Hunter Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle takes stand at his criminal trial and recalls how she discovered he was on drugs after finding his crack pipe on their porch
They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so when his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, took the stand as a witness for the prosecution in Wilmington, Delaware, Hunter Biden could be forgiven for bracing himself.
Kathleen, dressed in a smart blue pantsuit and white shirt, was the picture of calm as she told the court how she discovered her then-husband was using drugs when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on their porch on July 3, 2015.
It was the day after their twelve year anniversary and two days before she kicked him out of the house for good. Kathleen told the court she confronted him and “he acknowledged he was smoking crack.”
Even before finding the incriminating paraphernalia, Kathleen admitted, she suspected her husband was using drugs, as he had previously been expelled from the Navy for testing positive for cocaine.
“I was definitely worried and scared,” she said.
Hunter Biden’s former wife, Kathleen Buhle, is seen leaving the federal courthouse after taking the stand at his criminal trial on Wednesday
Kathleen, 55, filed for divorce from Hunter in December 2016 after 24 years of marriage. She told the court when she first found a crack pipe in their home and how she would hide drugs in his car from their daughters.
When asked under cross-examination if she had ever seen Hunter use drugs, she admitted “no,” but when asked how she knew he was doing it, she said bluntly, “He told me.”
She added: “I assumed he was continuing to use when I found the pipes in the car, something she said had happened about a dozen times.”
The courthouse is an all-too-familiar meeting point for these two former spouses, with Kathleen still pursuing Hunter for $2.9 million in unpaid alimony in a case that continues to simmer through the DC courts.
As he watched his ex take the stand, Hunter may have wished he had just done his best.
Instead, her lawyers said last year that he continued to inflict a huge “cost and emotional toll” on the woman who bore him three children.
Kathleen, 55, filed for divorce from Hunter in December 2016 after 24 years of marriage.
And as anecdotal as the grounds were – “irreconcilable differences between the parties regarding the defendant’s conduct” – the divorce would prove to be one of the nastiest in DC.
The move came a year after reports that the couple had formally split in October 2015, three months after she reportedly kicked him out of their home on July 5, 2015, due to “his behavior the night before.”
Kathleen didn’t provide any detail about what that behavior might have been in her initial divorce filing, but later documents shed some light on citing “drug use and infidelity” as key motivators for the split.
Hunter, who is on trial for lying about his drug addiction on a federal form to purchase a gun, was busted Wednesday morning with his wife Melissa Cohen in a federal court in Delaware.
The mother of three, who now goes by her maiden name Buhle, is allegedly pursuing her ex-husband for more than $1.7 million in alimony, legal fees and interest following their 2017 divorce
Kathleen and Hunter share three daughters, (left to right) Finnegan, 23, Naomi, 30, and Maisy, 22
Several months after filing for divorce, Kathleen returned to court to ask if they could freeze their marital assets and place “any money they had earned prior to a full and final resolution… in escrow.”
From that, the motion called for Kathleen to receive an allotment of $20,000 per month, while Hunter would receive only $5,000.
The February 2017 filing came shortly after Kathleen discovered that Hunter was “in possession of a large diamond, based on information and belief, valued at approximately $80,000.”
Hunter initially denied possessing the stone when asked to place it in a locker accessible only to him and his ex, but then admitted he had the stone.
In the February documents, Kathleen’s attorneys stated that Hunter was the sole breadwinner throughout the marriage and had sent a $17,000 monthly allowance to Kathleen and their three daughters — Naomi, Finnegan and Maisy.
But, they claimed, in 2016 that amount suddenly dropped to $7,500, even though Hunter’s spending on himself and his “hobbies” continued apace.
According to Kathleen, although Hunter neglected the needs of his estranged wife and children, he only had deep pockets for “drugs, alcohol, prostitution, strip clubs and gifts for women with whom he had sexual relations.”
Just two months after their divorce filing, Hunter had maxed out their credit cards, incurred a slew of other expenses, including $313,970 in taxes, and used up Kathleen’s patience.
According to her, “Hunter’s conduct creates situations that are unsafe or traumatic for the parties and their children and often impairs his judgment.”
The 12 jurors in the case were shown a video of a shirtless fighter smoking a pipe
Buhle, who was photographed leaving the federal courthouse on Tuesday, made no secret of her disdain for Hunter’s allegedly wild lifestyle, according to previously reported divorce filings.
First Lady Jill Biden returned to the federal courthouse on Wednesday for the third day of the trial. She has attended proceedings since the trial began on Monday to support her stepson
In the evisceration motion, Kathleen pointed out that while Hunter spent generously on himself and his “interests,” he “has not provided sufficient support to meet the needs of the public.” [herself] of her children.’
Perhaps unnecessarily given the tone and content of the file, Kathleen’s lawyer assured the court: “there is no (reasonable) expectation of a reconciliation between the parties.”
The motion was filed just days before it was revealed that Hunter was dating his brother Beau’s widow, Hallie — a relationship that was destined to end in a barrage of desperate texts, addiction and recriminations. And another woman is going to testify for the prosecution.
Kathleen’s latest foray into the alimony she claims she is owed began with a lawsuit in 2019. According to their divorce agreement obtained by Axios, Hunter was supposed to pay Kathleen $37,000 per month and 50 percent of all earnings — the equivalent of more than $875,000 per year.
But Kathleen and her lawyers allege Hunter failed to pay off money owed in 2017 and 2018, a period during which they claim he earned more than $2 million a year. And according to Kathleen, the payments stopped completely when she filed her lawsuit.