Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, arrives at the White House on December 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Biden and his family spent the weekend in Wilmington, Delaware.
Drew Angler | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Hunter Biden’s federal gun case will go to trial next month, a judge said Tuesday, rejecting a request by lawyers to delay prosecution for the president’s son.
U.S. District Judge Marilyn Noreca rejected Hunter Biden’s request to postpone the trial until September, which the defense said was necessary to give the defense time to line up witnesses and review evidence presented by prosecutors.
President Joe Biden’s son is accused of lying about his drug use on a gun purchase form in October 2018 and withholding it for about 11 days.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty, admitting he struggled with a cocaine addiction in 2018, but his attorneys say he broke no laws.
His attorneys argue that prosecutors caved to pressure from Republicans who claimed the Democratic president’s son was initially offered a sweetheart deal and that he was prosecuted because of political pressure.
But the judge overseeing the case last month rejected his claims that prosecutors were politically motivated and other efforts to dismiss the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said last week that the case may go to trial.
Hunter Biden was supposed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges last year and avoid prosecution on gun charges if he stayed out of trouble for two years. The deal, the culmination of a yearlong investigation by federal prosecutors into the business dealings of the president’s son, would exempt him from criminal prosecution and spare Biden from weeks of headlines as the 2024 election approaches.
But the agreement fell apart after a series of questions from the judge who was supposed to sign it.
Hunter Biden has been charged with three firearms offenses in Delaware and separate tax crimes in California, where he lives.
In the Delaware case, he was charged with two counts of false statements, the first for falsely stating in a box that he was not addicted to drugs and the second for giving it to a store as a federal requirement record of. The third charge alleges that he possessed a firearm for approximately 11 days despite knowing he was a drug addict.
In California, Hunter Biden was charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors and owed at least $1.4 million in back taxes between 2016 and 2019. Millions of dollars spent instead of paying taxes. The back tax has now been paid.
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