Jury selection begins Monday in one of two federal cases against the president’s son Hunter Biden—a trial in Delaware that comes just days after former President Donald Trump was convicted in Manhattan and less than six months before the November election.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, to the J. ... [+]
Special prosecutor David Weiss’ office charged the president’s son in August last year with lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false statement on a federal firearms application and illegally owning the gun for 11 days in 2018, while he was admittedly addicted to drugs.
Prosecutors allege Hunter Biden—who pleaded not guilty—bought a Colt Cobra .38 from a dealer in Wilmington, Delaware, and marked on the form required to purchase the gun that he was not a drug user.
Hunter Biden, who has since said he’s gotten sober, has spoken openly about his addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol at the time he allegedly purchased the gun, including in his 2021 memoir, which prosecutors have referenced in court papers detailing the charges.
Wilmington, Delaware-based Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2017, will oversee the trial, which is expected to last three to six days.
Hunter Biden faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if convicted on all charges, and while legal experts say it’s unlikely he will receive the maximum sentence, if convicted, given he has never been previously convicted, he could face some jail time—Manhattan criminal defense lawyer Peter Tilem told Politico federal sentencing guidelines recommend 15 months in prison for a defendant with no prior convictions or accusations of misusing the gun.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to all three charges, and his attorneys have indicated they plan to argue the form was altered by someone at the gun store after the purchase to add information about Biden’s vehicle registration, suggesting someone else could have marked the box stating he wasn’t a drug user.
First Lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden’s stepmother, arrived at court Monday.
Whether Hunter Biden himself will be called to testify in the case. Prosecutors have indicated they could call at least two of Hunter Biden’s exes to testify: his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle and Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter Biden’s brother, Beau, who Hunter Biden was dating at the time of the gun purchase. Hallie Biden allegedly found the gun in Hunter Biden’s truck and discarded it, federal prosecutors alleged, citing text messages they obtained between the two.
Hunter Biden is facing two sets of charges: The gun-related charges, and a set of tax charges. The Internal Revenue Service began probing Hunter Biden’s finances in 2018, and he publicly confirmed the investigation in 2020, just days before his father’s inauguration. Hunter Biden’s attorneys announced they had reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors last summer for him to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of failing to pay more than $100,000 in taxes in 2017 and 2018. Separately, the gun charge would have been wiped from his record if he adhered to the terms of the agreement, including completing a diversion program. The plea deal unraveled when prosecutors indicated the investigation against Hunter Biden was ongoing and he could potentially face other charges, and prosecutors subsequently charged him with tax crimes in Los Angeles and gun charges in Delaware.
The trial for the nine federal tax charges Hunter Biden faces is set to begin Sept. 5 in Los Angeles. He has pleaded not guilty to three felony and six misdemeanor counts, including failing to file and pay taxes and tax evasion. Prosecutors allege Hunter Biden failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 and instead spent the money on an “extravagant lifestyle.”
Hunter Biden has been at the center of Republican-led congressional investigations probing whether the president used his influence to aid his family’s business dealings. Republicans have aired salacious details of Hunter Biden’s personal life throughout the course of the years-long probes, presenting evidence collected from the infamous laptop he allegedly left at a Delaware computer store. The investigations, which include an impeachment probe into the president, have so far failed to prove the president behaved improperly and appear to be coming to a close.
Hunter Biden Plea Deal Unravels As He Pleads Not Guilty (Forbes)
9 Federal Tax Charges Filed Against Hunter Biden (Forbes)
Hunter Biden Indicted On Federal Gun Charges After Plea Deal Unraveled (Forbes)