'No one is above the law': The two framings of Hunter Biden's criminal case — and the prosecution's secret weapon

Judging from the opening statements in Hunter Biden's federal gun case, it appears as though Ashley Biden's troubling diary may no longer be the heaviest piece of familial baggage President Joe Biden has to lug into the November election.

The Democratic president and gun control advocate's son faces three counts related to his alleged unlawful possession of a handgun: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on a federal firearms application, and possession of an illegally obtained gun.

If convicted of all three counts, Biden could land up to 25 years in prison as well as fines up to $750,000. It will also amount to a black eye for the White House, which has made significant hay out in recent days of former President Donald Trump's conviction.

Prior to hearing opening statements from prosecutors and the defense, Trump-appointed Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware expressed a willingness to permit the jury — comprising four black men, three black women, two white men, and three white women — to see images of the president's son in states of undress with illicit drug paraphernalia, reported the New York Times.

After it became clear that damning images from the laptop long discounted by the liberal media and intelligence community would come to haunt the Biden family once again, and latecomers were seated, prosecutors and the defense delivered their opening statements to a packed courtroom.

Once the two framings were established, the prosecution introduced a disembodied witness whose authoritative insights into Hunter Biden's bad choices and debauched lifestyle served to greatly undermine his defense.

The prosecution's framing

Prosecutor Derek Hines, a senior assistant special counsel, co-opted a statement recycled by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland and other Democrats when speaking about former President Donald Trump's cases. Hines said that even in this case, "Nobody is above the law. It doesn't matter who you are, or what your name is."

'Nobody is allowed to lie, not even Hunter Biden.'

While Hunter Biden dodged the legal consequences everyday Americans alternatively face over their use of illicit substances, Hines made clear he shouldn't be able to skate for lying on a federal gun application.

"Nobody is allowed to lie, not even Hunter Biden," said Hines.

The prosecutor made clear to jurors, some of whom self-identified during jury selection as having addicts in their respective personal orbits, that the president's son was not in court simply because he was a junkie.

"Addiction may not be a choice, but lying and buying a gun is a choice," said Hines.

NBC News noted the extent to which Hines' emphasized this theme.

Hunter Biden "chose to illegally own a firearm" and "chose to lie," said the prosecutor. Hines later added that Hunter Biden also did not throw away the gun by choice. Rather, it was taken from him by a former lover, his brother's widow Hallie Biden, who ditched it in a trash can outside of a supermarket.

Hines provided the jury and the country with a preview of what to expect.

Gordon Cleveland, the man who sold Biden a gun at Starquest Shooters, is expected to testify about Biden's deception. Hallie Biden, granted an immunity agreement, "will testify about her own crack use" and potentially her disposal of Hunter Biden's gun. Zoe Kestan, one of Biden's sexual partners also granted immunity, will detail her observations on Biden's nonstop crack use.

The jury will also hear from Biden's ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle; FBI agent Erika Jensen; Delaware State Police Corp. Joshua Marley; Delaware State Police Lt. Millard Greer; forensic chemist Dr. Jason Brewer; and potentially a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent.

Extra to these witnesses, the prosecution will likely introduce textual communications and drug residue to prove Hunter Biden lied, reported the Times.

The defense's framing

Biden's defense attorney Abbe Lowell downplayed the severity of Biden's alleged crime; displaced blame, throwing Buhle and Cleveland under the bus; suggested Biden's drug use was not consistent, at least not enough to infer his use at the time of the gun's purchase; and intimated that Biden's drug-addled intentions at the time of purchase are unknowable.

"Hunter bought a small handgun," said Lowell. "It was never loaded."

Lowell stressed that Biden never used the Colt Cobra .38 Special revolver.

Lowell indicated that it is incumbent upon prosecutors to demonstrate that Biden "knowingly violated the law." To do so, Lowell suggested they will have to show that the president's son entered the gun store with the intention to purchase a weapon while also recognizing himself as an addict. While the prosecution has a witness who will attest to seeing Hunter Biden smoke crack every 15-20 minutes and stop only when it came to sleep, Lowell suggested that intent will be impossible to prove.

NBC News indicated that the defense may also attempt to defuse some of the prosecution's arguments about Hunter Biden's drug use and boozing around the time of the gun purchase by suggesting he routinely deceived Hallie Biden.

Finally, Lowell indicated that the defense will attempt to shift blame onto the gun seller, Cleveland, insinuating that he skirted protocol to make the sale.

First up to bat

After a brief recess punctuated by a hysterical outburst by Biden's current wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden — who called a former Trump White House aide a "Nazi piece of s***" — the trial resumed, and Erika Jensen took the stand.

Prosecutors played clips of Hunter Biden reading his memoir, "Beautiful Things," wherein he admitted to crack cocaine addiction for a four-year period leading up to a 2019 trip to California.

Hunter Biden bought the gun in October 2018. The defense has suggested that contrary to Biden's autobiographical account of the four-year crack binge, he didn't know he was an addict when entering the gun store.

In one of the passages heard by the court, Hunter Biden mentions his "superpower": locating crack wherever he goes.

Jensen, an FBI agent of nearly 20 years who was assigned to Hunter Biden's case last year, authenticated ATM receipts, providing some additional context for Hunter Biden's possibly incriminating literary admissions, reported CNN.

Prior to the court breaking for lunch, Hunter Biden did much of the leg work for the prosecution by way of his audio recording, which played to a captive audience, including first lady Jill Biden and Cohen-Biden.

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