Special Counsel David Weiss plans to use Hunter Biden’s laptop as evidence in his upcoming trial on felony gun charges. The laptop has been at the center of a legal and political saga dating back to the 2020 election, with Republicans and right-wing outlets using its contents to attack Biden. Prosecutors argue that the laptop contains significant evidence of Biden’s guilt, particularly in relation to his alleged drug addiction when he purchased a gun in 2018. The trial is set to begin on June 3 in federal court in Delaware.
Biden’s lawyers have raised concerns about the authenticity of the materials from the laptop and intend to contest their validity if Weiss introduces them as evidence. They claim that the data may have been altered and compromised before investigators obtained it. The laptop was left at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019, and his lawyers argue that the shop owner may have tampered with the data in the months before the FBI seized the device.
Weiss plans to call witnesses who exchanged messages with Biden, asserting that the messages are real. Prosecutors maintain that the laptop materials are only a fraction of the evidence they have collected against Biden, including messages subpoenaed directly from Apple. They argue that there is no evidence to suggest that the materials are unreliable or inauthentic, labeling the defense’s concerns about the laptop as a conspiracy theory.
Since 2020, material from the laptop has been published in right-wing media outlets, including explicit videos of Biden with women and photos of him using drugs in hotel rooms. These outlets have also released emails, financial records, and other documents about Biden’s overseas business dealings in China, Ukraine, and elsewhere. Prosecutors are asking the judge to reject expert witnesses that Biden’s defense team intends to call, including a clinical researcher focused on addiction treatment, as they believe the defendant should testify in his own defense.
The key issue in the case involves allegations that Biden knowingly made false statements while purchasing a firearm as a user of illegal drugs. Prosecutors argue that expert testimony about Biden’s mental state at the time of the alleged crime should not be allowed, as it could prejudice the jury. They also oppose the defense’s plans to call a forensic toxicologist and an expert on handwritten signatures. Federal Judge Maryellen Noreika has not yet ruled on these pretrial motions regarding expert witnesses and the use of the laptop in the trial. The outcome of these rulings could impact the course of the trial and the evidence presented to the jury.
