Hunter Biden Faces Federal Gun Charges Jury

President Joe Biden’s son was in federal court, ready to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses. The resolution of a widespread investigation, the agreement between Hunter Biden and prosecutors was set to avoid a politically explosive trial during his father’s reelection campaign and probable prison time.

However, the deal fell through.

Now, Hunter Biden faces trial on federal gun charges initiated by his father’s Justice Department, at a time when America’s political and legal realms are colliding in unprecedented ways. After being under scrutiny for years due to investigations and being targeted by Republicans because of his personal struggles, the younger Biden now faces the risk of felony convictions and potential jail time.

The trial starting Monday in Delaware does not revolve around Hunter Biden’s business dealings, which were the focus of the lengthy federal investigation and the unsuccessful impeachment inquiry by Republicans into the Democratic president. Instead, it centers on a gun Hunter Biden owned for about 11 days — a .38-caliber Colt Cobra Special. Prosecutors allege he obtained it illegally in October 2018 by falsely stating on a federal form that he was not a drug user. According to his lawyers, he never used the gun, and it was ultimately discarded in a trash can.

The trial is expected to exclude information about his international business affairs that Republicans have seized upon to portray the Biden family as corrupt, but it is anticipated to include deeply personal and embarrassing testimony about a challenging period in the younger Biden’s life. It is likely to provide new material for Donald Trump’s supporters, who are eager to divert attention from the probable Republican presidential candidate’s legal troubles after being found guilty of 34 felony counts in a hush money case.

Concerns are rising among Joe Biden’s allies about the impact the trial could have on the president, who is already worried about the well-being and recovery of his only surviving son and now has to witness his son’s darkest moments being rehashed in public. They are also concerned that the trial might become a distraction as the president campaigns with low poll numbers and prepares for a June 27 debate with Trump in Wilmington while the trial unfolds nearby.

Originally, it appeared that Hunter Biden would avoid prosecution in the gun case altogether.

The deal was announced in June, nearly three years after Hunter Biden acknowledged the federal investigation into his tax affairs in December 2020, shortly after his father’s election.

Hunter Biden was set to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses; prosecutors were going to recommend two years of probation. There was also a “diversion agreement” that would have allowed him to avoid prosecution for a felony gun charge if he stayed out of trouble for two years.

However, the plea hearing unraveled quickly.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, nominated to the bench by Trump, raised concerns about the agreement. It appeared unusual to her and required her involvement in the case in a manner most federal judges aren’t typically engaged. The attorneys worked to salvage the deal, with tempers flaring and disagreements arising.

“What do we do now?” the judge later inquired.

“Then there is no deal,” prosecutor Leo Wise informed her.

Attorney General Merrick Garland subsequently appointed David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware nominated by Trump who led the investigation, as a special counsel a few weeks later. Hunter Biden was indicted a month after on three gun charges that carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, although first-time offenders usually receive less severe sentences, and it is uncertain if the judge would impose jail time if he were convicted.

The animosity between prosecutors and Hunter Biden’s legal team is evident and is likely to be visible during the trial on Monday.

Clark withdrew from the case, citing the potential need to testify in a legal dispute over the failed deal. Another defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, criticized Weiss for yielding to political pressure to prosecute the president’s son after Trump and other Republicans criticized the “favorable deal.” The defense team pointed out that charges related to gun possession by drug users are uncommon when not linked to a more serious offense.

Prosecutors disputed Lowell’s claims, describing them as “fiction designed for a Hollywood script.”

The defense proceeded to assert that Weiss was not influenced by political factors in the investigation. Weiss affirmed to lawmakers in private last year that no one at the Justice Department hindered him from pursuing charges or taking necessary steps, refuting allegations by two IRS whistleblowers that the department interfered improperly in the tax inquiry.

The case is rooted in a period where, as Hunter Biden candidly admits, he struggled with crack addiction.

In his book “Beautiful Things,” he detailed his battle with drugs and alcohol after the passing of his older brother, Beau, in 2015 at 46 due to brain cancer. The siblings shared a close bond, surviving a tragic car accident that claimed their mother and baby sister’s lives when they were young.

Hunter Biden asserts he has been sober since 2019. Nevertheless, prosecutors intend to utilize his memoir to argue that he knew he was addicted to drugs when he denied it on the gun purchase form. They plan to present jurors with text messages, videos, and photos of Hunter Biden using crack, along with evidence of cocaine residue found on the pouch holding his gun.

“I’m a liar and a thief and a blamer and a user and I’m delusional and an addict unlike beyond and above all other addicts that you know and I’ve ruined every relationship I’ve ever cherished,” Hunter Biden wrote in a text message weeks after buying the firearm, according to prosecutors.

Testimony is expected from his ex-wife and former partners, including Beau’s widow, Hallie Biden, with whom Hunter Biden had a relationship following his brother’s death. Hallie Biden discovered the gun in Hunter Biden’s truck and disposed of it in the trash, where it was found by a man gathering recyclables who then handed it to the police.

The defense indicated that it might challenge the credibility of the gun shop employees, noting alterations to the gun purchase form after the transaction. Prosecutors maintained that these were minor changes unrelated to the sections filled out by Hunter Biden. His lawyers hinted that they might argue he did not consider himself an addict when indicating “no” on the form.

“The terms ‘user’ or ‘addict’ are not defined on the form and were not explained to him,” the defense argued in a recent filing. “Someone, like Mr. Biden who had just completed an 11-day rehabilitation program and lived with a sober companion after that, could surely believe he was not a present tense user or addict.”

The trial is anticipated to span a couple of weeks. Additionally, he is set to stand trial in September in California for allegedly failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over a four-year period.