WILMINGTON, Delaware (AP) – Biden HunterThe federal firearms case will go to trial next month, a judge said Tuesday, denying an offer for lawyers to the president’s son to delay the prosecution.
US District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected Hunter Biden’s request to delay the trial until September, which the defense said was necessary to give the defense time to line up witnesses and analyze evidence turned over by prosecutors.
President Joe BidenHis son is accused of lying about his drug use in October 2018 on an application to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days.
Hunter Biden, who has pleaded not guilty, has acknowledged struggling with crack cocaine addiction during that period in 2018, but his lawyers have said he did not break the law.
His lawyers argued that prosecutors bowed to pressure from Republicans, who claimed that the Democratic president’s son initially received a sweetheart deal and was indicted because of political pressure.
But the judge who oversaw the case last month rejected your claim that the accusation is politically motivated, along with other efforts to close the case. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week said the case could move forward for trial.
Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty last year to misdemeanor tax charges and would have avoided prosecution on the gun charges if he had stayed out of trouble for two years. It was the culmination of a years-long investigation by federal prosecutors into the president’s son’s business dealings, and the deal would have dispensed with criminal prosecution and spared the Bidens weeks of headlines as the 2024 election approached.
But the deal fell through after the judge who was supposed to sign the agreement raised a series of questions about him.
Hunter Biden was indicted on three counts of firearms possession in Delaware and was charged separately in California, where he lives, with tax crimes.
He is charged in the Delaware case with two counts of making false statements, first by checking a box falsely saying he was not addicted to drugs and second by turning it over to the store for federally required records. A third charge alleges he possessed the gun for about 11 days despite knowing he was a drug user.
In California, Hunter Biden is charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors for at least $1.4 million in taxes owed between 2016 and 2019. Prosecutors accused him of spending millions of dollars on an “extravagant lifestyle” instead of pay your taxes. Back taxes have already been paid.
