Hunter Biden, son of President Biden, leaves after his court appearance in Wilmington on the 26th July.
Julio Cortez/AP
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Julio Cortez/AP
President Biden’s son Hunter Biden departs after a court hearing on July 26, in Wilmington, Del.
Julio Cortez/AP
The charges could set the stage for a high-profile criminal trial in 2024, when President Biden is running for reelection. The charges possibly set the stage for yet another high-profile criminal trial in the middle of the 2024 election as President Biden is seeking reelection.
Special counsel David Weiss charged Biden with three counts: two for knowingly making false written claims that he was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug or other controlled substance when purchasing a firearm. This is in connection with a gun he bought in 2018. This is in connection with a gun he bought in 2018.
The White House declined to comment, noting the investigation into the president’s son was an independent inquiry.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s attorney, accused Weiss of “bending to political pressure” from Republicans.
“We believe these charges are barred by the agreement the prosecutors made with Mr. Biden, the recent rulings by several federal courts that this statute is unconstitutional, and the facts that he did not violate that law, and we plan to demonstrate all of that in court,” Lowell said in a statement.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to argue Democrats opened a “proverbial pandora’s box,” though he noted that these charges don’t implicate the sitting president.
The development comes a month after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in the investigation into the president’s son.
Earlier this year, Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor offenses related to his filing of federal income taxes. Federal authorities also charged him with a felony firearm offense, for which he agreed to enter a pretrial diversion agreement that allows him to avoid prosecution.
But that deal fell apart in July when the judge in the case demanded that lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal did not convey broad immunity offered to Biden from prosecution on his business dealings and foreign lobbying.
But the sides couldn’t agree and the plea deal fell apart. The indictment came days after the Biden impeachment investigation
The investigations are not related. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Tuesday that the House will initiate an impeachment investigation into President Biden. McCarthy argued Biden lied about “his own knowledge” of his family’s business dealings abroad. But Republicans haven’t proven a connection between Hunter Biden’s business dealings with President Biden. Some are accusing Hunter Biden of corruption in his business dealings while Biden was vice-president. Rep. James Comer, however, launched an investigation on
of the president and his child. He said that the charges against Hunter Biden are just a small start. “