Hunter Biden’s federal gun case is set to go to trial next month, according to a judge’s decision on Tuesday. Lawyers representing President Biden’s son had requested a delay in the prosecution, but their bid was denied.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika has denied Hunter Biden’s request to postpone the trial in Delaware until September. The defense argued that this delay was necessary to prepare witnesses and review the evidence provided by the prosecutors. However, the judge is confident that everything can be accomplished before the trial’s scheduled start date of June 3.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court panel ruled that the tax case against him, set to begin trial in California on June 20, can proceed. The defense’s attempt to have the case dismissed was rejected by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Joe Biden’s son could potentially face trial next month in two separate criminal cases on opposite coasts. These legal proceedings come at a crucial time, as they coincide with his father’s reelection campaign.
In Delaware, Hunter Biden faces allegations of dishonesty regarding his drug usage in October 2018 when completing a form to purchase a firearm that he possessed for approximately 11 days. While he has entered a plea of not guilty and admitted to battling an addiction to crack cocaine during that specific timeframe in 2018, his legal team asserts that he did not violate any laws.
The prosecution team led by Special Counsel David Weiss intends to present excerpts from his recent memoir, “Beautiful Things,” during the trial of the gun case. In this book, Weiss candidly shares his personal battle with alcoholism and drug addiction, which he experienced after the tragic loss of his beloved older brother, Beau. Beau, who passed away at the age of 46 due to brain cancer in 2015. This compelling narrative sheds light on Weiss’s journey to sobriety, a path that Hunter Biden himself claims to have been on since 2019.
During a hearing in a Delaware federal court, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, informed the judge that numerous experts approached by the defense have been hesitant to testify in the case due to the intense media scrutiny. However, prosecutor Derek Hines disputed this claim, asserting that the media attention should not be held responsible.
According to Hines, it is mentioned in his memoir that he was actively addicted. Hines believes that finding an expert who would deny his addiction would be difficult. This seems to be the crux of the issue they are facing.
According to Lowell, his intention was not to seek out an expert who would deny Biden’s struggles with addiction. Instead, he wanted to explore the concept of individuals being able to acknowledge their addiction in the present moment. It should be noted that Hunter Biden was not obligated to attend the hearing on Tuesday and he chose not to do so.
The defense has contended that prosecutors succumbed to pressure from Republicans, who alleged that the Democratic president’s son received preferential treatment at the start and was only indicted due to political motivations.
Noreika, the judge nominated to the bench by former President Donald Trump, recently dismissed his claim that the prosecution is politically motivated. Despite other attempts to dismiss the case, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of allowing the case to proceed to trial. Hunter Biden’s lawyer stated that they would persist in their appeal.
Later on Tuesday, his lawyers made another attempt to stop the prosecution, arguing once again that the special counsel’s funding was not properly authorized by Congress. However, the judge had already rejected a previous motion to dismiss on those same grounds just last month.
In California, he faces three felony charges and six misdemeanor charges for failing to pay over $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019. Prosecutors claim that he used millions of dollars to fund a lavish lifestyle instead of fulfilling his tax obligations. However, the outstanding taxes have now been fully paid.
Hunter Biden’s legal team has filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit following the rejection of eight motions to dismiss the indictment by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi last month. Although the three-judge panel of the appeals court did not rule on the substance of his claims on Tuesday, they stated that the issues cannot be appealed at this time.
Last year, he was expected to admit his guilt in misdemeanor tax charges. If he had managed to stay out of trouble for two years, he would have evaded prosecution for the gun charges as well. This resolution was the result of an extensive investigation conducted by federal prosecutors into the business activities of the president’s son. By reaching this agreement, the Bidens could have avoided the negative publicity and media attention in the midst of the 2024 election.
However, the agreement fell apart when the judge, who was meant to approve the deal, raised a number of concerns about it.
In the Delaware case, he is facing charges for two counts of making false statements. The first count is for inaccurately checking a box claiming he was not addicted to drugs, while the second count is for providing the false information to the shop for their federally mandated records. Additionally, a third count accuses him of possessing the firearm for approximately 11 days, despite being aware of his status as a drug user.
In California, he faces charges of three felonies and six misdemeanors for failing to pay over $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019. Prosecutors allege that he spent millions of dollars on a lavish lifestyle rather than fulfilling his tax obligations. However, the outstanding taxes have now been settled.
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