Delaware, United States

Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden's sister-in-law, testified on Thursday (June 6) about how she threw his gun out of fear because of his serious drug addiction. The damning testimony can potentially bolster the prosecution case that US President Joe Biden's son violated firearms law. 

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Top takeaways from Day 4 of Hunter Biden Trial:

Hallie Biden threw away Hunter Biden's gun

Hallie Biden testified at the Wilmington, Delaware, federal court after jurors saw a surveillance footage of her dropping off the gun in a trash container at a supermarket. They were also made privy to text messages of her expressing fear for Hunter Biden's life.

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"Check yourself into a local rehab hunter, this has all got to stop," she said in one of the messages from October 2018.

She told the court that she often cleaned Hunter's truck to search for drugs, and during one such search, she found the gun. She said she feared Hunter Biden or her children would find the gun and hurt themselves.

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"I panicked and wanted to get rid of it." 

Hunter Biden got sister-in-law hooked on crack

During her testimony, Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, who died of cancer in 2015, also revealed that beginning in late 2015 or early 2016, she and Hunter were involved in a romantic relationship. During this relationship, she testified, Hunter introduced her to crack, and she was addicted for years until she got clean in August 2018.

Crack cocaine paraphernalia

Hunter Biden's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle also took the stand and shared how she found the implement for smoking the drug on the side porch of their home in 2015. She confessed that she was worried that their daughter might stumble upon it. 

The couple divorced in 2017.

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Drug addiction

Another one of Hunter's ex-partners, Zoe Kestan, with whom Hunter Biden had a relationship in 2017 and 2018, testified that he was smoking crack "every 20 minutes or so".

Was Hunter Biden on drugs when he purchased the gun?

As per AFP, Joe Biden's son, who is charged with illegal possession of the firearm, in addition to lying about his drug status when purchasing it, only had the gun for 11 days in October 2018.

His lawyers contended that during those 11 days the gun "was never loaded, never carried, never used" and that Hunter Biden "was not using drugs when he bought that gun".

(With inputs from agencies)