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Federal prosecutors on Thursday indicted President Biden’s son Hunter Biden on three gun charges tied to possessing a firearm while using narcotics.
The historic indictment, brought by special counsel David Weiss, is the first against the child of a sitting president. It could set the stage for Hunter Biden to head to trial next year while his father campaigns for reelection.
Two of the counts stem from Hunter Biden’s alleged lies on a federal background check form when he bought a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018. The third count charges him with possessing a firearm while using a narcotic.
The three charges carry a combined maximum prison sentence of 25 years.
The four-page indictment filed in a Delaware court accuses Hunter Biden of making two false statements on the background check form.
“Hunter Biden provided a written statement on Form 4473 certifying that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious,” prosecutors wrote.
Count three of the indictment states that Hunter Biden illegally possessed that gun for 12 days after its purchase. Under federal law, it is against the law to possess a firearm while using illegal drugs.
Prosecutors say Hunter Biden did possess the Colt Cobra “knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug and any other controlled substance.”
Hunter Biden wrote in his 2021 memo “Beautiful Things” that he was abusing drugs in 2018 when he bought the weapon.
The White House declined to comment on the indictment and referred questions to the Justice Department or Hunter Biden’s attorneys.
The president ignored reporters’ questions about the indictments on his way to a speech about the economy in Maryland.
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Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell vowed to fight the charges and blamed the indictment on “improper and partisan interference [by] MAGA Republicans.”
“Hunter Biden possessing an unloaded gun for 11 days was not a threat to public safety, but a prosecutor, with all the power imaginable, bending to political pressure presents a grave threat to our system of justice,” Mr. Lowell said in a statement.
Under an agreement with prosecutors, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to failing to pay more than $2 million in taxes on foreign income from countries such as China and Ukraine. The plea deal also required Hunter Biden to admit to a gun offense that would be expunged after he entered into a diversion program and completed probation.
The deal fell apart during a July court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, under scrutiny from U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who raised questions about an immunity provision. Calling the provision “atypical,” Judge Noreika questioned whether it could protect Hunter Biden from other tax crimes or violations of foreign lobbying laws.
Mr. Lowell insisted that the deal remains valid and prevents prosecutors from filing additional charges against Hunter Biden.
“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,” he said.
Mr. Weiss’ team argues that the agreement is no longer in effect because it lacks a necessary signature from the probation department.
In the aftermath of the plea deal’s collapse, prosecutors suggested that they might bring criminal tax charges against Hunter Biden in the District of Columbia or California. It is unclear whether tax charges will be filed.
The plea deal might have ended the yearslong probe into Hunter Biden, but the indictment was announced as House Republicans opened an impeachment inquiry of his father. Investigators are expected to subpoena bank records and other documents from President Biden and Hunter Biden.
Republicans suspect Mr. Biden used his role as vice president in the Obama administration to enrich himself and his family, specifically through Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals.
Lawmakers’ reactions to the indictment split predictably along party lines.
“Today’s charges are a very small start, but unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear that President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,” said House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who is also leading the impeachment inquiry into the president.
Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat who is a staunch Biden supporter, faulted Republicans for supporting former President Donald Trump while he faces four criminal trials.
“The reality is I, as a Democrat, am saying that if Hunter Biden, the president’s son, committed crimes, he should be held accountable for them. You don’t hear any Republicans saying that if Donald Trump committed crimes, he should be accountable for them,” Mr. Goldman said on CNN.
The indictment also creates an unusual situation, with the Justice Department prosecuting both Mr. Biden’s son and Mr. Trump, who is the front-runner for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
Mr. Weiss is the U.S. attorney for Delaware. He was elevated to special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland this summer.
A Trump appointee, Mr. Weiss has been looking into various issues involving Hunter Biden, including his work for a Ukrainian energy company and questionable business deals in China.
After the plea deal fell apart, Mr. Weiss asked Mr. Garland to name him special counsel after long resisting calls from Republicans to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Hunter Biden case.
As special counsel, Mr. Weiss can file criminal charges in any jurisdiction in the country, which he could not do as a U.S. attorney. It also grants him more leeway to pursue leads and issue subpoenas.
In his statement, Mr. Lowell said a recent federal appeals court decision that drug use alone should not automatically prevent someone from obtaining a gun could be critical to Hunter Biden’s defense.
The ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has no legal bearing in Delaware, where the charges against Hunter Biden were brought. The 5th Circuit oversees Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The Justice Department is mulling whether to appeal the ruling by going to the Supreme Court or asking the full appeals court to review the decision.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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