Takeaways from Day 1 of Hunter Biden’s firearms trial

The Biden family members seated in a Wilmington court for the start of Hunter Biden’s gun trial on Monday share many of the hardships as the jurors who will weigh the fate of the president’s son. Hunter Biden is himself a former drug addict, on trial over his illegal gun possession and for making false statements. He is divorced and remarried. He has experienced death, as when his brother died of a brain tumor in 2015.

Hunter Biden is also the president’s son; a distinction that was impossible to ignore as time and again jurors name-dropped members of the Biden family during jury selection, or coyly conceded that: yes, they had once donated to a political campaign — and yes — it had been to the “Bidens.”

Peering over peach-colored eyeglasses, Hunter sat upright as dozens of potential jurors filed through Judge Maryellen Norieka’s court during an at-times grueling selection process. Noon had passed when Hunter’s lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, gently asked, “For the schedule, are we thinking, I forget if there was supposed to be a lunch break today or not?”

Seated behind him were not only the attorneys, reporters and sketch artists who typically fill the courtroom in a high-profile case but also first lady Jill Biden, who embraced her son, his sister and even his son-in-law.

It was a gripping scene in a historic case where the president’s son could face up to 25 years in jail. The first lady described the charges as “cruel” in an interview with MSNBC earlier this year. She sat directly behind her son, eyeing the proceedings closely and offering support to him and other family members.

At times, she shook her head, as she did when one former police officer, a potential juror, described following the case in the news. The first lady also at times placed an arm around Melissa Cohen-Biden, Hunter’s wife.

“We’ll be here tomorrow,” Melissa Cohen-Biden mouthed quietly to the defense party at the end of the day.

Here’s what you missed on day one of Hunter Biden’s trial:

Jury sworn in 

As voir dire began on Monday morning, there were dozens of potential jurors in the benches of Judge Maryellen Noreika’s courtroom. By its close, a jury of twelve — including six men and six women — and four alternates were sworn in. The group included an Obama voter, gun owners and people who have seen addiction up close.  

The jurors — who said they get their news from a mix of sources including broadcast, cable and even YouTube — are barred from researching and talking about the case. That includes one empaneled juror who relayed that she learned the trial would be underway from her father early this morning while en route to the courthouse. 

Noreika told the panel to ignore targeted advertisements, or pop-up ads, as they use the internet, warning that “even foreign governments” may seek to “influence” or “persuade” them during the trial.

During the selection process, Hunter’s lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, parsed jurors’ personal views around firearms, including whether they felt it appropriate that drug users or alcoholics ever have access to them. Lowell also sought clarity on what exactly people who expressed some knowledge of the case understood — and from where they got their news.

If they or a family member had purchased a gun, they were asked about whether they had been walked through a background check. Hunter faces three criminal counts related to his purchase of a gun where he did not reveal his drug addiction.

One potential juror grew prickly after explaining how they learned “there was supposed to be a deal” in the case last year, “then the deal wasn’t accepted by the judge.” Lowell suggested she was equivocating on whether she could be impartial and moved to strike the person for cause.  

“When you say you think you could be fair and impartial, that gives people heartburn,” Lowell said. “I know she corrected herself afterwards, and then she said ‘I guess.’” 

Another potential juror vowed to be impartial after explaining how they believed U.S. government agencies such as the DOJ and FBI had pursued politicized cases including those involving former President Donald Trump, and cited the Steele dossier and Trump’s recent conviction in a hush money case in New York. This person was not chosen.

Biden family shows up

Before Hunter stepped foot in court on Monday, a powerful quorum of allies and family members stood ready to surround and support him. First to arrive was Hunter’s sister Ashley, and Kevin Morris, an entertainment lawyer, who is helping to pay the president’s son’s legal fees.

Peter Neal, Hunter’s son-in-law, swapped notes on a legal pad with Morris. Morris could be seen writing on post-it notes that he handed off to the defense. There was also Jack Owens, Biden’s brother-in-law, duly recognized by a potential juror who tended a bar that Owens, the brother of Biden’s sister Valerie, would frequent in Kennett Square.

Joe Biden’s longtime friend Richard “Mouse” Smith, the president of Delaware’s NAACP branch, was also among the group’s ranks. Smith, who has known the president since they met at a Delaware pool as teenagers, embraced Hunter during a break in the morning proceedings. 

A source familiar said to expect a “steady stream” of friends and family in attendance throughout the trial.

Also present was David Weiss, the Trump-appointed special counsel, who arrived in the courtroom after the first break and was present until the end. He observed the room, either looking up at the ceiling, the jury or at the press.

It was impossible to miss the contrast to Trump, who saw high-profile aides and defenders flood into the courtroom behind him during his New York hush money trial last month. Days passed before members of Trump’s family joined him inside the courtroom of Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over that case. Melania Trump, his wife, never appeared. 

Delaware degrees of separation

One former police officer described himself as an acquaintance of Jill Biden’s from their time working at the same school. “And I’ve met her husband,” the man, who was not empaneled, added. 

Asked what he knew about the case, another man explained that Delaware was not a place where local news slips under the radar. “I live in Delaware; you can’t swing a cat without hearing something,” he said. 

Others claimed to be more closely associated with the Biden family, not merely passing colleagues, but family friends, the sort you might say ‘hello’ to socially, said one woman. She added that her husband was “very good friends with Beau” as she choked up. 

Another juror, who described playing a squash tournament at Wilmington Country Club with Beau in 2010, said he had coached Beau’s son “a couple of times” in baseball, basketball, and flag football. His wife is also “very friendly” with Hallie Biden due to their connection from a private college preparatory school in the area, he said.

“The connection at Tatnall School is strong,” the man explained. He conceded the connection would make it difficult for him to remain impartial in the case. 

Sometimes, that familiarity was more pedestrian, such as when a potential juror who was struck told Lowell of his familiarity with the location of the grocery store where Hunter’s gun was found. 

But it was impossible to escape the presence of the first family, their influence and long history hovering over the courtroom.

At one point, Noreika repeated a statement made by a woman who said she sort-of knew the Bidens and felt for Hunter: “You don’t think it’s easy being the president’s son?”