While Hunter Biden was on trial this past week, he was not alone in the spotlight: the women in his life were a focus throughout.
The president’s youngest son was found guilty on all three felony gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday after he bought a firearm while under the influence of crack cocaine.
During the trial, three of Hunter’s exes took the stand, as did his daughter Naomi Biden Neal. His wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, was by his side each day in the courtroom, while his stepmother, First Lady Jill Biden, was absent only once – to attend the 80th anniversary of D-Day in France with the president. His aunts, Valerie Biden Owens and Bonny Jacobs, were also spotted at court.
The Biden women in particular have rallied around at the trial of Hunter, whose long battle with addiction caused the breakup of his marriage; the public scandal of a romantic relationship with his brother Beau’s widow; and a long list of embarrassing incidents seized upon by his father’s political rivals.
There is also the matter of his lovechild by an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, with whom he recently resolved child support issues, and reports of 2018 texts where he referred to the First Lady using multiple expletives in arguments over rehab.
For his 30-year-old daughter Naomi, who was called to testify by the defense, the trial seemed particularly grueling.
She recalled her efforts to reach her dad as he struggled with substance abuse, and how he wasn’t communicative at the height of his addiction.
Her painful texts, from October 2018, were also read out in court. After they failed several times to set up a time to meet, Naomi wrote: “I’m really sorry, dad, I can’t take this.”
The prosecution suggested that Hunter Biden had been missing his daughter’s texts to communicate with drug dealers instead.
“I don’t know what to say, I just miss you so much, I just want to hang out with you,” Naomi wrote in 2018. Following her testimony, during which Hunter and First Lady Jill Biden shed tears, she gave her father a long hug.
His aunt, Valerie Biden Owens, also grew emotional during Naomi’s time on the stand. Otherwise, she appeared stonyfaced, seated directly behind Hunter.
The jury had clearly felt Naomi’s pain. Following the verdict, Juror 10, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Independent: “I actually thought the defense made a mistake by using her.
“I felt sorry for Naomi, I don’t think they should’ve called her as a witness.”
Naomi had admitted that she was “nervous” when she took the stand last Friday. She told the court that “after my uncle died, things got bad.”
Beau Biden, died of brain cancer in 2015, which President Biden believes was caused by the burn pits used in Iraq where his son served in the US military.
During the trial, jurors also heard deeply personal testimony regarding Hunter Biden’s drug use, and viewed photos and video evidence as well as excerpts from his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things.
Biden thanked his family for their constant support following the verdict on Tuesday. “I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome,” he said in a statement.
Biden left the trial holding hands with the first lady and his wife, and kissed the first lady’s sister, Bonny Jacobs, before climbing into a waiting SUV.
Jacobs was seen in court sitting next to the first lady, at times chatting during breaks in the proceedings.
The first lady faced intense scrutiny during her attendance at the trial, and was criticized for using Air Force Two to fly between Delaware and France for the D-Day anniversary events.
She was not the only one that the trial took a toll on. Ashley Biden, Hunter’s sister, exited the courtroom in tears last week when the prosecution played parts of Hunter describing his drug use from his audiobook.
Hunter’s wife, Melissa, was a stoic presence throughout, arriving at court each day hand-in-hand with him, in a series of glamorous power suits and sunglasses.
Biden married the 38-year-old South African in 2019, proposing within a week of their first meeting.
At the courthouse, she showed her protective side.
She got into a tense exchange during a brief recess in the trial on 4 June. According to NBC News, she confronted Garret Ziegler, who Hunter Biden is suing for his supposed role in publishing emails and photos from Biden’s computer.
“You have no right to be here you Nazi piece of s****,” she told Ziegler, as she pointed in his face. Ziegler didn’t respond before she walked away. Ziegler worked in the Trump White House under trade advisor Peter Navarro.
“It’s sad I’ve been sitting here the whole time and haven’t approached anyway,” he told NBC. “For the record, I’m not a Nazi, I’m a believer in the U.S. Constitution. I haven’t said one thing to them.”
Hunter has credited his wife for his sobriety, describing how she took his phone, car keys, wallet, and computer shortly after their meeting, deleted all his contacts apart from close family, and turning to “steel” when drug dealers appeared at the door as she made them leave.
Other women from the extended Biden clan who were subpoenaed to testify at the trial met the proceedings with grim determination.
Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, agreed with a suggestion from the defense that her on-off romantic relationship with Hunter was at times “intense” but always “complicated” during her testimony.
She also spoke of her drug use which began after she was introduced to crack cocaine by Hunter.
“It was a terrible experience, I’m ashamed and I regret that period of my life,” she said last Thursday. After disposing of the gun he had bought, she urged Hunter to go to rehab but at the depth of his addiction, he rejected her efforts.
Then there was the testimony of his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle and an ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan.
Buhle testified that Biden became “angry” and “short-tempered” after smoking crack cocaine. She testified about how their relationship unraveled after she found a “crackpipe” on her side porch in July 2015 in Washington, DC.
Like Hallie and Naomi, Buhle seemed uncomfortable on the stand, testifying that she found a broken pipe, pipe-cleaning materials, a white powder, and remnants of crystals in Biden’s car.
She added that she looked for drugs in his vehicle on more than one occasion so that their daughters wouldn’t drive with drugs in the car.
Buhle was married to Hunter for 24 years and they have three children, including Naomi.
She spoke of the moments that she had supported Hunter as he went to rehab in 2003 and 2012 for alcoholism, and about the time in 2015 when she found out about his drug use and subsequently his extramarital affairs.
While both Hallie Biden and Kestan received immunity for their testimony, Kestan appeared at ease in her role as a witness.
Kestan testified that she saw Hunter Biden smoke crack about once every 20 minutes when they were in private and that he would go to a bathroom about once an hour to smoke in public settings.
At the start of their relationship, Kestan was 24 while Biden was 48.
She described him as “charismatic” and “charming” following their December 2017 initial meeting at a “gentlemen’s club” in Manhattan when she gave him a private dance.
Kestan said Biden began smoking “something” within 15 minutes of meeting him, adding that she “assumed it was crack cocaine.”
Throughout her testimony, she said Biden’s behavior didn’t change after smoking until later in their relationship when he appeared stressed and scattered.
