Northeast
Hunter Biden's defense team in historic criminal trial likely 'banking on' hung jury: expert
Hunter Biden’s defense team is likely “banking on” the jury deadlocking on a verdict in the first son’s historic criminal gun trial, a legal expert told Fox News Digital.
“That’s what Hunter Biden and his defense team are banking on in this case,” Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Zack Smith told Fox News Digital when asked if the trial could result in a hung jury or even acquittal.
“Legally speaking, it didn’t really seem like Hunter Biden has a defense to these charges,” Smith continued. “Particularly, some of the jurors might have had family or friends struggling with substance abuse issues and have some sympathy for Hunter Biden and his substance abuse issues.”
Hunter Biden’s trial began last Monday in a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, where he faces three felony firearm offenses regarding the 2018 purchase of a .38 revolver from a gun shop in the state. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Hunter Biden departs from federal court, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Prosecutors are working to prove that Hunter Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018 when he ticked a box labeled “No” when asked if he is an unlawful user of a firearm or addicted to controlled substances.
It is the first time in U.S. history that a sitting president’s child is on trial.
Hunter Biden has a well-documented history of drug addiction, most notably detailed in his memoir “Beautiful Things,” which walks readers through his need for crack cocaine every 20 minutes at the height of his addiction, how he linked up with a female drug dealer he nicknamed “Bicycles” who sold him crack cocaine on the streets of Washington, D.C., and how he could serve as a “crack daddy” to dealers due to his spiraling addiction.
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The defense team does not deny Hunter Biden’s history with alcohol and drug addiction. Instead, they are working to build an argument that on the day Hunter Biden purchased the hand gun, Oct. 12, 2018, that he was not using crack cocaine and did not consider himself an active addict, citing his recent stint in a rehab.
An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows the gun that Hunter Biden purchased. (U.S. Government Exhibit)
Prosecutors are working to prove that Hunter Biden was addicted to crack cocaine, before, after and during the purchase of the handgun.
Smith continued in his comments to Fox News Digital that it is likely the jurors could deadlock and not reach a unanimous verdict.
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“It’s certainly a possibility that you could have a hung jury. It’s a very real possibility. You only need one juror as a holdout,” Smith explained.
“But even those who may have some sympathy for Hunter Biden and his struggle with substance abuse, I thought Hallie Biden’s testimony was problematic for him.”
Hunter Biden arrives at federal court with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Wilmington. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Hallie Biden is the widow of Beau Biden, Hunter Biden’s brother who died in 2015 from brain cancer. Hallie Biden dated Hunter Biden following her husband’s death, and was called as a witness in the case by the prosection team.
Hallie Biden walked the jury through the rise and fall of their relationship, which focused on how Biden introduced her to crack cocaine before she ultimately became sober. Hunter Biden and Hallie Biden have since ended the relationship, with Hallie Biden joining court with her husband, John Hopkins Anning, whom she married just last weekend.
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A court sketch depicts Hallie Biden testifying on the stand during Hunter Biden’s trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
“I found [crack] and googled it because I didn’t know what it was,” Hallie Biden told the court of the first time she saw the drug in her home. “[Hunter Biden] told me what it was, crack cocaine.”
Hallie Biden, who testified under immunity, said she smoked crack cocaine and even accompanied Hunter Biden on drug deals. Hallie Biden is also a key figure in the trial, as she found Hunter’s Colt gun in the console of his pickup truck 11 days after he purchased the firearm. She testified she tossed the gun in a public trashcan outside of an upscale grocery market in Wilmington because she feared Hunter Biden would hurt himself or others.
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Hunter Biden is facing three charges, false statement in purchase of a firearm; false statement related to information required to be kept by federal firearms licensed dealer; and possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
The total maximum prison time for the charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows an image of Hunter Biden on April 11, 2018. (U.S. Government Exhibit)
Smith noted that even though a possibility of a hung jury is in the cards, prosecutors have presented a strong case against the first son.
“Based on the charges that have been brought and the evidence produced at trial, it certainly seems prosecutors have done their homework and done enough to convince the jury to convict Hunter Biden,” he said.
