Hunter Biden is back in a federal courthouse in Delaware on Monday, facing charges for allegedly buying a gun while lying about his drug use in 2018. He has pleaded not guilty to the three charges. What happens next? It marks the latest court appearance for President Joe Biden’s son and the first since Biden’s opponent in this year’s presidential election, Donald Trump, was found guilty of falsifying business documents to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election through hush-money payments made to an adult film star.
Hunter Biden’s high-profile case sets the stage for a trial his defense team attempted to avoid entirely. In July, Biden, 54, had a tentative deal with prosecutors where he’d plead guilty to separate tax charges and enter into a diversion agreement on the gun offenses to avoid trial. But things fell apart during a hearing with U.
S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who raised concerns over the deal’s terms. From there, Justice Department special counsel David Weiss was appointed to the case and brought new gun-related charges.
Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, has tried to get the case dismissed on various grounds without success. Lowell has said the gun charges are being handled atypically and suggested it’s because of Republican pressure. Here’s what you need to know.
How did we get here? A five-year investigation into Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings examined his role in his board position with the Ukrainian energy company.