US President Joe Biden made a surprise nighttime visit to Hallie Biden’s Delaware home on Sunday, days before she is set to testify in Hunter Biden’s federal trial for alleged gun crimes as one of the key witnesses.
Biden, according to the New York Post, stopped by Hallie’s home late Sunday evening for ‘a brief private talk’. The meeting comes eight days before Hunter Biden, who is Joe and Neilia Biden’s second child, is scheduled to stand trial.
Hallie Biden, who was married to Beau Biden, dated Hunter Biden at the time of his alleged gun crimes and is among the dozen expected witnesses. Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer and Hunter and Hailie dated later.
Prosecutors allege Hallie Biden disposed of the illegally weapon that Hunter Biden briefly possessed in a public dumpster in 2018. They also claim that Hunter lied about his drug use on gun purchase forms.
The visit also came four days before the anniversary of Beau’s death. Hunter Biden could get a jail sentence if convicted in his first of two scheduled criminal trials.
He will also stand trial in Los Angeles in September for allegedly failing to pay more than $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016-2019.
Hunter agreed to a probation-only plea deal for the gun and tax crimes last June. However, he walked away from the “sweetheart” deal at a July court hearing when his attorneys demanded broad immunity for past conduct, including violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which could implicate his father.
It’s unclear whether the president’s son would take the stand during the trial that could last up to two weeks during his father’s reelection campaign and likely include sharp disagreements over evidence.
The trial could last up to two weeks as his father’s re-election campaign unfolds.
Hunter Biden has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law and the case is politically motivated.
His attorney Abbe Lowell also says there are indications that the gun-purchase form was changed by employees after the sale. Prosecutors say there were only minor additions unrelated to the parts Hunter Biden filled out.
A long-running laptop saga also haunts the First Son, which began with a New York Post story in October 2020 that detailed some of the emails it says were found on the device related to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. It was swiftly seized on by Trump as a campaign issue during the presidential election that year.
(with inputs from the Associated Press)
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