HUNTER BIDEN’S DRUG USE: WHAT THE PROSECUTION NEEDS TO PROVE AND WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW
In addition to playing excerpts of the audio book version of Hunter’s memoir – which was narrated by the first son – prosecutors have also presented evidence such as a brown pouch that contained the gun having trace amounts of cocaine on it, as well as questioning witnesses at the time of the gun purchase regarding Hunter’s drug use.
Prosecutors called on Hunter’s former girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, who met Hunter when she was 24 and he was 48 at a strip club in New York City. She testified that Hunter “would want to smoke the second he woke up,” discussed photos she took of his drug paraphernalia in trashed hotel rooms, and even how he attempted to get sober by purging his body of drugs with frog venom called “kambo.”
Zoe Kestan, former girlfriend of Hunter Biden, departs federal court after testifying in his trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Though Kestan knew Hunter Biden before and after his purchase of the Colt revolver in October 2018, the pair did not speak that month, rekindling their relationship in November 2018 before it officially ended.
The jury also heard from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, who was married to Hunter Biden for more than 20 years, and recounted to the jury that she was “definitely worried, scared” after first discovering a crack pipe on the side porch of their home in Washington, D.C., in 2015.
Buhle said following the discovery of a crack pipe at their home in 2015, they participated in couple’s therapy before the marriage ended.
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The jury has also been presented with banking information showing thousands of dollars in cash withdrawals – a payment method often used for drug deals – and countless text messages of Hunter setting up drug deals, making references to drugs with language such as “party favor,” “baby powder” and “chore boy,” which is a type of scouring pad used as a filter for crack pipes.
The federal court before Hunter Biden arrives for his scheduled trial, Monday, June 3, 2024, in Wilmington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The texts concerning drug references were from the lead-up and after the gun purchase. Though, one day after the gun purchase, Hunter Biden texted Hallie Biden that he was “waiting for a dealer named Mookie.” A day after that text, he texted that he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney” in Wilmington.
The defense team argues that Hallie Biden doesn’t know with certainty that Hunter Biden was conducting a drug deal on Oct. 13 or if he was smoking crack on a car on Oct. 14, and that he could have just been avoiding Hallie Biden.
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“One of the things Hunter Biden and his defense attorneys seem to be going for is that Hunter didn’t believe he was addicted,” Smith said, pointing to such texts as statements that “seem to undercut that argument.”
During jury selection last Monday, nearly all the more than 60 people called as potential jurors detailed to the court that they have family or friends who have struggled with addiction, which could lead to jurors feeling sympathetic for the president’s 54-year-old son. Delaware is also a small state where the Biden family’s roots run deep.
“The Bidens’ influence and their power in the state can’t be underestimated. But I think the sympathetic issue is the one that Hunter Biden’s legal team is focusing on,” Smith said.
Hunter Biden arrives with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden at federal court, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Wilmington. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The trial follows the unprecedented NY v. Trump trial, which found former President Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Following the verdict, President Biden highlighted that “no one is above the law.”
HUNTER BIDEN’S CRIMINAL TRIAL ON FEDERAL GUN CHARGES BEGINS WITH JURY SELECTION
Hunter Biden is also facing a criminal tax trial in California, which will begin in September, after he was charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors regarding $1.4 million in owed taxes. The taxes have since been paid. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty in that case.
First lady Jill Biden arrives ahead of Hunter Biden’s trial at federal court, Monday, June 3, 2024, in Wilmington. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“The only reason this case is going to trial in Delaware and the tax case is going to trial in California is because the federal judge in Delaware rejected the sweetheart plea deal… that’s the only reason this case is even going to trial at all. That’s the only reason we, as the American people, are finding out a lot of this information,” Smith continued.
“Most Americans would be right to question the different treatment in both of those cases.”
Hunter Biden could testify in his criminal trial on Monday, according to his defense team. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell was heard saying following Friday’s lunch break that he will take the weekend to decide if he will call Biden to testify, and that he will notify Special Counsel David Weiss’ office of the decision.
