Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal gun charges in Delaware after an initial plea agreement in July for tax and gun charges fell through.
Biden, 53, arrived at the Wilmington federal courthouse for his scheduled arraignment after having been indicted last month on three counts related to gun possession.
The charges are related to Biden purchasing and possessing a firearm in 2018 while allegedly using illicit drugs. He left after the brief hearing and was released on conditions regarding gun possession and substance use.
Part of Biden’s original deal included an agreement that would avoid prosecution on a gun possession charge.
Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement Tuesday that the new indictment was a result of political pressure from the far-right to hold the president’s son to unfair standards.
“The only substantive and relevant changes since July, when the US Attorney decided against pursuing these exact charges against Mr. Biden, has been various court rulings undermining the constitutionality of the law at issue here and a coordinated, partisan attack on our system of justice by right-wing Republicans,” Lowell said.
The case’s end result could impact public perception regarding the 2024 presidential election as Hunter’s father, President Joe Biden, runs for reelection.
Republicans have sought to use Hunter Biden’s case to call out Joe Biden’s Justice Department, comparing the treatment of the president’s son to former president Donald Trump’s ongoing legal battles. But as legal experts point out, the Biden investigation and charging decisions were made largely by Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee. The FBI is run by Christopher Wray, a Trump selection.
Here’s what else you need to know.
How did we get here?
The five-year investigation into his taxes and foreign business dealings examined Hunter Biden’s role in his board position with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Trump’s attempts to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens and Hunter’s involvement with Burisma led to Trump’s first impeachment.
The Senate Republicans’ investigation into Biden’s board position floated conflict-of-interest concerns but concluded that it was “not clear” how his role “affected U.S. policy toward Ukraine.”
As Joe Biden was elected president, far-right pressure about his son remained intense.
In October 2020, a month before the election, the New York Post reported that it had received a copy of a hard drive from a laptop Hunter Biden used from Trump’s personal attorney at the time, Rudy Giuliani. The story alleged that the laptop showed international corruption from Hunter Biden and his father.
“Hunter Biden’s laptop” became a pressure point among far-right Republicans. But the story was met with skepticism by others because of the laptop’s unknown origins and Giuliani’s involvement. To date, no evidence has emerged connecting Russian intelligence to the laptop or the emails on it.
What happened to the original plea deal?
The latest indictment came after Biden’s plea deal on tax and gun charges fell apart after facing scrutiny from U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika. It would have let Biden plead guilty for two tax-related misdemeanors and enter a pretrial program for the gun charge that could’ve resulted in its eventual dismissal and potentially avoiding prison time.
Noreika said she wouldn’t accept the deal, citing disputes between the prosecutors and defense about whether the deal protected Biden from future charges.
In September, new gun charges were filed. Tax charges could still be re-filed.
What has Joe Biden said so far?
The president has been careful not to weigh in on his son’s case aside from expressing love and support.
When asked about his son’s federal charges months back, he said, “I’m very proud of my son.”
A separate statement from the White House’s counsel office in July said that the president and first lady Jill Biden “love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” and “we will have no further comment.”
On Tuesday, Joe Biden’s public schedule was clear, similar to the July court date.
According to CNN, the president was expected to be on calls with foreign leaders and discussing U.S. support for Ukraine.
The White House continues to refer questions about Hunter Biden’s case to his personal representatives or the Justice Department. The president’s son hasn’t been seen publicly at the White House in several months and the father and son have not been seen together in public recently.
What happens next?
In court Tuesday, Judge Christopher Burke went over Hunter Biden’s conditions for release.
Burke said they were “essentially the same” as July’s terms, with some wording changes.
The conditions include a probation officer’s supervision in California, where Biden resides; for him to actively seek employment; not possess a gun; not use alcohol or drugs; and submit to drug testing and substance abuse counseling if the probation office requires it.
The pretrial motion deadline — the cutoff for responding to or filing motions — for Biden’s case is Nov. 3 and no future hearings have been scheduled.
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