WILMINGTON, Del. — First son Hunter Biden received some powerful family support as he arrived at a federal courthouse for the first day of jury selection in his gun trial Monday morning — with his stepmother, first lady Jill Biden, and stepsister Ashley rolling up moments after their indicted relative.
President Biden’s 54-year-old son walked into court at around 8:10 a.m., wearing a suit and tie and holding hands with wife Melissa Cohen as his defense attorneys trailed behind him.
Biden — who was outwardly calm and composed — did not speak or answer reporter questions on his way inside, but had to engage in some fancy footwork to avoid tripping over a security barrier.
Melissa, wearing a pinstripe suit and large sunglasses, turned to smile at him as they arrived.
Moments later, Jill Biden showed up in to the courthouse, clad in a purple suit, after most of the media had been let inside the building.
The first son’s primary patron Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer sometimes referred to as Hunter’s “sugar brother” — arrived earlier and was accompanied by Ashley.
Hunter is the first child of a sitting president to stand trial. He faces three counts including illegal possession of a firearm while addicted to crack cocaine and knowingly lying about his dependency while filling out a federal background check form.
Jury selection began Monday morning, as prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’s office and lawyers for the Biden scion seek a group of panelists who can decide the case fairly and impartially — and regardless of their political views.
The Hunter Biden trial comes on the heels of Donald Trump’s bombshell conviction in a hush money scheme Friday — which marked the first time a president has ever been found guilty of crimes. Both trials could have implications on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election result.
Prosecutors say Hunter purchased a Colt Cobra .38 caliber revolver on Oct. 12, 2018, after marking “no” in response to a question on an application form about whether he was a user of controlled substances.
He illegally had the gun for 11 days before Hallie Biden, his sister-in-law turned lover, threw the weapon into the garbage, prosecutors say.
Hallie is slated to be called as a prosecution witness, as is Hunter’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle.
The Biden son faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted. He’s pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
Last year, Hunter had been slated to plead guilty under the terms of a plea agreement reached 12 months ago, but the deal abruptly broke down in court after his side discovered the agreement wouldn’t protect him from other potential prosecutions.
The younger Biden now also faces a separate trial in September out of Los Angeles for allegedly skipping out on paying $1.4 million in federal tax income from 2016 through 2019 — though the tab has since been paid.
With Post wires
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