This past week, a federal judge denied Hunter Biden’s request to have his gun case dismissed, where his legal team argued that the case was politically motivated. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected every single motion from the president’s son, and the case is set to go to trial.
Hunter Biden faces accusations of lying on a federal form about his drug use when purchasing a firearm in 2018. It has been documented that Biden was struggling with substance abuse during this period of his life. However, it is a crime to lie on a federal form when buying a gun.
“In October 2018, during a time when Defendant was struggling with addiction, he purchased a “small firearm” after certifying that he was not an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance. (D.I. 63 at 5; see also id. (admitting his “past drug use” was widely reported) & D.I. 40). He contends that he never loaded the firearm, never fired it and only owned it for eleven days. (D.I. 63 at 5). The gun was taken from him at some point after purchase and was discarded (along with ammunition) in a public trash can. (D.I. 68 at 7). It was discovered by a member of the public (id.) and later recovered by local police in Delaware, who did not pursue charges against Defendant (D.I. 63 at 5),” according to Noreika’s statement.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers have claimed the case against him is a “selective and vindictive prosecution” and “a breach of separation of powers” because the special counsel faces political pressure from former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
“To the extent that Defendant’s claim that he is being selectively prosecuted rests solely on him being the son of the sitting President, that claim is belied by the facts,” Noreika wrote, refuting the assertion from Hunter’s legal team.
Furthermore, the judge pointed out that the charges were brought against Hunter by his father’s Department of Justice, noting that Joe Biden appointed Attorney General Merrick Garland. In light of this, Noreika suggested that these claims are “nonsensical.”
“Defendant’s claim is effectively that his own father targeted him for being his son, a claim that is nonsensical under the facts here,” Noreika wrote. “Regardless of whether Congressional Republicans attempted to influence the Executive Branch, there is no evidence that they were successful in doing so and, in any event, the Executive Branch prosecuting Defendant was at all relevant times (and still is) headed by Defendant’s father.”
“The pressure campaign from Congressional Republicans may have occurred around the time that Special Counsel decided to move forward with indictment instead of pretrial diversion, but the Court has been given nothing credible to suggest that the conduct of those lawmakers (or anyone else) had any impact on Special Counsel,” the judge wrote. “It is all speculation.”
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to all three charges related to the firearms case. Aside from these charges, he also faces a separate case in California, where prosecutors have accused him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over the course of three years while leading an “extravagant lifestyle.”
Featured image credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hunter_Biden_and_Abbe_Lowell_in_2023.jpg
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