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(WILMINGTON, Del.) — Jurors began deliberating Monday afternoon in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial after prosecutors urged them to use “common sense” to find him guilty of three felony gun charges, claiming to have proved their case “beyond a reasonable doubt seven ways to Sunday.”

“If this evidence did not establish that Hunter Biden was a crack addict, and an unlawful user, then no one is a crack addict or an unlawful user,” said prosecutor Derek Hines.

Abbe Lowell, the lead defense attorney, rebutted that claim by characterizing the government’s case as nothing more than “speculation and conjecture.”

The president’s son is accused of lying on a federal form when he said he wasn’t using drugs at the time he purchased a Colt revolver on Oct. 12, 2018.

The jury will resume its deliberations Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET.

Here are three big takeaways from Day 6 of the trial:

Prosecution says Hunter Biden ‘knew he was using drugs’

After the defense rested it case without Hunter Biden taking the stand in his own defense, the government, in its closing argument, laid out its case for Hunter Biden’s guilt on three criminal counts — two for lying on a federal form at a Wilmington gun shop and the other for possession of the firearm while an addict and user of drugs.

Prosecutor Leo Wise acknowledged the government’s case hinged on Hunter Biden’s “knowing” that he was a user and addict at the time he filled out the form.

“He knew he was using drugs,” Wise told jurors. “That’s what the evidence shows.”

Wise emphasized repeatedly to the jury that the government is not required to show specifically that Hunter used drugs when he owned the gun from Oct. 12-23, 2018 — instead, Wise said, they must show that the facts “establish that pattern.”

Wise pointed to text messages and book excerpts admitted into evidence, referencing Hunter Biden’s own words that he used to describe his addiction.

“Take the defendant’s word for it,” Wise told jurors.

Wise opened his closing argument by making a reference to the high profile of the case. The case is “not more or less important because of who the defendant is,” he said, gesturing toward the gallery where the first lady and president’s family sat.

“People sitting in the gallery are not evidence,” he said. “You may recognize them from the news, from the community … none of that matters.”

Defense calls government’s case a ‘magician’s trick’

During his 90-minute closing argument, Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell argued that the government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his client was actively using drugs at the time of the gun purchase — saying there were “gaping holes” in their case.

Lowell repeatedly referred to prosecutors’ case as a “magicians’ trick” — to “watch this hand and pay no attention to that one,” as he said — arguing that prosecutors failed to “fill in the gaps” about Hunter Biden’s drug use around the time of his firearm purchase “because they don’t have the proof.”

The “lack of text messages with drug lingo” and “photos” around the time of the gun purchase prove that prosecutors failed to prove that Hunter Biden was actively using drugs at that time, Lowell argued.

The defense also argued there is no evidence that the firearm Hunter Biden purchased was ever loaded or carried “until Hallie did all that,” referring to when Hunter Biden’s then-girlfriend Hallie Biden discovered the gun and took it to a nearby store to dispose of it.

Lowell called prosecutors’ treatment of Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi Biden “extraordinarily cruel” and said many of their questions and evidence were introduced with the intention of “embarrassing Hunter.”

“We have had Hunter’s life in our hands until now,” Lowell said before concluding his closing argument. “And now we have to give it to you.”

Government refutes defense’s characterization

In his rebuttal, prosecutor Derek Hines refuted Lowell’s characterization directly.

“Hunter Biden’s life is not in your hands,” he told the jury. 

Instead, he said they would judge the facts of the case and the law, as instructed, to determine his guilt. They would not sentence Hunter Biden or determine his fate.

Hines appealed to jurors’ common sense to establish that Hunter Biden knew he was a drug addict.

“Sometimes, some things in life don’t need an explanation,” he said, implying that Hunter Biden’s addiction was self-evident — so clear that he wrote extensively about it in his memoir.

Hunter Biden would have understood the words “addict and user” on the ATF form prosecutors allege that he lied on, Hines told the jury.

“He knew what those words meant,” the prosecutor said.

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(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump’s interview Monday with New York City probation officials lasted just under a half-hour, sources familiar with it told ABC News.

Trump participated in the interview remotely from Mar-a-Lago.

His defense attorney, Todd Blanche, was with him. Unlike most defendants, Trump was given permission to be accompanied by counsel.

The sources described the interview as cordial and routine. Trump was not asked anything surprising.

The New York City Probation Department will now prepare a report for Judge Juan Merchan ahead of Trump’s July 11 sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The report is supposed to include, among other things, Trump’s description of his crime, whether he expressed remorse and any statements he wished to make about why he did it.

Last month, a jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to hide information from voters ahead of the 2016 election, including a $130,000 money payment to buy the silence of adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had an affair with him, which he has denied.

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(BALTIMORE) — The Baltimore shipping channel where the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed has fully reopened following the catastrophic collision in March, authorities said Monday.

