A jury was sworn in Monday in the federal firearms case against Hunter Biden after panelists were probed during the selection process, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, is on trial in Wilmington, Delaware, for federal charges of illegally possessing a firearm after allegedly lying about his status as a drug user when buying a pistol in 2018. First Lady Jill Biden watched from the courtroom’s front row as Hunter Biden became the first child of a sitting U.S. president to be criminally tried.
While Hunter Biden’s past drug use has been well-documented, he has pleaded not guilty to the gun charges, arguing that he completed a rehab program shortly before he purchased the weapon and checked off “no” on a federal form that asked whether he was an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.” Hunter Biden has also maintained that the Justice Department is unjustly targeting him after Republicans criticized his previous plea deal as special treatment because he is the president’s son.
Newsweek reached out via email on Monday night to Hunter Biden’s legal team for comment.
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Jury selection in the trial began Monday morning, with potential panelists being probed on their opinions regarding gun control and drug addiction. Some questions also examined the prospective jurors’ knowledge of the case and view of Hunter Biden.
The jury was seated by the end of the day after six men and six women were selected in addition to four women chosen to serve as alternates. The names and personal information of the jurors and alternates were not made public.
Judge Maryellen Noreika instructed the jurors not to talk or read about the case and set opening statements to begin on Tuesday, the AP reported.
About 65 prospective jurors were questioned, with 29 of them being dismissed by late afternoon, according to the AP. Noreika individually interviewed some panelists who responded “yes” on a questionnaire to determine whether they could remain fair and impartial throughout the trial.
Among the jurors who were seated was a woman whose sister was convicted of credit card fraud and drug charges in Delaware, according to the AP. One male juror said that his father had been killed during a crime involving a firearm and said his brother went to jail for drug possession. Another woman chosen for jury duty said that her husband is a gun owner and former law enforcement. One juror, a woman, said that she gets her news from YouTube and that she was somewhat aware of the case.
One of the potential jurors who was dismissed said she was unsure whether she could be unbiased because of the opinion she had formed about Hunter Biden based on media reports.
The charges against Hunter Biden stem from investigations of DOJ Special Counsel David Weiss, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, who became the first U.S. president to be convicted of criminal charges when a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Thursday. Trump has maintained his innocence and says the case is politically motivated. His legal team says they will fight the case, which will include an appeal, if necessary.
The trial also comes as Republicans have continued to use Hunter Biden for political attacks, attempting to tie his foreign business dealings directly to his father.
President Biden has said he had no involvement with his son’s business dealings, and the White House has called the GOP’s impeachment effort “sad, pathetic, and a waste of everyone’s time.”
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