Judge Maryellen Noreika excused juror number 16 in Hunter Biden’s gun trial after she emailed the court on Tuesday explaining that she could not make the trial due to an hour-long travel time.
Juror 16 qualified on Monday after she told the court she only heard about the case in general on YouTube. She said her mother owns a gun, but “she doesn’t know about the paperwork or process that goes into buying a gun in Delaware,” NBC News reported.
The juror will be replaced with an alternate, though it was not immediately clear which one will take her place.
Below are the current alternates:
- #50: A woman who has served on multiple juries
- #52: A woman, an administrative specialist, who said the laws governing who can own guns “should be more strict.”
- #53: A woman who gets her news from “my dad” and X.
- #65: A woman who previously donated to Barack Obama
Jury selection was finalized Monday afternoon with 12 jurors, one of whom is a woman who worked for the Secret Service. The jury is split evenly between men and women. All four alternates are women.
Special Counsel David Weiss’s office scheduled opening statements to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, but not all jurors appeared in court on time, NBC News reported:
Before 9 a.m., Judge Noreika began going over rulings on what evidence can be admitted, indicating that specific texts, photos and portions of Hunter Biden’s memoir, “Beautiful Things,” will likely be on display in court today.
Several photos that place Hunter Biden in specific locations on certain dates could be among the evidence. For example, there was mention of a photo of him in Malibu, California, and of a photo of his back that places him in Wilmington on a certain day.
Noreika did not initially understand why the photos were relevant: “Can you give me a hint why I care what he’s doing in Malibu?” she asked. Prosecutor Derek Hines said it’s about putting Hunter in a particular place.
Prosecutors said their first witness would be FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen, ABC News reported. The first witness will introduce evidence of Hunter Biden’s text messages and related relevant excerpts from his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things.”
Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen Biden; his stepmom, First Lady Jill Biden; and his Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris, are attending Tuesday’s proceedings, according to court reporters.
First Lady Jill Biden arrives at federal court on June 4, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
President Joe Biden intends to have a phone conversation with Hunter Biden every day during his gun trial, White House aides told Politico on Tuesday.
The case is United States v. Hunter Biden, No. 24-1703 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
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