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Hunter Biden Indicted on Federal Firearms Charges in Delaware

Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, has been indicted on three federal gun charges related to a firearm that was allegedly discarded in a trash can behind a grocery store. Biden’s lawyer has dismissed the case as “nonsense” and questioned the use of judicial resources for such a case, especially considering that Hunter Biden has no prior criminal record.

According to The Associated Press, Biden was indicted Thursday on federal firearms charges, the latest step in a long-running investigation into the president’s son that puts the case on track towards a possible high-stakes trial as the 2024 election looms. Biden is accused of lying about his drug use when he purchased a firearm in October 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction to crack cocaine, according to the indictment filed in federal court in Delaware by a special counsel overseeing the case.

The court fight may be an extended one: His defense attorney argued Hunter Biden didn’t violate the law and remains protected by an immunity provision that was part of the plea deal. The charges, meanwhile, are rarely filed as stand-alone counts and a recent appeals court decision called the law itself into question.

According to Bloomberg, Hunter Biden has been indicted on federal firearms charges in Delaware. Biden is charged with two counts of making false statements by checking a box falsely saying he was not addicted to drugs and providing it to the shop for their federally required records. A third count alleges he possessed the gun for approximately 11 days despite knowing he was a drug user.

The counts are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, upon conviction, a statement from Weiss and the Justice Department said. Rep. James Comer, the lead Republican pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the president, called the indictment Thursday “a very small start.” But, he said in a statement, unless the Justice Department pursues the claims Republicans have put out regarding whether the president was involved in his son’s business dealings, “it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy.”

Charges related to gun possession by drug users are rare, especially when not in connection with other crimes. According to data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, of all the people sentenced for illegal gun possession in 2021, about 5% were charged due to drug use.

President Biden’s son has also been under investigation for his business dealings, and the special counsel has indicated that tax charges could be filed at some point in the future in Washington or in California, where he lives. Political pressure has also escalated as the House has formally opened an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president, seeking to tie the elder Biden to his son’s businesses and divert attention away from former President Donald Trump’s own legal woes.

Hunter Biden’s personal income during the two years prior to the charges totaled roughly $4 million, including business and consulting fees from a company he formed with the CEO of a Chinese business conglomerate and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, prosecutors have said. Congressional Republicans have continued their own investigations into the Justice Department’s handling of the case as well as nearly every aspect of Hunter Biden’s business dealings, seeking to connect his financial affairs directly to his father.

The indictment of Hunter Biden on federal firearms charges comes weeks after the collapse of a plea deal that would have averted a criminal trial and weeks or months of distracting headlines for President Joe Biden. Sources: The Associated Press and Bloomberg.