now. good day, i m chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. the major twofold test for president biden as he travels abroad but with big political implications back home. can he showcase unity among western allies over the wars in ukraine and gaza while u.s. voters are increasingly skeptical, and how much will the push to preserve democracy really resonate come november? plus, more high drama in delaware as hunter biden s ex-wife takes the stand in his federal trial, what she just finished telling the jury, her brief testimony under subpoena including talk of drug paraphernalia, rehab, and infidelity and whether it s likely to help or hurt her former husband s defense. a pair of critical races taking place 2,000 miles apart, but providing new clues to one of the most consequential political questions of 2024. will democrats hold on to the senate, or can republicans take it back? we ll break that down in the senate contests in montana and new jersey
wilmington. also with us former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst, paul butler. mike, court adjourned for lunch just a short time ago. what can you tell us about what is clearly already been a pretty dramatic day? yeah, that s right, chris, and to use your word, we ve moved from the sensitive to the salacious. the court had been hearing testimony from zoe kestin who worked with hunter biden first met her as an exotic dancer at a gentleman s club in new york. they developed a romantic relationship for about a period of over a year. the prosecution is walking through the time line of that relationship right before they broke up for lunch, they were in march of 2018. ultimately trying to get to the time when hunter biden purchased the gun, which again is the center of this trial, was he still abusing drugs when he purchased that gun in october of 2018. prior to that, we had heard from kathleen buhle. i was struck by that detail that you mentioned, chris, how quickly she was on
addiction at the time he purchased that gun. i want you to do a deeper dive on that, zoe kes tin described hunter biden as, and i m quoting, cognizant and coherent while smoking, echoing something that his ex-wife said on the stand about observing hunter biden high functioning while using drugs. who do you think that helps, though? is it the prosecution or the defense, and why ultimately, do you think in the minds of jurors it could be important? you know, it s actually not that relevant to the defense. remember, hunter is charged with lying on this atf form. it s this 4473 form that everybody who buys a gun has to fill out affirming that you re legally allowed to purchase the weapon, so the central question is are you an unlawful user or addicted to illegal drugs? hunter checked the box no. so what the prosecution witnesses so far have