President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, asked federal judges on Thursday, July 18, to dismiss tax and gun cases against him, citing a ruling in Florida this week that threw out a separate prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
The requests in federal court in Delaware and California underscore the potential ramifications of US District Judge Aileen Cannon's dismissal Monday of the classified documents case against Trump and the possibility that it could unsettle the legal landscape surrounding Justice Department special counsels.
Both Hunter Biden and Trump were prosecuted by special counsels appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. In dismissing the Trump case, Cannon ruled that the appointment of the special counsel who prosecuted Trump, Jack Smith, violated the Constitution because he was appointed directly to the position by Garland instead of being nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Smith's team has said the Justice Department followed long-establishment precedent – for instance, the Trump-era appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian election interference was upheld by courts – and has appealed Cannon's dismissal to a federal appeals court in Atlanta.
In a pair of filings Thursday, lawyers for Hunter Biden said the same logic should apply in his cases and should result in the dismissal of a pending tax prosecution in Los Angeles – currently set for trial in September – and a separate firearm case in Delaware, in which Hunter Biden was convicted in June of three felony charges.
Hunter Biden's team had raised similar arguments before, unsuccessfully, but they say there's now good reason to reconsider them. Both of Hunter Biden's cases are being overseen by judges nominated by Trump. Cannon, the judge who threw out Trump's case, was also nominated by the former Republican president.
"Based on these new legal developments, Mr. Biden moves to dismiss the indictment brought against him because the Special Counsel who initiated this prosecution was appointed in violation of the Appointments Clause as well," Hunter Biden's lawyers wrote. They also cited an opinion this month by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that questioned the propriety of a special counsel appointment. "The Attorney General relied upon the exact same authority to appoint the Special Counsel in both the Trump and Biden matters, and both appointments are invalid for the same reason," the lawyers added.
Smith and the special counsel who prosecuted Hunter Biden, David Weiss, are different in that Smith was hired from outside the Justice Department while Weiss was working as the US Attorney in Delaware at the time of his appointment.
A spokesperson for Weiss said they are aware of the filings from Hunter Biden's legal team and "will respond in due course."
Jurors found Hunter Biden guilty in June of lying about his drug use in 2018 on a federal form to buy a firearm that he had for about 11 days. The trial put a spotlight on a dark period in Hunter Biden's life during which he became addicted to crack cocaine after the 2015 death of his brother, Beau. He has said he's been sober since 2019.