Details surrounding the decision will be made public some time after 8:15 a.m. on Monday, when presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika requested both legal parties report back to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
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Northeast
Millionaire philanthropist allegedly gunned down by worker in female wig; ambushes Maryland trooper: police
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A 22-year-old assisted living employee accused of disguising himself in long female wigs and executing an 87-year-old millionaire philanthropist he treated nightly, is now also charged with shooting at a Maryland state trooper Tuesday while on the run.
The Montgomery County Department of Police’s Major Crimes Division confirmed during a news conference on Wednesday that Marquis Emilio James, 22, of White Marsh, Maryland, was arrested in connection with the Valentine’s Day homicide of 87-year-old Robert G. Fuller Jr. at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living Facility, and the shooting of a Maryland State Police trooper Tuesday during a traffic stop in West Baltimore.
James, who had been employed as a medication technician at the senior living facility since October, was allegedly seen on surveillance footage entering and exiting through a tampered courtyard door around the time Fuller was fatally shot in the head in his apartment.
Nothing appeared to have been taken from Fuller’s home during the crime, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada.
Robert Fuller Jr., left, gives remarks at the 2017 opening of Veterans Academic Center in Augusta, Me., a project to which he donated. (Joe Phelan/Centralmaine.com)
Investigators later determined the door’s alarm sensor had been disabled in January — on a day when James had been the only person seen using the door.
During a search, folded paper towels used to prop doors open on the day of the murder and again days later, were found by police.
Yamada said that days after Fuller’s death, James was found inside the facility after his shift ended, gave a suspicious explanation to other workers, triggered another exterior door alarm, and fled when a supervisor was going to be notified.
The door he used to exit had also been tampered with, according to authorities.
Marquis James, 22, is charged in connection to the murder and traffic stop shooting. (Montgomery County Police Department)
At about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Maryland State Police trooper pulled over James’ car to conduct a traffic stop after noticing he was missing license plates.
As the trooper approached the car, James, who was driving, suddenly opened the car door and fired two shots, said Maryland State Police Lt. Col. Steve Decerbo.
The bullets narrowly missed the trooper by inches, and he only sustained minor injuries.
“Without a doubt, our Maryland State trooper escaped an outcome that could have ended much differently,” Decerbo said.
Marquis James was allegedly seen on video wearing a long wig. (Montgomery County Police Department)
James immediately drove away, and investigators later recovered a shell casing from the scene that matched ballistic evidence from Fuller’s murder, linking the two cases.
Montgomery County Police, Maryland State Police and the U.S. Marshals took James into custody Wednesday afternoon in Rockville after a brief foot chase.
James is charged in Montgomery County with first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
He is being held without bond, with a court hearing scheduled.
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While conducting two search warrants in Baltimore County, investigators recovered “numerous” wigs and a mask, consistent with what appeared to be a disguise in surveillance footage.
Police initially said there was no clear description of the person’s gender or race, adding the suspect seen in the footage could be male or female due to the long wig.
Yamada added police “do not have a good sense of why” James allegedly shot and killed Fuller.
Police Chief Yamada did not reveal a motive for the shootings. (Montgomery County Police Department)
“Upon speaking with him, he said their relationship was very good, and he would never have hurt Mr. Fuller,” he said. “So we’re hopeful that as we get further in … we’re going to get a better sense of what was going on behind the scenes, what types of communications Marquis James had, [and] what he was searching on his electronic devices. We’re hopeful that that’s going to lead us to a better sense of why.”
Yamada would not confirm if James had a criminal record.
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Maine State Rep. Bill Bridgeo, who met Fuller while working as city manager in Augusta, told NBC 4 Washington Fuller was a prominent attorney and a retired Navy Reserve officer.
Bridgeo told the local station Fuller donated millions to the community to build a new YMCA, hospital and expand a high school.
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Boston, MA
Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe
That was more than what every other city department spent on overtime combined, though it was a slight drop from the $103 million the police department spent on overtime in 2024.
