Takeaways from Day 5 of Hunter Biden’s firearms trial

WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden’s eldest daughter, Naomi, took the stand in her father’s defense on Friday, telling the court how her father appeared to have taken control of his drug use in the months before prosecutors say he lied on a government background check form.

“He seemed like the clearest that I had seen him since my uncle died, and he just seemed really great,” she said of visiting him during a stint in rehab in Los Angeles with her then-boyfriend Peter Neal.

Hunter Biden wiped away tears as she testified to being proud of him.

Naomi Biden told the court she saw her father again just a couple of months later in New York when he came to pick up his truck after she and Neal had borrowed it.

“He seemed great. He seemed hopeful,” the younger Biden said of the visit, which came during a stretch of time after her father purchased the gun that is at the center of the case against him.

Her recollections grew more complicated for her father’s defense as she came under cross-examination.Biden is accused of illegally purchasing a Colt Cobra handgun and lying about his use of drugs on a federal form. His brother’s widow, with whom he was in a romantic relationship after Beau Biden’s death, testified to finding the gun inside a truck — the defendant’s — strewn with drug “remnants,” before throwing it away. Biden has pleaded not guilty to three charges.

President Joe Biden said in an interview that he would not pardon his son, who faces a sentence that could carry up to 25 years in jail if he’s found guilty.

Sitting behind the defendant was first lady Jill Biden, who flew in from France and is set to return to Europe on Saturday. Hunter held her hand as he left court after his daughter’s testimony, with his wife, Melissa