Below is my column in the New York Post on discovery of cocaine on the pouch holding Hunter Biden’s gun. Biden’s team is likely to move to keep the tests out of the trial due to the breaks in custody (it was first thrown into a dumpster and then discovered by a man rummaging through the trash). However, the discovery is the latest setback for the defense team struggling to find a defense to the charges.
Here is the column:
Attorney Abbe Lowell has faced a series of legal blows in his defense of Hunter Biden, but not quite as literal or lethal as what came this week in his client’s gun prosecution.
After Lowell sought to dismiss the federal indictment as a trumped-up political prosecution, the Justice Department lowered the boom and revealed that Hunter’s gun was found in a pouch covered in cocaine. The disclosure is devastating for a defense that Lowell just rolled out late last year.
In October, Lowell argued that Hunter had not lied on ATF Form 4473 when he indicated he was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, narcotics.
“At the time that he purchased this gun, I don’t think there’s evidence that that’s when he was suffering,” he said.
It was a curious shift, since Hunter, President Biden and the media have repeatedly used his addiction to forgive everything from corruption to influence-peddling. Hunter released a book that had laid the foundation of that defense, and “Beautiful Things” was heralded by many in the press.
Reviews gushed about “an astonishingly candid and brave book about loss, human frailty, wayward souls, and hard-fought redemption.”
The image of a clean, redemptive soul is strikingly out of sync with a gun pouch that was reportedly covered in coke. What is clear is that the sobriety defense now seems as risky as it is implausible.
In the special counsel’s filing, the court was informed that “an FBI chemist subsequently analyzed the residue and determined that it was cocaine. To be clear, investigators literally found drugs on the pouch where the defendant had kept his gun.”
Hunter bought and possessed the Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver for 11 days between Oct. 12 and Oct. 23, 2018.
That possession ended when his sister-in-law Hallie Biden tossed the firearm into a dumpster in Wilmington, Delaware.
Hallie, the widow of Hunter’s deceased brother, had begun a sexual relationship with him and she apparently became concerned about what he might do with the gun.
According to Hunter’s own memoir, that would make the window of sobriety a mere blink in time for a defense.
The defense will likely challenge the admissibility of police testing due to the gun being tossed into the dumpster.
Of course, Lowell can now argue that Wilmington dumpsters are so saturated with cocaine that any item would come out covered in coke.
It is more likely that they will cite the break in the chain of custody as making the test unreliable and prejudicial.
What is clear is that the sobriety defense now may be as risky as it is implausible.
The government could argue that it should be able to use the testing as circumstantial evidence to rebut the claim or even impeach Hunter if he takes the stand (which seems unlikely).
Hunter wrote about being a crack addict and alcoholic throughout this period, writing in his book that at some points he was “drinking a quart of vodka a day by yourself in a room is absolutely, completely debilitating” as was “smoking crack around the clock.”
The most pressing problem is not the government portraying Hunter as Tony Montana from “Scarface,” it’s Hunter himself. He’ll have a tough time changing that story now.
Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin abandoned his post.
Meanwhile, Trump is tweeting that “A President of the United States must have full immunity … Even events that ‘cross the line’ must fall under total immunity. … All Presidents must have complete & total presidential immunity…”
He implies that Biden can assassinate him — surely something that “crosses the line” — yet be immune from prosecution. Trump is both a ******* and a danger.
Under Trump rules that would mean Biden can throw Trump in jail, or outright kill him. After all, Biden would have total immunity.
I wouldn’t put anything past the Biden et al crew at this point. .. according to them (and by ‘them’, I mean over 50 top intel officials, including the past 5 CIA directors), Trump and his MAGA minion extremists (which is just shy of ‘terrorists’ designation, btw!) are the greatest threat to freedom and Democracy since Hitler’s Nazi Germany. .. although ‘Hamas’, and the Palestinians women and children of Gaza, are running a close second for that title now, evidently.
Refer to Biden’s recent ‘Valley Forge’ speech for further details re. the threat of Trump MAGA minion extremists/terrorists.
In any case, except for the Trump monkey Apostle, all presidents in the 21st century have had total ‘immunity’ for untold myriad unspeakable acts including mayhem, extrajudicial-murder and torture .. . stuff prior presidents hung the Nazi for after WWII.
*imo, Biden could shoot someone on 5th Ave., and Ukraine, and blame it all on Trump.
