Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, pled not guilty to three felony gun charges in a Wilmington, Delaware court on Tuesday. The charges stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ probe into the First Son are now likely to go to a criminal trial after the collapse of a plea deal earlier this year.
Tuesday’s 19-minute hearing came in response to an indictment brought against Hunter Biden in early September by a federal grand jury. As Valuetainment previously reported, Biden’s alleged purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018 constituted a number of federal violations, made worse by his substance abuse at the time.
According to the indictment, Biden is charged with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer, and possessing a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. Shortly after Biden purchased the revolver, Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter’s late brother Beau, and Hunter’s one-time romantic partner, disposed of the gun in a dumpster near a Delaware school, where it was recovered by police. This 2018 incident was not made public until 2021.
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The indictment last month marked the first time the child of a sitting president has been charged with a crime. If convicted on all three counts, Biden faces up to 25 years in prison and an additional fine of $250,000.
Appearing before Judge Christopher Burke in the District Court of Delaware, Biden entered his plea via his attorneys. Judge Burke then informed the President’s son of the conditions for his pretrial release, which include seeking employment and disclosing international travel plans. Biden will also be required to submit to regular drug testing and participate in counseling.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell notified the court that he plans to file a motion to dismiss based on the diversion agreement included in Biden’s prior plea deal, which collapsed in July. That now-defunct agreement would have allowed Biden to avoid jail time for the gun charges in exchange for pleading guilty to unrelated misdemeanor tax evasion. When the defense and the prosecution disagreed over the nature of Biden’s future immunity on the gun charges, the “sweetheart deal” fell apart and Biden pled not guilty to all charges.
Both the defense and prosecution have until November 3 to file any additional motions in this case. Plea hearings for Biden’s separate tax evasion charges are still pending.
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