Beau Biden's widow revealed she had to "Google" crack when she first found it among Hunter Biden's belongings because she "didn't know what it was."
Hallie Biden, who had a romantic relationship with her brother-in-law following the death of Beau, took to the stand at Hunter's federal gun trial on Thursday. She told the court that she confronted Hunter about his drug use, and he confessed to smoking crack "occasionally" even in her presence.
She also claimed that despite his crack use, he continued to maintain his family and work life. Additionally, Hallie testified that she observed him using crack at his DC apartment and during their stay at a rented house in Annapolis, Maryland, from fall 2017 to July 2018.
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Hallie admitted to sometimes accompanying Hunter to drug deals. Hunter, President Joe Biden's son, is facing federal gun charges.
He is charged with three felonies related to a firearm purchase in 2018, a period he acknowledges in his memoir was marred by his struggle with crack addiction. Hunter is accused of lying on a gun purchase application to a federally licensed dealer about his drug use and illegally possessing the firearm for 11 days.
The trial looms as a potential embarrassment ahead of the 2024 election, following the collapse of a plea deal with prosecutors. Hunter has entered a not-guilty plea, claiming he's been unfairly targeted by the Justice Department after Republican complaints about a scrapped plea deal seen as preferential treatment for the Democratic president's son.
Hunter has consistently been in the crosshairs of Republicans who aim to undermine the President through him. Hallie recounted how his demeanour would shift when smoking crack, describing him as "agitated, high strung" at times, yet "other times functioning as well."
She detailed that the quantities of crack varied significantly, from pieces smaller than a marble to multiple rocks the size of ping pong balls during her testimony. Hallie revealed that she and Hunter began a gradual relationship after the death of her husband.
Prosecutor Leo Wise questioned her about drug use in the summer of 2018, following her visit to Hunter at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. She admitted: "Yes I was."
When pressed on the types of drugs used, she disclosed it was crack cocaine. Further probing by Wise on how she was introduced to drugs led to her response: "Hunter did. It was a terrible experience that I went through and I'm embarrassed and I'm ashamed of that period of my life."
The trial is unfolding just days after Donald Trump, the expected Republican presidential nominee, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City. Although the two criminal cases are not connected, their coinciding timelines underscore how the judiciary has become a key player in the 2024 campaign.
Jury selection for Hunter's case was swiftly wrapped up on Monday in the president's home state, a place where the Biden family has deep-seated ties. President Joe Biden served as a senator there for 36 years, commuting daily to and from Washington, DC.
The heartbreaking tale of how Biden's two young sons, Hunter and Beau, were injured in the car crash that took the lives of his wife and baby daughter in the early 1970s is well-documented. Beau Biden, who died at 46 from cancer, had previously held the role of state attorney general.