Wait. That’s precisely what “Crazy Abe” Lincoln did: Unconstitutionally seize all power, unconstitutionally impose martial law, unconstitutionally deny the not prohibited and fully constitutional right, freedom, and power of secession, unconstitutionally commence a war against a sovereign foreign nation, unconstitutionally suspend habeas corpus, unconstitutionally jail political opponents and smash printing presses, unconstitutionally confiscate private property, unconstitutionally issue an unconstitutional “proclamation,” unconstitutionally fail to enforce fully constitutional immigration laws, unconstitutionally fail to compassionately repatriate illegal aliens, unconstitutionally ensconce a 4-million-man foreign army on U.S. soil, etc.
Why all the ellipses?
They were out of parabolas.
For those of you in Rio Linda:
Merrian-Webster
…
ellipses i-ˈlip-ˌsēz
e-
1a: the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete
1b: a sudden leap from one topic to another
2: marks or a mark (such as … ) indicating an omission (as of words) or a pause
Your response is a bit hyperbolic. You may want to circle back.
You don’t know pragmatic; by the inverse of the same token, you don’t know hyperbolic.
You do know disjointed, irrational and incoherent.
You don’t know basic analytical geometry.
You’re free to look up the entire tweet.
The was the position of the Obama administration
It wasn’t.
It is impossible to make a rational connection between “crossing the line” and assassinating a political rival. Trump was referring to well known political events when Presidents have been called upon to make decisions in unprecedented contexts. History shows how Presidents, esp. in war time, face situations that may call for actions that would not be acceptable in peace time, e.g. Lincoln suspending habeas corpus. Should Lincoln have been prosecuted? Should Harry Truman have been prosecuted for dropping the atomic bomb? Should Franklin Roosevelt have been prosecuted for interning Americans of Japanese descent? Your take on Trump’s words show how deranged and desperate the American Left has become.
Edwardmahl,
Well said.
No, he was asked last week specifically about assassinating a rival, and he responded that Presidents must have absolute immunity. And his lawyer was asked about that hypothetical as well, during oral arguments.
Trump has never said that he should be immune from prosecution for assassinating a political rival. If you contend he has, please provide the link.
Here you go: https://augustafreepress.com/news/trump-embraces-right-to-assassinate-political-rivals-claimed-by-attorney/
“Hunter bought and possessed the Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver”
I would have recommended the pistol that agent 007 used. The Walther PPK.
Jonathan: Chain of custody, chain of custody! Sounds like a lot like the title of one of Elvis Presley’s old hits–or was it “Chain of Fools”? That should have been the title of your column.
One of the many things law students learn in Criminal Law is about “chain of custody”. Prosecutors must show an item of evidence was properly handled through an unbroken chain of custody. Clearly, in the case of Hunter Biden’s brief possession of a firearm ended when his sister-in-law threw the gun in a dumpster. It was sometime later the weapon was discovered and much later was found to have cocaine residue on the gun pouch. The residue could easily have been the result of a drug user or dealer dumping cocaine in the dumpster. Even a first year law student could show the “chain of custody” was broken.
I would expect Abbe Lowell will have little trouble in getting the cocaine residue excluded if the prosecutors attempt to introduce it at trial. The Q is why you would push an issue that is a dead loser when you acknowledge there was a clear “break” in the chain of custody? We all know why. You have continually portrayed Hunter as a “crack head”. Hunter has admitted his addictions in the past. He is now sober and when he testifies before Comer’s Committee his sobriety will be on full display. This is where “Chain of Fools” comes in!
“Prosecutors must show an item of evidence was properly handled through an unbroken chain of custody.”
Dennis, you partially understand the chain of custody argument regarding the gun, though your understanding needs to be completed.
I won’t touch on that chain of custody issue, but I remind you that the chain of custody was broken in the 2020 election when ballot stuffing involved a break in the chain. That meant all those ballots were illegal, and the election was unlawful, which is precisely what Trump said.
You are a hypocrite.
[Reply to a deleted post]
“What a doofus. You won’t touch the chain of custody issue because you don’t understand it.”
I follow the chain of custody just fine. In fact I followed the empty bottles to you. I note that your post was deleted so someone else followed the same trail to the boozer and deleted your comment.
Why do you make yourself look so Stupid?
S. Meyer: So you think I only “partially understand the chain of custody”. What part do you think I missed? Please explain. Sorry, but I got it right the first time.
