Hunter Biden’s attorney blames MAGA Republicans for gun indictment

Hunter Biden’s lawyer said Thursday that the federal gun charges filed against the first son are politically motivated and barred by an agreement he reached with prosecutors earlier this year.

The comments from lawyer Abbe Lowell followed Hunter Biden’s indictment on three counts: one for being an illegal drug user in possession of a firearm and two for lying about his drug use on a federal background check form when buying a handgun.

Mr. Lowell blamed partisan political interference by Republicans.

“As expected, prosecutors filed charges today that they deemed were not warranted six weeks ago following a five-year investigation into this case. The evidence in this matter has not changed in the last six weeks, but the law has, and so has MAGA Republicans’ improper and partisan interference in this process,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Lowell was referring to a recent decision by a federal appeals court in New Orleans declaring that drug use alone should not automatically prevent someone from obtaining a gun. However, the decision is not binding in the Hunter Biden case because the court issuing the decision — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit — does not apply to Delaware.

The statement reiterated previous claims by Mr. Lowell that a plea deal Hunter Biden reached with prosecutors to resolve gun and tax charges was still in effect.

Under the agreement, Hunter Biden would plead guilty to failing to pay more than $2 million in taxes on foreign income from countries such as China in the 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 completion of 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 violating foreign lobbying laws.

Mr. Lowell insisted the agreement remains in effect.

“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.