WILMINGTON, Del. Hunter Biden‘s eldest daughter, Naomi, took the stand in her father’s defense on Friday, telling a court how she took control of her father’s drug use months before prosecutors lied on a government background check.
“He looked like the clearest I’d seen him since my uncle died, and he looked really great,” she said while visiting him in rehab in Los Angeles with then-boyfriend Peter Neal.
Hunter Biden wiped away tears as he expressed his pride in her.
Naomi Biden told the court that she saw her father again a few months later in New York when he and Neal came to pick up the truck after he had taken it.
“He looked great. He seemed hopeful,” Biden Jr. said of the visit, which came shortly after his father bought the gun at the center of the case against him.
Her memories became more complicated for her father’s defense as she was cross-examined. Biden is accused of illegally purchasing a Colt Cobra handgun and lying about his drug use on a federal form. The widow of her brother, with whom Beau Biden was romantically involved after his death, said she found the gun — the defendant — inside the truck strewn with drug “residue” before he threw it away. Biden pleaded not guilty to three charges.
President Joe Biden said in an interview that he would not pardon his son, who could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Sitting behind the defendant was first lady Jill Biden He flew from France and is set to return to Europe on Saturday. Hunter followed his wife, Melissa Cohen-Beiden, by the hand as she left the courtroom after her daughter’s testimony.
Before the government rested its case Friday morning, a narcotics agent testified in court that the Hunter Biden texts provided by prosecutors were related to drug use and deals, and a forensic chemist testified that a small amount of white powder was found in the bag. Where Biden keeps his firearm.
Court adjourned early Friday morning after the judge sent the jury home.
Here’s what you missed on Day 5 of Hunter Biden’s trial:
Naomi’s statement
Hunter Biden visited his daughter in New York in mid-October after using his truck to help his girlfriend move into her apartment. Naomi Biden told the court that she saw her father probably once during the three days she was there and admitted she had trouble coordinating with him, partly because he had to commute to work in Brooklyn.
At one point, prosecutor Leo Wise texted her at 2 a.m. “where are the keys to the truck?” and “Can Peter bring 57th and 5th and I’ll trade cars with him?” Hunter Biden had used Joe Biden’s Cadillac to travel to New York and they had to trade, Naomi told the court, referring to her grandfather as “Pop.”
“Now?” He wrote a message to his father at that time, but he did not reply. He said that he did not see him using drugs.
Wise then asked Naomi about other texts from her father while she was in New York and how she was afraid of not being able to reach him.
“I’m really sorry dad, I can’t take this,” after her text sent him a sad face emoji. “I don’t know what to say. I just want to have fun with you.”
He also said that when he took the car and returned it to him, he did not see any drug residue or drug paraphernalia in the car.
In what seemed like a particularly poignant moment, Wise asked Naomi if her father had told her that she was seeing “someone named Frankie” or that the person would be coming to the hotel room.
“I don’t remember,” he said.
In earlier testimony to the court, Biden’s ex-girlfriend told the court how early in their relationship she met someone with the same name who sold her drugs in New York.
Naomi Biden wiped away a tear as she left the courtroom.
The defense chose not to put Hunter Biden’s uncle, James Bidenat the stand after a break for lunch.
The prosecutor’s office stopped the case
The government rested its case Friday after presenting evidence from several witnesses who testified about Biden’s drug use, including his ex-girlfriend and his brother Beau’s widow.
Thursday saw the prosecution’s star witness, Hallie Biden, testify about Biden’s drug use and the day she remembers finding, throwing away and then looking for his gun in a trash can.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden said Friday that they will discuss over the weekend whether to take him to the stand when the case resumes Monday. The defense also said it will file a written motion Friday afternoon seeking acquittal, arguing the case is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.