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By Erin Keller and Eileen Holliday
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Testifying under an immunity deal, Hallie Biden took the stand Thursday morning and revealed sordid details about her relationship with her late husband's brother, Hunter Biden, with whom she had a relationship.
Hallie Biden talked about how Hunter Biden introduced her to smoking crack.
"It was a terrible experience that I went through and I'm embarrassed of that period of my life," she said during testimony as jurors feverously took notes.
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The 54-year-old son of President Joe Biden appeared for the fourth day of his trial in Delaware for felony charges related to a 2018 gun purchase. Prosecutors argue that he lied on federal documents about his drug use, which would have barred him from legally obtaining a firearm. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison. The trial, expected to last one to two weeks, delves deeply into whether Biden's drug use influenced his ability to lawfully purchase the firearm.
The school counselor was married to Beau Biden from 2002 until he died of brain cancer in 2015. A year later, Hallie Biden and Hunter Biden started a romantic relationship, and were still together at the time of the gun purchase.
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Jurors watched security footage from a Delaware grocery store showing her throwing Hunter Biden's gun in an outdoor bin, as well as returning to the scene to try and get it back.
"Did you take that from me, Hallie?" Hunter Biden texted her on Oct. 23, 2018, when he realized his gun was taken from his truck.
"...You really need to help me think, Hallie. This is very very serious," he added, condemning her "dangerous negligence."
Hallie takes full responsibility for ditching the gun in the trash and says she now realizes it was a "stupid idea."
She also testified about her fears that Hunter's substance abuse issues would lead to either an overdose or suicide.
Hallie Biden only referred to Hunter Biden as her "brother-in-law" when she took the stand despite having a romantic relationship with Hunter from 2016 to 2019.
She is testifying under an immunity agreement to avoid charges stemming from using drugs with Hunter and her finding and discarding the gun in question at a Delaware grocery store in October 2018.
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Hallie Biden, according to prosecutors, will also testify that she and her kids found drugs and paraphernalia in Hunter's bags and cars — a similar sentiment to what Hunter's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle testified on Tuesday.
Buhle talked about how she never saw Hunter using drugs, she would consistently search his cars for drug paraphernalia so that their daughters wouldn't get caught with it when they borrowed the cars.
Buhle told the court that she found drugs multiple times in 2018, while she also made other discoveries over the course of their relationship.
"I found a crack pipe... on an ashtray on the side porch of our home," she said, speaking of an incident in 2015.
Direct examination of Buhle by defense attorney Abbe Lowell lasted around 15 minutes, when she admitted she never saw the defendant use drugs.
Buhle, 55, and Hunter Biden, 54, married in 1993. The couple, who have three children—Naomi, 30, Maisy, 23, and Finnegan, 23—divorced in 2016.
James Biden, Hunter's uncle, could also take the stand. The president's brother helped Hunter through his rehab stints.
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Jurors started Thursday morning listening to more testimony from Gordon Cleveland who recalled the day Biden walked into his gun store on Oct. 12, 2018 to purchase a firearm. The President's son wanted to buy a gun but didn't have a specific model in mind. After showing him a few options, the gun store clerk talked with Hunter about accessories such as a speedloader, practice ammunition and hollow-point ammunition.
"He went with the hollow-point," Cleveland testified on Wednesday during Biden's federal gun trial in Delaware.
Biden paid $900 for a Cold Cobra .38 revolver and told Cleveland to keep the $13 as a tip.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's defense attorney, then asked Cleveland if he was familiar with the phrase "whale hunter."
"That's what they called me because I sold high-end guns to customers," Cleveland explained.
"I'm a salesman," he added. "That's just what I did."
But he said he didn't have a profit motive to upsell customers on more expensive merchandise because he was paid a flat salary and didn't make commission.
In a humorous moment that got a chuckle from the courtroom, Cleveland said he always recommended ammo to go with purchased firearms, otherwise, "What are you going to do with it? Throw it at somebody?"
Cleveland, adhering to store policy, refused Biden's tip and placed the change in an envelope by the register.
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