1 00:00:02,133 --> 00:00:05,000 AMNA NAWAZ: For the first time in U.S. history, the child of a sitting president is on trial. 2 00:00:06,833 --> 00:00:09,066 President Biden's son Hunter Biden is facing federal charges related to 3 00:00:09,066 --> 00:00:13,133 his purchase and possession of a gun. Separately, Hunter Biden faces several 4 00:00:13,133 --> 00:00:17,866 charges that he allegedly dodged more than $1.4 million in taxes. 5 00:00:17,866 --> 00:00:21,500 The president did not attend court, where jury selection began today, 6 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:26,433 but he did issue this statement, saying: "I am the president, but I'm also a dad. 7 00:00:26,433 --> 00:00:31,033 Jill and I love our son, and we're so proud of the man he is today. Hunter's resilience 8 00:00:31,033 --> 00:00:36,033 in the face of adversity and the strength he's brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. " 9 00:00:37,566 --> 00:00:39,533 NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas was in the Wilmington, 10 00:00:39,533 --> 00:00:41,966 Delaware, courtroom today, and he joins us now. 11 00:00:41,966 --> 00:00:44,166 Ryan, it's good to see you. 12 00:00:44,166 --> 00:00:47,766 So let's just remind folks about the charges here. Anyone using drugs or struggling with 13 00:00:47,766 --> 00:00:52,766 addiction is barred from buying or owning a gun. Hunter Biden denied that he was 14 00:00:52,766 --> 00:00:57,433 a -- quote -- "unlawful user or addict" on his application to buy a gun back in 2018, 15 00:00:57,433 --> 00:01:00,933 but he's been open about his addiction struggles at that time. 16 00:01:00,933 --> 00:01:05,700 So is this sort of an open-and-shut case? 17 00:01:05,700 --> 00:01:06,966 RYAN LUCAS, Justice Correspondent, NPR: Well, certainly, the government 18 00:01:06,966 --> 00:01:08,933 thinks that it's an open-and-shut case. 19 00:01:08,933 --> 00:01:13,200 They say that Hunter Biden, when he went to purchase a gun in October of 2018, 20 00:01:15,166 --> 00:01:19,433 was addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol, and then he lied about that on standard 21 00:01:21,333 --> 00:01:24,133 background check forms that you have to fill out when you purchase a gun. So, 22 00:01:24,133 --> 00:01:27,033 in the government's perspective, this is very much an open-and-shut case. 23 00:01:27,033 --> 00:01:32,033 Now, Hunter's attorneys certainly feel that it is not an open-and-shut case. For them, 24 00:01:34,100 --> 00:01:36,533 they say that this is far more complicated. They say, have said in filings, at least, 25 00:01:36,533 --> 00:01:41,266 that Hunter had completed an 11-day rehab program around the time that this all went down. So they 26 00:01:43,666 --> 00:01:47,733 say that it is logical from his perspective that perhaps he didn't understand what a drug addict 27 00:01:50,166 --> 00:01:53,066 or drug user meant on that form and that he could think that he was not using drugs at that time. 28 00:01:53,066 --> 00:01:58,033 Judge Maryellen Noreika has kind of boxed that argument into a degree by saying that 29 00:02:00,233 --> 00:02:03,066 federal prosecutors do not need to prove that Hunter Biden was actively using drugs when he 30 00:02:05,233 --> 00:02:07,700 was purchasing the gun. But, again, this is very much something that's going to be up to 31 00:02:07,700 --> 00:02:12,066 the jury to decide based on the evidence that the government presents in the case. 32 00:02:12,066 --> 00:02:15,233 AMNA NAWAZ: So, as we mentioned, jury selection began and ended today. Tell 33 00:02:15,233 --> 00:02:20,233 us what we should know about that jury and what stood out to you about the selection process? 34 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:27,400 RYAN LUCAS: Well, the process moved very quickly. It was actually less than a full day, 35 00:02:29,166 --> 00:02:32,866 and the judge was able to impanel this jury of 12 jurors, four alternates. 