As to the 2020 election you still cling to DJT’s lie there was “ballot stuffing”. Where is your evidence? DJT and his lawyers, like Rudy Giuliani, went to court to try to prove that claim–and they came up empty handed–0 for 62! Rudy claimed Ruby Freeman and her mother were “ballot stuffing”. And how did that claim end? Rudy got hit with over $400 million in damages for that defamation. And there was never ever break in the chain of custody in handling the ballots. All the ballots were held securely in the counting room–from the time they were brought in until the time they were counted. In Fulton County there were several recounts and the result was always the same–Biden won!
Let’s face it, bro. You are a sucker! When are you going to move on?
“As to the 2020 election you still cling to DJT’s lie there was “ballot stuffing””
Yes, Dennis. That is just one thing. Many of us saw the video proving ballot stuffing and ballot trafficking. It was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. What proof do you have that the video was fake? None.
You call people a sucker. Why? For believing what they see in front of their eyes? You are a liar who, when called out, can almost never prove his case; I will repeat: What proof do you have that the video was fake?
Let’s face it, Dennis. You know very little, and of what you know, almost all is wrong. You claim to be an attorney, but so far, you sound like a layperson who needs an understanding of the law. You claim to have facts, but all you can do is regurgitate another person’s claims. You cannot defend them. In fact, your modus operandi is to run away. I have seen five-year-olds in the park who are braver and more knowledgeable than you.
“The residue could easily have been the result of a drug user or dealer dumping cocaine in the dumpster.”
You seem to be confused.
The cocaine was found on the gun *pouch*. The pouch was *not* found in the dumpster.
Yes, the gun, the pouch, ammo, and a speed loader were all thrown into the dumpster by Hallie Biden, where they were found by an old man, who turned them over. As the DOJ plainly states in the filing.
“As the DOJ plainly states in the filing.”
I couldn’t find where that speaks to the location of the pouch. Initial reports were that HB voluntarily surrendered it to the FBI. If what you note is accurate, thank you for the correction.
Wow, just wow. I am a flaming liberal and even I have to admit that this very bad. This is the worst scandal I have seen in my lifetime. This is worse then President Willy getting his willy wet from an intern and lying about it. This is worse then manufacturing an excuse to invade Iraq. This is worse then a president spearheading at attempted coup. This is worse the a president stealing hundreds of classified documents on their way out and storing them at a Florida resort. This is just awful.
The fact you refuse to see the double standard is further proof you are not very bright.
Thank you Upstate!
I see the double standard quite well. Trump does something really bad: Meh. Biden (or a family member) does something minor or unrelated to public service: Horror!
In your cult like thinking, you ignore the obvious violation of ATF form 4473, section 21, sub-section f. by Hunter while you, me or any other American not named Biden would be charge, convicted and serving time.
These are federal violations.
Your cult like zeal is showing.
You are missing the point. We don’t care if Hunter gets convicted, he is just some guy like any other guy.
No.
You are missing the point.
If Hunter was just some other guy, like any other guy, he would have been charged, convicted and serving time by now.
He also would have not had the Secrete Service try to get involved. How many private citizens get that kind of treatment? At the time, Joe Biden was just a private citizen too.
Lots of other citizens get that treatment. I only know of one other case where someone was charged with purchasing a gun while there was drug use, and it was the mother of the 6y.o. who brought his mom’s gun to school and shot his teacher. In general, this issue is not investigated and not charged.
What it is NOT worse than is a Senator taking and retaining classified documents to which he had no right whatsoever and retaining them for well beyond a decade, within the grasp of foreign nationals.
He didn’t lie under oath about the sex, which is illegal. He DID lie to us repeatedly at the microphone, but it wasn’t illegal. He DID lie about obstructing justice while trying to get other people to lie about him knowing ol’ monica.
Had this been anyone of us normal citizens we would of been charged, convicted and doing time.
But if you are a Biden, you get all kinds of special treatment.
He can also afford a good lawyer, unlike many.
Is this the same lawyer that paid Hunters taxes?
I’m under the impression that HB paid his own taxes. Either way, his current lawyer is Abbe Lowell, so you can figure it out for yourself.
And yet, we have evidence of one of Hunter’s lawyers paying his taxes.
Name the lawyer, and you’ll have an answer to your question.
