Hunter Biden trial enters day 4 with a wild testimonies from ex-partners about excessive drug use, desecrated hotel rooms
Emma Colton
06/06/2024
WILMINGTON, DEL. — Details about Hunter Biden’s relationship with a 24-year-old stripper, his need for crack cocaine every 20 minutes and how his spiraling addiction torpedoed his first marriage were on full display for the jury as it considers the first son’s three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018.
“He would want to smoke the second he woke up,” Biden’s ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, testified Wednesday. She first met Biden as she worked in a club for gentlemen located in New York City when she was 24 and he was.
The court heard evidence from FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen Wednesday, as well as Biden’s wife of a while Kathleen Buhle, Kestan and gun shop worker Gordon Cleveland, as prosecutors attempted to convince jurors that Biden did not disclose his addiction to drugs when he signed an application for federal approval to purchase the Colt revolver gun in the year 2018.
Biden is being investigated for making a false claim when purchasing guns, and making false statements regarding the information that must be maintained by a licensed federally-licensed gun dealer, and possessing firearms by someone who is a narcotics addict or a user of alcohol or other controlled substances.
Hunter Biden arrives to federal court with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, June 5, 2024 at Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Biden did not plead to be guilty on the matter.
The maximum time in prison for all three charges could range from 25 to 25 years. Each charge is the maximum penalty of $250,000, and three years of supervision of release.
Kestan stated in her testimony that she had a meeting with Biden in December 2017 when the former president booked a space for 30 mins at the strip bar in which she worked, creating a connection with a Biden, whom who she said was “charming and charismatic.”
Kestan who testified in the trial under immunity, led the jury through Biden’s adolescent drug use throughout their relationship. She described him taking crack at hotel bars, sneaking from public restrooms to smoke crack, and her role in helping him pick up drugs for Biden. She claimed that the crack cocaine Biden often bought was about the size of the size of a “ping pong ball,” that he cut into pieces and lit inside glass pipe.
Kestan told the jury Biden was an “super charming” man when she first met him. She also said she said that she was “confused” how he was capable of appearing coherent and alert after consuming this hard-drug.
“I didn’t notice it. Sometimes I think that’s because I was catching feelings for him,” she said to the court.
Kestan claimed that their relationship was an “distraction” for Biden, since he is said to have smoked less frequently with her while they were hunkered down for several days in luxurious hotel rooms like NYC’s Four Seasons and an apartment at Los Angeles’ Chateau Marmont.
Kestan was seen wearing a bright scarf while describing before the court the progress and decline of their relationship, for instance, he asked her to tidy up one of the hotel rooms which were strewn with pipes, crack residue as well as alcohol, and snacks. He also pleaded with her to pick up his car requesting she pick up his vehicle after it was towd in Los Angeles in 2018.
A court sketch shows Hunter Biden’s trial at the federal courts located in Wilmington, Del., on June 5 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
In Kestan’s testimony, there were pictures of crack pipes found in hotel rooms that are often close to bottles of beer or liquor as well as a picture of a chestless Biden in a bathtub together with Kestan and a video clip of the FaceTime video that showed Biden’s tattoo on his back that resembles claw marks. The jurors were informed during Kestan’s testimony that Biden learned to prepare cocaine. They were shown photos of baking soda found in a hotel room where he cooked crack cocaine.
Kestan told the press that Biden often spoke of the fact that he was addicted and was determined to quit as well as his attempts to rid his body of drugs using Frog venom, also known as “kambo.”
While Kestan had known Biden prior to and following purchasing the Colt revolver in October of 2018 Biden and Kestan did not talk about the month of the purchase. They did however, renewing their friendship in November of 2018 before it was officially ended.
A court sketch shows Hunter Biden’s trial at the federal tribunal at Wilmington, Del., on June 5 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Hunter’s ex-wife of over 20 years Kathleen Buhle, with who he has three daughters, was on the witness stand on Wednesday. Buhle and Biden separated in 2017 following a discovery Buhle discovered a cracked pipe in the porch of their house located in Washington, D.C., in 2015. She claimed to the court.
Buhle spoke softly and seemed emotional throughout her testimony when she outlined her concerns about his frequent drug use following his removed out of Navy Reserves for testing positive for cocaine, and then the end of their marriage.