36 00:02:34,766 --> 00:02:39,533 It is an even mix, six men, six women. It's a majority-Black jury. What was 37 00:02:41,366 --> 00:02:44,700 really interesting over the course of the jury selection process was, one, 38 00:02:44,700 --> 00:02:49,466 that several of the potential jurors said that Wilmington and Delaware generally is a 39 00:02:49,466 --> 00:02:54,133 small place. There were several folks who had known the Biden -- the Biden family, 40 00:02:54,133 --> 00:02:59,100 whether it be Joe Biden, Jill Biden, or Hunter himself, or his late brother. 41 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,833 And there was also the issue of a lot of potential jurors had family or friends who 42 00:03:06,933 --> 00:03:10,633 had struggled with addiction. There was one potential juror who said they had a friend 43 00:03:10,633 --> 00:03:15,633 who died of a heroin overdose. So this is - - some of the issues that are very much 44 00:03:17,666 --> 00:03:20,866 central to this case are things that people in the community know and have experienced. 45 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,400 That said, the judge and both sides were able to whittle this jury pool down. And 46 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:30,900 all the jurors who ended up being impaneled were individuals who said that they could 47 00:03:30,900 --> 00:03:35,666 set aside their personal experiences, as well as their knowledge of the case, 48 00:03:35,666 --> 00:03:40,166 and judge it based on the facts and the evidence as they're presented in the courtroom. 49 00:03:40,166 --> 00:03:44,133 AMNA NAWAZ: So, Ryan, walk us through the timeline ahead now. What do we expect to happen next? And, 50 00:03:44,133 --> 00:03:49,133 also, what possible penalty could Hunter Biden face here, if convicted? 51 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:55,366 RYAN LUCAS: Well, we will have opening statements tomorrow morning from both sides. 52 00:03:55,366 --> 00:03:58,666 Then I believe that the government will call its first witness, which is expected to be 53 00:03:58,666 --> 00:04:03,633 an FBI agent who worked on this investigation into Hunter Biden. As for penalties, in theory, 54 00:04:06,466 --> 00:04:11,066 up to 25 years is the maximum sentence for Hunter Biden in this case. There are two charges that 55 00:04:11,066 --> 00:04:15,466 carry a maximum of 10 years and one charge that carries a five-year maximum sentence. 56 00:04:15,466 --> 00:04:20,466 That said, Hunter Biden has no known criminal history. He's a first-time 57 00:04:22,233 --> 00:04:25,500 offender. So that maximum sentence is most likely not what he would end up 58 00:04:25,500 --> 00:04:29,100 being seen. The sentencing guidelines would be much lower. And, ultimately, 59 00:04:29,100 --> 00:04:34,100 it's going to be up to the judge to decide, if he is convicted, what the sentence would be. 60 00:04:35,366 --> 00:04:37,100 AMNA NAWAZ: In 30 seconds or so I have left, 61 00:04:37,100 --> 00:04:41,033 do we expect Hunter Biden himself or any Biden to take the stand? 62 00:04:42,866 --> 00:04:45,600 RYAN LUCAS: There's no word on whether Hunter Biden himself would testify, 63 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:50,266 but prosecutors have said that they do expect to call Hunter Biden's ex-wife, 64 00:04:50,266 --> 00:04:55,266 Katherine (sic) Buhle, as well as Beau's widow, Hallie Biden, 65 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,400 who Hunter Biden was involved with romantically at the time that this all went down in 2018. 66 00:05:02,433 --> 00:05:06,633 So this is a case that is going to dig up some dark parts of Hunter Biden's life, 67 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,300 his struggles with addiction, and certainly how that affected the Biden family. 68 00:05:11,300 --> 00:05:15,200 AMNA NAWAZ: That is NPR's justice correspondent, Ryan Lucas, joining us from Delaware tonight. 69 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,700 Ryan, thank you. Good to see you. 70 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:23,700 RYAN LUCAS: Thank you.