Hunter Biden wipes away tears as daughter testifies in his gun trial

Published

1 year ago

June 8, 2024

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Hunter Biden wiped away tears as his daughter gave evidence in a trial where he is accused of lying about his drug use when buying a gun.

It was the most emotion the US president’s son has shown publicly during his trial in Wilmington, Delaware.

After Naomi Biden hugged him, she appeared to wipe away a tear as she left the courtroom.

Joe Biden’s son is accused of not disclosing his crack cocaine problem when completing forms to purchase the weapon in October 2018.

Ms Biden, 30, said her father seemed “really great” when she saw him in New York in the weeks before he bought the gun.

She said she did not see any evidence of drug use, and that she also visited him in a California rehab centre.

“I hadn’t seen my dad in a long time, and I knew he was in a rehab facility there. He reached out,” she told the court.

She said they met at a coffee shop – along with his “sober coach” – adding she sent him a text saying she was “so proud” of him.

However, prosecutors also asked about messages and calls where she seemed unable to reach him.

“I can’t take this,” she texted several days after he purchased the gun. “I miss you so much and I just want to hang out.”

Prosecutors put forward evidence and prior testimony which they said claimed Mr Biden was arranging to buy crack during this time.

Hunter Biden was allegedly using crack before and after he bought the gun in October 2018 and is accused of lying when he selected ‘no’ to a question about drug use on a screening form.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to disclose his addiction and illegally possessing the Colt Cobra revolver for 11 days.

His lawyers have said he was not being dishonest as he did not consider himself an addict when he bought the gun.

The 54-year-old’s ex-wife and former girlfriend also testified earlier this week about his crack use, describing unsuccessful efforts to help him get clean.

Graphic images, including Mr Biden half-naked holding a crack pipe, have also been shown – as has a video of the drug being weighed on a scale.

First lady flies in from D-Day events

His sister-in-law Hallie Biden told the court on Thursday she found the gun and threw it away out of concern for Mr Biden and her own children.

Prosecutors ended their case on Friday and the defence took the stage, with the owner of the gun shop and an employee among witnesses.

Lawyer Abbe Lowell raised what he said were inconsistencies on the screening form, and asked the owner why he approved the sale when Mr Biden’s passport did not show his car registration number as required.

First Lady Jill Biden was among family members in court after flying back from D-Day events in France.

She was seen holding her son’s hand as he prepared to leave the court for a lunch break.

President Biden has also pledged support for his son but said he would accept the jury’s verdict and ruled out using his presidential pardon.

“I am the president, but I am also a dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today,” he said in a statement this week.

The defence is now deciding whether to call Hunter Biden on Monday as the last witness.

It is not the only case he faces. In September, just two months before the US election, he is set to go on trial in California on charges of failing to pay $1.4m (£1.1m) in tax.

US

US-UK trade deal ‘done’, says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

Published

24 mins ago

June 17, 2025

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US-UK trade deal 'done', says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.

The US president told reporters: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”

As Mr Trump and his British counterpart exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, the US president held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.

Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Mr Starmer quickly bent down to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”

Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”

Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.

However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.

What exactly does trade deal being ‘done’ mean?

The government says the US “has committed” to removing tariffs (taxes on imported goods) on UK aerospace goods, such as engines and aircraft parts, which currently stand at 10%.

That is “expected to come into force by the end of the month”.

Tariffs on car imports will drop from 27.5% to 10%, the government says, which “saves car manufacturers hundreds of millions a year, and protects tens of thousands of jobs”.

The White House says there will be a quota of 100,000 cars eligible for import at that level each year.

But on steel, the story is a little more complicated.

The UK is the only country exempted from the global 50% tariff rate on steel – which means the UK rate remains at the original level of 25%.

That tariff was expected to be lifted entirely, but the government now says it will “continue to go further and make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed”.

The White House says the US will “promptly construct a quota at most-favoured-nation rates for steel and aluminium articles”.

Other key parts of the deal include import and export quotas for beef – and the government is keen to emphasise that “any US imports will need to meet UK food safety standards”.

There is no change to tariffs on pharmaceuticals for the moment, and the government says “work will continue to protect industry from any further tariffs imposed”.

The White House says they “committed to negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes”.

Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”

He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.

“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”

Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.

The US president appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.

Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.

In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.

Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.

US

Doctor to plead guilty to giving Matthew Perry ketamine before Friends star suffered fatal overdose

Published

24 mins ago

June 17, 2025

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Doctor to plead guilty to giving Matthew Perry ketamine before Friends star suffered fatal overdose

A Los Angeles doctor has agreed to plead guilty to giving Friends actor Matthew Perry ketamine in the lead up to his death from a fatal overdose, prosecutors have said.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, who will admit to four counts of distribution of ketamine, faces up to a maximum of 40 years in prison.

He is among five people charged in connection with the death of Friends star Perry, 54, whose body was found in his hot tub by his assistant in October 2023.

The medical examiner ruled that ketamine and other factors caused him to lose consciousness and drown.

The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal treatment for depression, but had begun seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.

Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry’s ketamine in his final weeks. He and three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.

Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor and is the only defendant who has pleaded not guilty to the prosecution’s case.

About a month before the actor’s death, Perry found Plasencia, a doctor who allegedly asked another doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to court filings in the Chavez case.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors.

The pair who practised in California met up the same day and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.

After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500 (£3,314), Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to” prosecutors said.

Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing.

He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.

US

Suspect in killing of US politician went to homes of other lawmakers in same night, officials say

Published

12 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Suspect in killing of US politician went to homes of other lawmakers in same night, officials say

A man accused of killing a US politician and her husband went to the homes of other lawmakers that night, intending to kill them, officials said.

Vance Boelter, 57, meticulously planned his attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the properties and people he targeted and disguising himself as a police officer, according to Minnesota’s acting US attorney Joseph Thompson.

Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer and shone a torch in the face of some of his victims to disguise his identity.

“It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmare,” said Mr Thompson.

Boelter, 57, allegedly shot and wounded Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their Minneapolis home in the early hours of Saturday morning.

He then travelled to the home of another state lawmaker but she and her family were on holiday, so they didn’t answer the door, said Mr Thompson.

Video showed that Boelter rang the doorbell at around 2.24am on Friday but left when the family didn’t respond.

He then drove to the home of an unnamed state senator, but after the Hoffmans’ adult daughter called emergency services to say her parents had been shot, a police officer was dispatched to conduct a wellness check.

That officer saw Boelter’s car parked up the street but thought he was another officer, said Mr Thompson.

Boelter had reportedly altered his car to make it look more like a police car.

He then left and drove to the home of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, according to an FBI affidavit.

Local police officers, also conducting a check, arrived to see Boelter fatally shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, according to the document.

Melissa Hortman was found dead inside.

Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening after a huge manhunt in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.

He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Mr Hoffman and his wife.

Before his arrest, the father of five texted his family group chat saying: “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” according to the affidavit.

His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation… there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the document said.

Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside his vehicle.

A Minnesota official said politicians who had been outspoken in favour of abortion rights were on the list.