“I was definitely worried, scared,” she remarked in describing the process she used to search her vehicle for drugs and drug equipment to make sure that their daughters wouldn’t be driving around in the car in the presence of drugs.
Buhle stated that following the discovery of cracks in a pipe in their home in the year 2015 the couple attended a couples therapy prior to when their marriage was ended. Buhle claimed she doesn’t recall the exact date on which they officially ended their marriage, just that it was on Good Friday, the day of 2017.
The former wife of Hunter Biden, Kathleen Buhle, departs the federal courthouse following her appearance on the witness stand in the case of Hunter Biden, son of Biden, the president Biden in the criminal trial of a gun accusations within Wilmington, Del., June 5 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Buhle was on the stand for the shortest time among witnesses. She then exhaled after she went out of the courtroom Wednesday morning.
Jurors were apparently thrilled by Buhle’s presence following a relatively dry testimony by Jensen who spoke about Wells Fargo bank records early on Wednesday morning. Most jurors were writing notes or holding notebooks and pens at the time Buhle first appeared on the stand.
After hearing from Hunter’s ex-wife and girlfriend the prosecution then questioned Gordon T. Cleveland, the gun shop worker who offered Biden his revolver back in the month of October, 2018.
Cleveland, who had previously worked as a salesperson for StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington provided to the court the order of the purchase on the 12th of October. 12 2018 and the specifics of Biden driving the black Cadillac on the morning of the sale.
“I like guns, and I like cars,” Cleveland said to the judge when asked if his memory is of the car Biden was doing while driving. The statement drew laughter from jurors, members of the media, and other people in the courtroom.
Gordon Cleveland departs federal court on 5 June 2024 located in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cleveland reported that Biden came into the store in the late afternoon of the year 2018 with the intent of purchasing an gun. Biden bought a Colt Cobra .38 as well as an ammunition box as well as a speed loader to firearms, which is a tool that can load ammunition more quickly and an BB gun.
Cleveland stated that he provided Biden the Federal gun registration form for him to fill in the form, and explained he told Biden to take his time and fill out the question “truthfully.” Cleveland stated that he was two feet away from Biden when he completed the form, which included the 11th question that asked if the person was a libelous addict or user of substances. Biden made sure to check the box to indicate that he wasn’t addicted to any substance.
A court sketch shows Hunter Biden’s trial at the federal tribunal located in Wilmington, Del., on June 5 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Cleveland was laughing when the defense lawyer Abbe Lowell inquired if the defendant is “familiar with the phrase whale hunter?”
“Yes,” he responded with a laugh, and then argued that even though it was true that he “didn’t do up-sales,” it was possible to sell guns that cost a lot of money to customers, like the two Desert Eagles in a single day.
If was asked whether Cleveland often sold ammunition with gun sales in the past, the court broke into laughter at the response of the former salesman.
“What are you gonna do? Throw [a gun] at somebody?” He remarked, noting that ammunition was usually sold with the gun.
In the opening of their arguments on Tuesday the defense team made the argument that Biden’s purchase of the gun was expedited by gun shop workers looking to sell. Cleveland was, however, convinced in his response on behalf of Lowell on Wednesday, arguing in that Biden was the one who decide on his Colt revolver, as well as the ammo, and the speed loader. In the purchase decision for the BB gun, he added was an entirely personal decision taken by Biden. The BB gun looked like a real handgun, but was missing the usual orange tip you find on the majority of BB guns.
The jury was given a look at the weapon, the box of ammunition and a speed loader at the court on Wednesday.
Biden had a visit from his his stepmother Jill Biden for the third day. She once again sat in a front row seat next to the son who was first. She was dressed in a vibrant pink suit and heels. She was chatting casually with friends and family members throughout the day. However, she sat at a tee in a seated position with legs cross and her hands placed between her knees. She sat again with Biden’s second wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
Hunter Biden, left, leaves federal court with the wife of his, Melissa Cohen Biden, on the 5th of June, 2024 at Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Court will resume Thursday starting at 9 a.m. with the ongoing cross-examination by Cleveland. Prosecutors said late Wednesday that they had six more witnesses scheduled to be on the witness stand and may end their trial as early in the afternoon of Thursday.
Biden’s former lover and sister-in-law Hallie Biden the widow of Beau Biden, may be one of the witnesses taking the witness stand on Thursday.