As I understand it, Hunter (once chief ‘legal counsel’ for Burisma Holdings, Ukraine.) borrowed* the money from his incredibly generous biographer, Mr. P. Morris.
*citations needed.
You are under the wrong impression. hunter’s boyfriend – the one who bought a bunch of his macaroni art – paid his earlier evaded taxes. These are different, later evaded taxes.
Dont need a lawyer when the DoJ is corrupt
You don’t pay back taxes to the DOJ.
Had anyone of us normal citizens steal hundreds of pages of classified documents and store them at a Florida resort, we would of been charged, convicted and doing time.
But if you are a Trump, you get all kinds of special treatment.
And kept them in our garage next to our Vette? And done it while a Senator or a VP?
With a druggie son who worked for foreigners?
Sammy is going to get a pay cut. He has the talking points wrong
This is about Defense Intelligence information. Even the DoJ knows the Presidents power to declassify is not reviewable.
There is no evidence that Trump declassified it.
What kind of special treatment?
Like the FBI raiding your home?
A bogus real estate lawsuite where no one was defrauded? Even the bank says they agreed to the loan, Trump paid back the loan per the agreement in full, on time. That DA ran on the campaign that he would “get Trump!” That kind of special treatment?
The GA case where the DA hired her secrete boyfriend without proper approval, who has no experience in the case, paid him way above what others were getting paid, he made a trip to the Biden WH to collude strategy in the case, also the Jan6th Committee colluded with them for the same case. That kind of special treatment?
More special treatment:
Two whistleblowers, under oath, testifying before Congress, that they were stonewalled from interviewing Hunter, told not to follow normal procedure, denied access, and told that Hunter would “call them.”
There is also testimony that Hunter was given a “heads up,” of the investigation.
That kind of special treatment?
He didn’t steal any documents, let alone classified docs. He declassified them.
“As prosecutors are wont to do, David Weiss’ prosecution team used its response to Hunter Biden’s selective and vindictive prosecution claim to air embarrassing dirt. … What Hines does not do — not in the least — is address Lowell’s map of how, as political pressure from Republicans ratcheted up, David Weiss reneged on the specific terms in a plea agreement. … That is, Derek Hines simply doesn’t address the abundant evidence that Weiss reneged on a commitment he had personally committed to after coming under political pressure. … Derek Hines hides what date prosecutors obtained that coke residue evidence. … [I]nvestigators literally didn’t look for drug residue on the gun until five years, possibly longer, after law enforcement seized the gun. Even if that drug residue had been found between July 26 and September 14, it’d still be proof that prosecutors never took basic steps towards charging gun crimes until after Republicans brought their heat. …”
https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/01/17/the-coke-in-gun-actually-harms-david-weiss-case/
I remmember the plea deal crafted by the corrupt DOJ
In memory serves the prosecutors told the judge to rip it ALL up.
That was better than continued examination explosing more corruption.
Your memory is wrong.
Iirc, it was Hunter’s own legal counsel who told the judge (& prosecutors) to rip it up.
*idk, what they’re paying these people . .. but it ain’t enough, imo.
His defense sure did tell them to rip it up.
“[I]nvestigators literally didn’t look for drug residue on the gun until five years, possibly longer, after law enforcement seized the gun.” Can you reveal the evidence for this statement?
Dear Prof Turley,
There must be more here than it’s ‘cracked-up’ to be.
Only kangaroos have pouches .. . Hunter’s alleged ‘gun pouch’ will most likely be yet another red herring.
And you say Hallie Biden threw it in the dumpster? Has she been deposed?
Every day I read about more and more people with [seemingly] critical evidence in the Hunter ‘affair’ who have never been questioned, much less deposed. What about Hunter’s generous biographer Morris? Or the Assistant U.S. Attorney for Delaware Ms Wolf? I’ve still got some questions for the Art dealer. .. imo, there should a line of witnesses stretching out from the hallowed halls of Congress all the way to Hecuba.
*O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann’d,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
Can add Hunter himself to your list of people there are plenty of questions for.
But (so far) he doesn’t choose to comply with stepping up when required to answer any.
Even though ‘No One Is Above The Law’, as we’ve all heard so much about.
Biden will pardon the family and himself.
No one f…S with a Biden. No Biden will go to jail.
