WILMINGTON, DE – Hunter Biden’s legal team is pushing back against the Special Counsel’s plans to highlight his past spending habits at his upcoming gun trial in Delaware. In a recent filing, Biden’s lawyers argued that details about his “extravagant lifestyle” and expenditures on “adult entertainment” and “escort services” should be deemed irrelevant and prejudicial.
The defense’s motion, filed on Friday, responds to Special Counsel David Weiss’s assertion that the term “extravagant lifestyle” is not inherently prejudicial. Weiss intends to present evidence at the trial, starting on June 3, that includes Biden’s past drug addiction issues as detailed in his autobiography “Beautiful Things” and financial transactions that align with his drug use.
Weiss plans to use Biden’s own admissions and financial records to argue that Biden unlawfully purchased and possessed a firearm in 2018 while addicted to drugs. The government’s evidence is set to include large cash withdrawals and a $900 cash payment for a gun.
The defense argues that while some spending evidence related to drug purchases may be relevant, introducing testimony about his spending on non-essential and sensational items would be unfairly damaging. They urged U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika to prohibit any such references that could sway the jury by invoking an emotional response.
The debate over what constitutes relevant evidence continues to shape the pre-trial landscape, with Biden’s team emphasizing the risk of bias and prejudice from the inclusion of sensational details.