15-9-2023 (DELAWARE) Federal prosecutors have issued an indictment against Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, on three charges related to alleged false statements made during the purchase of a firearm. This marks the first time a sitting president’s son has faced such charges. The indictment comes after a plea agreement involving tax and gun charges fell through in July, following scrutiny from a federal judge.
The charges were announced on Thursday following a lengthy investigation conducted by David Weiss, who was appointed as the US attorney for Delaware by former President Donald Trump in 2018. Weiss has continued his role under the current administration to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. In August, he was appointed as special counsel for this case.
Back in July, Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges and enter into a diversion agreement for a felony gun charge. However, the agreement encountered obstacles during a federal court hearing, and ultimately, the presiding judge rejected the arrangement.
Prosecutors subsequently revealed their intention to seek a grand jury indictment by the end of September. Concurrently, Congressional Republicans have been conducting their own investigation into Hunter Biden, as they prepare for a potential impeachment inquiry against President Biden. GOP members allege that the president was involved in and profited from his son’s business dealings. However, they have not provided any evidence to support these claims.
The indictment from the Delaware grand jury accuses Hunter Biden of unlawfully possessing a firearm as a drug user, as well as making false statements on a form while purchasing the weapon. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, though it is unlikely that such a severe sentence would be imposed.
These charges are expected to generate strong reactions from right-wing circles and further fuel Republican campaigns against the Biden family. Meanwhile, former President Trump, who is the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is currently facing four criminal indictments encompassing numerous charges, some of which are alleged to have been committed during his time in office.
In an interesting turn of events, Hunter Biden’s potential trial may run parallel to Trump’s multiple criminal proceedings in four different jurisdictions, including Georgia, New York, Washington DC, and Florida.
Just before the announcement of the indictment against Biden, his legal team filed a lawsuit against former Trump-era White House official Garrett Ziegler. The lawsuit accuses Ziegler of launching an obsessive and unfounded campaign against the Biden family, including hacking into the alleged contents of a laptop that played a central role in political campaigns surrounding the 2020 presidential election, federal investigations, and Republican-led congressional probes.
According to court documents related to the initial gun case, it was revealed that Hunter Biden was using crack cocaine at the time of purchasing a Colt Cobra .38 special revolver from a licensed gun dealer in Delaware in October 2018. Prosecutors allege that he falsely indicated on a federal form that he was not using illegal narcotics at the time.
The firearm was later discovered in Biden’s car along with drug paraphernalia. It was subsequently discarded in a trashcan outside a supermarket, as stated in the court filing.
Under the terms of the previous plea agreement, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of tax evasion and received probation. The felony gun charges would have been dropped after two years if he abided by the terms of the diversion agreement, which Biden’s attorneys claim he had already signed and was in effect.
Republican lawmakers criticized the plea agreement, labeling it a “sweetheart deal,” while simultaneously objecting to the appointment of David Weiss as special counsel, despite having specifically requested his appointment.
The White House and President Biden, who have openly discussed his son’s addiction and struggle with drug abuse, have largely refrained from commenting on the case. However, in a recent interview with MSNBC, the president expressed his support for his son.
