Two of Hunter Biden’s exes outlined his extensive drug use in detailed testimony at his federal gun trial.
Zoe Kestan testified that Biden smoked crack cocaine within minutes of their meeting at a "gentlemen’s club" where she worked in Manhattan.
Earlier on Wednesday, Biden’s ex-wife said in testimony that he grew "angry" and "short-tempered" after smoking crack cocaine.
Kathleen Buhle said Biden was "not himself" after she found a "crackpipe" on her side porch on 3 July 2015 in Washington, DC.
Wednesday’s proceedings focused mostly on the testimony of Kestan, whom the defense noted has an immunity deal. She testified regarding the widespread crack use by Biden amid their seemingly chaotic time together moving between hotels and AirBnBs after meeting in December 2017.
Biden stands accused of having lied about his drug use on a form to buy a firearm on 12 October 2018. The prosecution has attempted to prove to the jury that Biden was aware that he struggled with substance abuse at the time.
His defense has argued that when he bought the gun, which he only had for 11 days before it was discarded, he wasn’t actively using illicit drugs.
A hesitant-seeming Buhle, in a tan suit, white shirt, and black glasses, testified that she found a broken pipe, pipe-cleaning materials, a white powder, and remnants of crystals in Biden’s car. She said she looked for drugs in his vehicle more than once so that her daughters wouldn’t drive with drugs in the vehicle.
She added that he continued to work while using drugs and that she found that others didn’t notice his drug use. He tried to hide his drug use from family and friends, she said.
The ex-wife added that they talked about him going to rehab, noting that he initially didn’t want to but that he eventually did.
Biden, in a dark suit and slicked-back hair, looked intently at Buhle but didn’t give away much emotion during her testimony.
On cross-examination, she said alcohol had been an issue throughout their marriage, and that Biden initially went to rehab in 2003, ten years into their marriage.
She noted that he had been kicked out of the Navy for using cocaine. He moved out in 2015 after she found the crackpipe and paraphernalia and they divorced in 2017. While she found evidence of his drug use, she said she never saw Biden use drugs.
Kestan, appearing comfortable and confident on the stand in a black suit and colorful Pucci scarf, testified that she witnessed Biden smoke crack about every 20 minutes when they were in private and that he would slip off to a restroom when in public to smoke about once an hour.
She outlined how she met Biden at a "gentlemen’s club" in Manhattan in December 2017 when she gave him a private dance.
The club was about to close so the music was already off, but Hunter began playing a song on his phone.
Describing him as "charming" and "charismatic," Kestan said Biden pulled out a pipe and started smoking "something” within 15 minutes of their meeting. She said she "assumed it was crack cocaine."
At the beginning of their relationship, Kestan said she was 24 while Biden was 48: “Twice my age.”
Throughout her testimony, she said Biden’s behavior didn’t change after smoking until later in their relationship when he appeared stressed and scattered.
“Part of the reason I would leave is because I thought he wasn’t trying and if I left maybe he would,” she said.
Declining to extend the time at the club, Biden asked Kestan if she wanted to come to his hotel room. She declined but gave him her number.
Kestan saw his photo online about a week later, realizing who he was. She said a friend invited her to meet him at the SoHo Grand Hotel in January 2018. She wouldn’t leave for five days. She said she found him “incredibly friendly” and that she “felt a connection with him.”
During several subsequent meetings, Kasten explained in detail how Biden would use the paraphernalia and how he would buy drugs the size of a “ping pong ball” and break it apart into smaller pieces.
“He would want to smoke as soon as he woke up,” she said, adding that she didn’t notice any changes in him, perhaps “because I was catching feelings for him.”
They moved on to California in the spring of 2018, where Biden hoped to try to get sober. But it would be a struggle, after an AirBnB host canceled their booking after seeing Biden’s name, according to Kasten, they ended up at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, where she testified that she saw Biden cook crack cocaine in the kitchen of their bungalow.
Kasten saw Biden in late September 2018 and then didn’t see him again until November of that year, when Biden was staying in a rental on an island off the coast of Massachusetts as he tried to get sober.
“I’m sitting here on a “f****** island by myself trying to beat the devil out of me,” he texted Kasten at the time. “I will always be an addict.”