High overtime spending inside the police department has long been controversial and a source of frustration for police-reform advocates. Last year’s nine-figure total comes as Mayor Michelle Wu warns of a challenging budget season to come for the city, which is grappling with inflation and the possibility of more federal funding cuts.
In a December letter, Wu told the city council that she instructed city department heads to find ways to cut 2 percent of their budgets in the next fiscal year. She also imposed a delay on new hires. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper has also proposed cutting somewhere between 300 and 400 positions next fiscal year due to budget constraints.
Overall, the city spent about $2.5 billion on employee salaries in 2025, up around 1.5 percent from $2.4 billion in 2024. The city employs roughly 21,000 workers, according to a public dashboard.
In a statement, Emma Pettit, a spokesperson for Wu’s office, attributed the payroll increase to raises, and in some cases, employees receiving retroactive pay, that were part of contracts the city negotiated with its various labor unions.
“We’re grateful to our city employees for their hard work to hold Boston to the highest standard for delivering city services,” Pettit said.
When Wu won her first mayoral race in November 2021, all of the city’s 44 union contracts had expired. Since then, Wu’s office has negotiated new agreements with all of them, and last year, agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest police union.
But as the city heads back to the bargaining table to negotiate extensions or new contracts with others, city leaders should keep cost at the forefront of those conversations, said Steve Poftak, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-backed budget watchdog group.
“As budgets tighten, I’m hopeful that it increases the scrutiny on these collective bargaining agreements,” Poftak said.
The top earner on the city’s payroll last year was Boston Police Captain Timothy Connolly. In addition to his $194,000 base salary, Connolly took home nearly $230,000 in overtime, about $26,000 in undefined “other pay,” and roughly $49,000 as part of a higher-education bonus, for a total of $498,145 in compensation.
Skipper, as BPS superintendent, was the 55th-highest earner among city workers, coming behind 54 members of the police department. She made a total of $378,000 in 2025.
Nearly 300 city employees made more than $300,000 last year. In contrast, Wu made $207,000, though her salary increased to $250,000 this year. More than 1,700 city employees made more than the mayor in 2025.
Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, argued that the high overtime costs in the police department are, in part, a result of understaffing.
The department is short roughly 400 rank-and-file police officers, Calderone said, meaning the department has to pay its staff to work overtime and fill vacant shifts. The average salary for an officer in the BPPA is roughly $195,000, Calderone said.
With several large events approaching, including a Boston-based fan fest around this summer’s World Cup matches and the return of a fleet of tall ships to Boston Harbor, Calderone said most of the members of his union are likely to be working the maximum allowable 90 hours a week.
“We just don’t have the bodies on the street,” he said.
The Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation — the union that represents the department’s sergeants, captains, and lieutenants — did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.
Jamarhl Crawford, an activist and former member of the Boston Police Reform Task Force, said while high spending on overtime is not new for the police department, it’s a pressing problem the city should tackle.
The police and fire departments are “essential components of the city and society in general … [and] folks should be getting a fair wage. But it also has to be within fiscal responsibility,” Crawford said.
“In another 10 years,” he continued, “with pensions and everything else, this type of thing can bankrupt the city.”
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold. Yoohyun Jung can be reached at y.jung@globe.com.
Pittsburgh Police detectives are investigating after a man’s body was found underneath a trailer behind the former Shop ‘n Save store in the city’s Carrick neighborhood.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said late Monday night that detectives from the Violent Crime division responded to the area of Amanda Street and Wynoka Street in Carrick after a man’s body was found around 8:30 p.m.
Public Safety said the man’s body was found underneath a trailer and that he was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.
A photo provided by Pittsburgh Public Safety shows officers surrounding a taped off area and what appears to be a refrigerated trailer parked at the loading dock along Amanda Street behind the former Brownsville Shop n’ Save, which closed its doors last month.
No details surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death were provided by Public Safety, who said that the cause and the manner of the man’s death will be determined by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The man’s identity has not been released.
Public Safety said the investigation into the man’s death is “ongoing.”
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