A presidential pardon is coming from the “love of a father”. Republicans just don’t understand……
Maybe we should revisit the coke in the White House “mystery”. Why does Hunter carry that red bag around with him like a middle schooler? Why does Hunter hang around with that skeezy looking “L.A. lawyer” who gives him millions (of laundered dollars) for nothing.
Remember that Hunter “repaid” a truck loan to the president, got his father, the president, on the phone during business meetings, said he had to give his father, the president, half of his money, went to China on AF 2, was the beneficiary of Joe Biden firing the prosecutor in Ukraine and used joint credit cards he shared with his father, the president.
But according to Dan Goldman, the media and the paid operatives, partisans and morons on this site, there is “not one shred of evidence” of corruption by Joe Biden.
Holy crap, if hunter biden was Freddie Gray, he would have been arrested and charged and released like 20 times by now.
This is one tiny aspect of a much larger picture. The current President of the United States involved his brother, son and other family members in a massive bribery scheme with sleazy foreign nationals, both private and government. The DOJ, FBI, IRS, other non elected government players collaborated with tech giants and other media to coverup the emerging story.
This is the scandal and the ball to watch. The rest is a subversive sideshow. They speak from the same propaganda talking points.
E.M.
Well, you could also add the recent WSJ Biden DOE EV cheating scandal.
And Jim Jordan recently obtained documents showing federal agencies flagged terms like “MAGA” and “TRUMP” for financial institutions if Americans used those phrases when completing transactions. Individuals who shopped at stores like Cabela’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods, or purchased religious texts like a bible, may also have had their transactions flagged.
Then there is Fani Willis secret boyfriend who went to the WH and meet with other Biden admin officials to collude in the GA Trump case.
There are a lot of scandals to watch.
My search engine must be out of gas. I cannot find any articles showing the gun-control crowd demanding Hunter be prosecuted for violating their sacred laws.
Illegal drug often called blow, illegally owning the weapon – Headline LEGAL BLOW Well done!
The gun crime appears unrelated to Joe Biden, so it is a waste of time from a political perspective. Hunter is only significant as a link to Joe. And in any event Joe will pardon him for everything after the election, win or lose.
“so it is a waste of time from a political perspective.”
Daniel, I don’t know why you say that. You might not like the extension of a son’s activities to the father, but it has a political impact.
Daniel, S. Meyer,
I find the obvious double standard on display for all to see as insulting to all us normal America’s.
That is what has many of us pissed.
Had I done what Hunter did, I would already be serving my prison sentence.
Had you done what Hunter did, you probably wouldn’t have been prosecuted.
the Bidens have committed 100’s of crimes of all types of bribes, etc. And the 100% corrupt DOJ, FBI, IRS, etc ignore Democrats Crimes!
The USA is a Democrat Fascists State
This is interesting regarding new evidence. I remember a case where evidence was destroyed, something about emails and cell phone’s. I think Hunter is facing the same consequences, don’t you?
“In the special counsel’s filing, the court was informed that ‘an FBI chemist subsequently . . .'”
Wait a minute.
Wasn’t this known by the DOJ *before* it tried to sneak a sweetheart deal through the court?
Nice catch Sam!
Hines doesn’t give the date of the discovery. You think the date is early and the evidence (which in any event doesn’t pass a chain of custody requirement) was initially ignored. Marcy Wheeler thinks the date is late and this was only discovered because Republicans in Congress pushed the DOJ to file charges (https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/01/17/the-coke-in-gun-actually-harms-david-weiss-case/). Only time will tell, as certainly the date must be revealed to HB as part of discovery.
Wheeler:
“Derek Hines hides what date prosecutors obtained that coke residue evidence. … Update: Weiss’ spox declines to comment beyond the court filings.”
Anonymous- “This whole gun thing has been blown out of proportion”.
What an extremely stupid observation. 1-it’s federal law that appears to have been broken, 2-go out and snort up some cocaine then go and buy a gun and falsify the forms and then ask the people here to turn you in and see what happens to you.
Just a thought.
IIRC that federal law has been struck down.
GEB,
Well said.
For those of you who are ignorant of the law, ATF form 4473, section 21, sub-section f. states: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?
Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized
for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.”
Democrats are strongly in favor of passing strict gun laws. But, as in all other cases, enforcement remains optional for them.
So the FBI still does some crime scene testing when it finds actual evidence. How illuminating. Almost but not quite repairs some of my skepticism of the FBI as a crime fighting organization.
Who would have thought it.