The key family members involved in the Hunter Biden trial (2024)

Much of the evidence at trial involves Biden’s own accounts of his descent into crack cocaine, which he described in detail in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things.”

But testimony from the defendant’s current and former family members could be just as critical in convincing the jury of his guilt or innocence. The proceedings have pitted ex-partners whose lives were derailed by Biden’s drug habits against relatives who have stuck by him, laying bare the struggles that hung over the family as he careened between addiction and rehab.

Three of Biden’s family members have testified. Kathleen Buhle, Biden’s ex-wife and the mother of his three daughters, took the stand Wednesday as one of the prosecution’s key witnesses. Her testimony could help the prosecution establish that Biden was still using drugs when he made the gun purchase.

In one of the trial’s tensest moments, Buhle recalled scouring the family cars for Biden’s paraphernalia so that their daughters wouldn’t be caught driving with anything that could get them in trouble.

The drugs, she said, had warped the man she loved.

“He was not himself,” Buhle said. “He was angry, short-tempered, acting in ways he was not when he was sober.”

Biden moved out of the house in 2015 after Buhle found a crack pipe on their porch, according to her testimony. They divorced in 2017 after she found out Biden was cheating on her.

Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter’s brother, Beau, also testified for the prosecution, describing how she began a volatile and sometimes drug-fueled relationship with Hunter after Beau’s death in 2015 from brain cancer.

She told jurors that Biden introduced her to crack cocaine and that they both used the drug well into 2018. In October of that year, she searched his truck for drugs while he was sleeping, she said, hoping to offer him help if he was still using. She said she found drug remnants along with bullets and the gun at question in the case. In a panic, she testified, she threw the gun in a trash can at a nearby grocery store.

“I didn’t want him to hurt himself,” she said, “and I didn’t want my kids to find it and hurt themselves.”

Regarding her own her drug use, she said, “I am embarrassed and ashamed, and I regret that period in my life.”

The court heard a more sympathetic narrative from Biden’s eldest daughter, Naomi Biden, who testified for the defense. Called to cast doubt on the allegation that her father knowingly lied on his gun paperwork, she recalled telling her father she was proud of him after he completed a treatment program in August 2018.

“He seemed like the clearest I had seen him since my uncle died,” she said, referring to Beau. “He seemed really great.”

But her testimony also showcased some of the ongoing strain in their relationship later that year. On cross examination, prosecutors presented texts from a period in October 2018, around the time of the gun purchase, when Naomi was trying to meet up with her father.

“So no c u?!” she texted him. She told him she couldn’t handle the situation anymore. “I really miss you. I just want to hangout with you,” she wrote.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so unreachable,” Hunter Biden replied. “It’s not fair to you.”

The defense is still considering whether to call Biden as a witness in his own defense.

As witnesses have taken the stand, a cast of Biden’s other family members have showed up to support him, gathering in the first two rows of benches in the courtroom.

First lady Jill Biden has sat through long stretches of testimony, and has leaned over to hug and kiss her stepson during breaks. She was absent, however, during testimony from Buhle, her former daughter-in-law.

Hunter’s uncle James Biden was in court and was expected to testify about Biden’s repeated attempts to kick his drug habit. The defense indicated Friday he wouldn’t be called.

Hunter Biden’s half sister, Ashley Balzer Biden, was present during the first two days, dabbing her eyes during sensitive moments. His current wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden, has also appeared in support, as have his aunt and uncle, Valerie Biden Owens and Jack Owens.

Looming in the background: His father. President Biden was at home in Wilmington on Monday, the first day of trial, but he hasn’t appeared in court and is unlikely to given the complicated security arrangements required to make that happen.

“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” he said in a statement Monday. “Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us.”

Perry Stein, Matt Viser and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.

Photos: Matt Slocum/AP, Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP, Andrew Harnik/AP, Tierney L Cross/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock, Kevin Dietsch/Getty, Mark Wilson/Getty, Carolyn Van Houten/Post, Bill O’Leary/Post.