The Fort McHenry Federal Channel has been restored to its original operational dimensions for commercial maritime transit through the Port of Baltimore, one of America’s busiest ports, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.

The Dali, a massive cargo ship, struck the Key Bridge on March 26, triggering a collapse that killed six workers and affected entry into the port.

In the weeks since, the channel has gradually opened to traffic as crews worked to clear 50,000 tons of bridge wreckage and remove the 984-foot-long and 158-foot-wide container ship from the crash site.

On Monday, the riverbed was certified as safe for transit and the channel reached its full operational dimensions of 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.

“We are proud of the unified efforts that fully reopened the Federal Channel to port operations,” Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said in a statement. “The partnerships that endured through this response made this pivotal mission successful.”

The incident remains under investigation.

According to a preliminary report released last month by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Dali experienced two power blackouts while docked, 10 hours before the collision that toppled part of a bridge span. After leaving the port in the early morning hours of March 26, it experienced two more blackouts close to 1:28 a.m., which is the time it collided with the bridge, according to the NTSB.

Federal investigators said that fuel tests did not show any irregularities and they are now focusing their probe on the ship’s electrical system.

The bridge’s reconstruction is expected to cost between $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion and last through 2028 at the earliest, transportation officials said last month.

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(NEW YORK) — The King County, Washington, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged a man with second-degree murder and assault, both felony counts, for allegedly shooting a teen he thought was holding a gun and who he believed was about to rob a sporting goods store.

Aaron Brown Myers, 51, told police he believed the 17-year-old victim had a gun and was going to rob a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in the Seattle suburb of Renton last Wednesday as the teen headed toward the retailer with two others, according to court documents filed by the prosecutor, Leesa Manion.

The boy was holding an airsoft gun, according to a police affidavit. An airsoft gun is a replica firearm that shoots low-power, nonmetallic pellets.

The two teens who were with the victim told police they were going to the sporting goods store to either return or exchange the airsoft gun because it was malfunctioning, the affidavit said.

Myers was charged on Monday with the two felony charges and is scheduled to be arraigned on June 24, according to the King County Prosecutor’s Office. Myers is currently being held on a $2 million bond, according to the office.

“The investigation revealed that the victim and two other 17-year-olds were walking toward a store to return a handgun-style BB gun when the armed suspect got out of his vehicle and confronted the trio,” according to the filing obtained by ABC News. “There was an altercation that turned physical, and the suspect allegedly shot the victim multiple times.”

Myers told police he works as an armed security guard elsewhere, and he had just gotten off work and was waiting in his car in a parking lot as his son attended martial arts classes nearby, according to the police affidavit.

“Myers indicated that he conducted ‘overwatch’ at the location as he has seen numerous crimes occur in the parking lot in the past,” the affidavit read.

Reports do not show that Myers was authorized to guard the area.

Myers saw three teens approach the Big 5 Sporting Goods store with what he thought were handguns and believed they were going to rob the store, according to the affidavit. He further stated that he felt he did not have time to call 911 and that he “had a duty to act to stop the individuals from hurting someone innocent, and to protect his son,” per the court filing.

Myers, who was armed with a registered semiautomatic pistol, told police he approached the teens with his gun out and told them to put their hands in the air, but no one complied, the police affidavit said. He then fired multiple rounds at the victim because he thought the teen was reaching into the waistband of his pants for what Myers believed was a gun and that the teen “was going to kill him,” according to the filing.

The 17-year-old, whose name was redacted from court records because he’s a minor, was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders, the filing said. Myers was immediately detained and taken into custody.

“Mr. Myers and his family are devastated by this tragedy and the fact that it resulted in the loss of a young man’s life. On the evening in question Mr. Myers sincerely believed that he was witnessing the beginning of an armed robbery,” Myers’ attorney said in a statement to ABC News. “Unfortunately, during the confrontation Mr. Myers became in fear for his own life and fired his duty weapon to defend himself.”

The two surviving teens said they previously used the airsoft guns to shoot in the woods and wanted help from the store with their replica firearms, which were malfunctioning, according to the affidavit.

Investigators stated in their report that surveillance footage of the incident appeared to contradict some of Myers’ statements.

The surveillance footage also shows Myers quickly approaching the teens in the parking lot, the filing said. After he forces one teen to the ground and straddles him, he points his gun at another, per the affidavit.

The teen with the gun pointed at him had his hands up but lowered one of his hands toward his waist, at which point Myers is seen firing his weapon multiple times, according to the filing.

“Based off these facts I believe there is Probable Cause to charge Aaron B Myers … with the crime of Murder in the second degree,” according to the police officer involved, the court filing said. “Myers actions of discharging his firearm, without premeditation, caused the death of another person.”

In response to an ABC News’ request for comment, the deceased boy’s father said he was too distraught to speak about the incident.

Renton, Washington, police told ABC News that surveillance footage of the incident will not be publicly available until their investigation is complete.

