Elections
Rough day in court for Hunter Biden defense team: ex says he smoked crack ‘every 20 minutes’
Hunter Biden’s defense team faced significant setbacks in court on Wednesday, leading Hunter to joke about representing himself as he left the courtroom. The carefully crafted defense presented by attorney Abbe Lowell on Tuesday was undermined by testimony from Hunter’s ex-girlfriend and ex-wife, who detailed his crack-cocaine usage around the time he purchased a firearm in October 2018, and by the gun salesman who sold him the weapon.
Hunter Biden is facing two federal charges for allegedly lying about his drug addiction on a gun-purchase background-check form and a third charge for allegedly possessing the firearm while addicted to crack cocaine. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
National Review reports that the bulk of the day was dominated by testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, who dated him from December 2017 to November 2018. Prosecutor Leo Wise conducted a thorough direct examination, using photos from Kestan’s cellphone to support her testimony. Kestan provided detailed accounts of their time together, recalling specific dates and locations, and consistently confirmed that Hunter smoked crack cocaine during their hotel and Airbnb stays.
“Every 20 minutes or so,” Kestan stated about Hunter’s crack habit during one hotel stay. She noted he smoked less frequently in public and his demeanor did not change after smoking. Wise presented photos from Kestan’s cellphone showing drug paraphernalia in their lodgings, including an image of Biden in a hotel bathtub holding a crack pipe.
Kestan recounted that Biden allowed her to withdraw cash for drug purchases and described drug transactions she witnessed. Her testimony and images helped establish that Hunter was smoking crack in September 2018, following a late August rehab stint in Malibu, California. She claimed the rehab stint did not significantly impact Hunter’s behavior, contradicting Lowell’s argument that Hunter had achieved some sobriety and did not consider himself an addict when he purchased the gun.
Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, also testified, recalling the discovery of a crack pipe on their porch on July 3, 2015, the day after their 22nd wedding anniversary. Buhle, who divorced Hunter in 2017, appeared hesitant and saddened during her testimony. She remembered finding drugs or paraphernalia in Hunter’s car numerous times between 2015 and 2019, despite struggling to recall specific details.
Gun salesman Gordon Cleveland provided a detailed account of Hunter Biden’s gun purchase at StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply. Cleveland, a part-time salesman and full-time garbage-truck driver, described his interaction with Hunter, refuting Lowell’s claim that Hunter was convinced to buy a gun by Cleveland. Cleveland testified that he advised Hunter to take his time and be truthful when filling out the background-check form.
During cross-examination, Lowell attempted to portray Cleveland as a sleazy, greedy salesman, but Cleveland maintained he was simply doing his job and providing high-quality guns to customers.
First Lady Jill Biden observed part of the proceedings, while Hunter’s current wife, Melissa Cohen, watched the entire day unfold. Kevin Morris, Hunter’s friend and financial patron, was also present in the courtroom alongside the Biden family.
Cleveland’s cross-examination is scheduled to resume Thursday morning.
In November, president-elect Donald Trump announced on social media that he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico if they do not take an active role in containing illegal immigration as well as the level of illicit drugs entering into the United States.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, after which the Canadian government vowed to secure the border. “We got, I think, a mutual understanding of what they’re concerned about in terms of border security,” Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc, who accompanied Trudeau at Mar-a-Largo, said of the meeting in an interview with Canadian media. “All of their concerns are shared by Canadians and by the government of Canada.”
“We talked about the security posture currently at the border that we believe to be effective, and we also discussed additional measures and visible measures that we’re going to put in place over the coming weeks,” LeBlanc continued. “And we also established, Rosemary, a personal series of rapport that I think will continue to allow us to make that case.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation reports the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is preparing to beef up its immigration enforcement capabilities by hiring more staff, adding more vehicles and creating more processing facilities, in the chance that there is an immigration surge sparked by Trump’s presidential election victory. The moves are a change in direction from Trudeau’s public declaration in January 2017 that Canada was a “welcoming” country and that “diversity is our strength” just days after Trump was sworn into office the first time.
The Daily Caller notes the differences in response from the Canadian government verses Mexico’s:
Trudeau’s recent overtures largely differ from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has indicated she is not willing to bend the knee to Trump’s tariff threats. The Mexican leader in November said “there will be a response in kind” to any tariff levied on Mexican goods going into the U.S., and she appeared to deny the president-elect’s claims that she agreed to do more to beef up border security in a recent phone call.
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