Judge rejects Hunter Biden’s effort to delay June 3 trial date on gun charges

A federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s criminal case in Delaware on gun charges said Tuesday that the trial will begin next month as planned, rejecting an effort by his lawyers to delay the proceedings.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said at a hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, that the case against the president’s son will go to trial on June 3. Biden’s lawyers tried to delay the case until September.

Biden attorney Abbe Lowell also suggested a July start date, citing possible rulings from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and a Supreme Court ruling that could affect the case.

Rejecting both proposals, Noreika said she has consulted case law and determined that she has jurisdiction and that the trial will proceed as planned. She also said it was “not a very complicated case.”

The judge plans to summon 250 jurors during jury selection, with the goal of identifying 32 to answer for possible strikes and then empaneling a jury of 14.

Noreika said she trusts that “everyone can do what needs to be done” in time for the trial.

At one point, she admonished Lowell for not being prepared for trial, emphasizing that a proposed schedule with a June 3 start date was submitted jointly by both parties and “had his signature.”

Lowell begged the judge to change his mind, saying, “I am begging your honor” to change the date.

The defense team is looking expert testimony on addiction, as well as details on the chain of custody related to an alleged bag of cocaine that prosecutors are expected to use to establish Biden’s drug use at the time of the gun purchase in October 2018.

Lowell said the defense has had difficulty obtaining expert witnesses, adding that most of the people they have approached are “reluctant to get involved in this case” because of the “noise” surrounding it.

He went on to say that the defense has interviewed half a dozen potential expert witnesses over the past two months but has only reached tentative agreements with three people.

Biden was indicted in September on three charges related to carrying a weapon while using narcotics. He pleaded not guilty.

Lowell declined to comment after the hearing. Special prosecutor David Weiss — who was in court for Tuesday’s hearing — also declined to comment.

The topic of how Biden’s text messages and other electronic data will be used in the trial was also discussed during Tuesday’s hearing. There are more than 2,000 messages, some from October 2018, that Biden exchanged with various individuals — some include messages from Hunter to his father, Joe Biden, as well as his children.

Hunter Biden faces a separate trial in California on tax charges stemming from the same investigation conducted by Weiss. That trial is scheduled for June 20, although there is an appeal before the 9th Circuit that could delay the case until late summer. Biden has pleaded not guilty to those charges, which include allegations that he failed to pay taxes, failed to file a return, avoided an assessment and filed a fraudulent form.