged smoking crack,” she said.