The laptop's cameo, following a similarly brief appearance the day before, highlighted its disappointing role in the various investigations into the activities of what right-wing critics have dubbed the “Biden crime family.” House Republicans were unable to glean anything from the laptop that would be enough to impeach the president, a father of Biden. Nothing has yet emerged linking the son to any criminal activity beyond the drug-related misconduct that Biden has already confessed to.
The government's case against Biden, who is charged with illegally purchasing a gun, focuses on whether he lied on his federal firearms application about not abusing drugs.
At trial, the government's case has relied primarily on bank statements, Biden's own memoirs, and data obtained from his iCloud account. Until now, much attention has been focused on the defendant's two other valuable possessions: a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver purchased on October 12, 2018, and a Ford Raptor truck. Hallie Biden, the widow of Biden's brother, who was in the truck, discovered the gun and, fearing that Biden would kill himself, threw it in a trash can at a Wilmington grocery store, setting off a chain of events that led to Biden's indictment last September.
But the laptop, which Biden left unclaimed at a Wilmington repair shop and ended up in the hands of an ally of President Donald J. Trump a month before the 2020 election, was alluded to in testimony Wednesday by Biden's former girlfriend, Zoe Kestan. Kestan said in court that during her 11 months with Biden, he was addicted to crack and single-mindedly focused on obtaining and using the drug. Biden dutifully carried around an array of tools, Kestan said, including a pipe, a butane lighter, pen caps and chapstick for cleaning the pipe, and baking soda, which helps turn powdered cocaine into crack.
Biden was as clumsy with electronics as he was with his addiction. During that same period, he lost “five or six iPhones” and left his laptop in hotels, according to Kestin's testimony. His phone and laptop were constantly malfunctioning, requiring Kestin to make trips to Apple stores. He eventually gave his laptop to his boyfriend after two of his laptops stopped working.