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(NEW YORK) — A 6-year-old girl died days after she was accidentally injured by a badminton racket while on vacation with her family in Maine, police said.

Lucy Morgan, of Stockholm, New Jersey, was playing with her older brother outside a home in Limerick on June 1 when the incident occurred, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

“Investigators learned that the aluminum shaft of a badminton racquet had become dislodged from the wooden handle, causing the shaft to strike the girl in the head, piercing through her skull,” the Maine Department of Public Safety said in a press release.

Lucy was sitting on the sideline when the “freak accident” occurred, her father, Jesse Morgan, a pastor at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Newfoundland, New Jersey, said in a blog post following the incident. The racket broke on a downward swing and the sharp piece caused a catastrophic brain injury, he said.

First responders brought Lucy to a hospital in Sanford before transporting her via helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died from her injuries on Wednesday, police said.

“There is so much more to say, scripture to unravel, people to thank, and tears to be cried,” Jesse Morgan said on his blog, urging people to “hug your kids more.” “We never asked for this immense trial, but the reports of other children coming to Christ, about neighbors having gospel conversations, and grief being shared helps us continue to walk by faith in this profound pain.”

Lucy’s memorial service is scheduled to be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. and livestreamed at greenpondbible.org.

“Our hearts are broken,” Green Pond Bible Chapel lead pastor Ryan Boys said in a letter to the church community on Wednesday. “Today we are caught in between two immutable truths. Lucy is experiencing ineffable joy with the Lord; we are experiencing unspeakable grief and sorrow.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The first three months of 2024 saw a continued drop in levels of violent crime and murder across the country, according to data released by the FBI on Monday — a trend that Attorney General Merrick Garland called “historic.”

Reported incidents of violent crime dropped 15% between January and March of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Data.

Murders dropped by more than 26% in the same time period, the data show.

The FBI has not released details about the number of incidents for the categories of crime. It will do so when 80% participation levels are met, the agency said.

“This data makes clear that last year’s historic decline in violent crime is continuing,” Garland said in a statement highlighting the new statistics.

“This continued historic decline in homicides does not represent abstract statistics. It represents people whose lives were saved — people who are still here to see their children grow up, to work toward fulfilling their dreams, and to contribute to their communities.”

Crime is a key issue for voters in an election year, and President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are working to highlight their crime-reduction plans in what is expected to be a very close race this November.

“President Biden has worked hard to clean up [Trump’s] mess, and it’s working,” Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement, referencing the new FBI data.

As president, Biden has backed community policing and violence intervention efforts and called for more mental and social services funding. In his State of the Union address earlier this year, Biden boasted that the nation reported a historically low murder rate in 2023 and violent crime had plummeted to one of the lowest levels in 50 years.

Trump is touting the role he played in enacting the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform law that reduced some mandatory minimum prison sentences, gave judges the power to sentence nonviolent drug offenders to less time behind bars and more, such as increasing job training to lower recidivism rates. Last month, Trump became the first U.S. president ever convicted of a felony.

The number released Monday further build off data released earlier this year by the FBI, which showed murders dropped nationwide by 13% through 2023. That data also showed cities with populations of more than 1 million saw an 11% drop in overall crime.

Experts told ABC News late that year that the recent drop in homicides and other violent crimes can be attributed to expanded efforts to prevent crime, including working with community volunteers, targeting gun possession in high-crime areas and placing officers on foot and bike patrols.

Still, perception of crime often does not match up with the numbers. More than three-quarters of Americans said that there is more crime in the U.S. than a year ago and more than half of Americans said the same about crime in their local area, according to a Gallup poll from November.

The data from the FBI also show that reported incidents of rape dropped by 25% from last year, robbery dropped by more than 17%, and aggravated assault fell by more than 12%. Property crime similarly dropped by more than 15%, according to the data.

Some crime data experts have cautioned not to rely too much on the FBI’s numbers, noting their largely preliminary nature that only covers roughly 77% of the nation’s total population — even if their broader assessment of decreasing crime across the country rings true.

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(NEW YORK) — The New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is reviewing the liquor licenses held by former President Donald Trump’s golf courses in the state following his criminal conviction in New York, the agency confirmed.

Trump holds three active licenses for Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck, Lamington Farm Club and Trump National Golf Club Pine Hill.

“ABC is reviewing the impact of President Trump’s conviction on the above referenced licenses, and declines further comment at this time,” a spokesperson for the agency said in an email.

Issuing a liquor license “to any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude” is against the law in New Jersey. Applicants for a liquor license must have a reputable character and would be expected to operate the licensed business in a reputable manner, giving the division of alcoholic beverage control the discretion to consider Trump’s criminal history.

A jury found Trump guilty last month on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been convicted on criminal charges.

Trump continued to maintain his innocence while leaving the courtroom last month, saying, “We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man — it’s OK,” he said, adding, “I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now.”

Trump is expected to file an appeal after he is sentenced in July.

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