Weeks after President Biden’s son and the prosecution’s plea agreement broke down, Hunter Biden was indicted on felony firearms charges. The accusations might pave the way for yet another public criminal prosecution during the upcoming 2024 election when President Biden is running for reelection.
Biden was charged with three charges by special counsel David Weiss, two of which were for making intentionally false written statements that he was not an illegal user of, or addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or other controlled substance when he bought a handgun. Possession of a firearm without authorization is a separate offense. This relates to a firearm he purchased in 2018.
The president’s son’s investigation is a separate investigation, the White House said in a statement when asked to comment.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell charged Weiss with “bending to political pressure” from Republicans.
“We believe these charges are barred by the agreement the prosecutors made with Mr. Biden, the recent rulings by several federal courts that this statute is unconstitutional, and the facts that he did not violate that law, and we plan to demonstrate all of that in court,” Lowell said in a statement.
While claiming the Democrats unlocked a “proverbial Pandora’s box,” former President Donald Trump used his social media platform, Truth Social. He made it clear, however, that the current president is not implicated by these claims.
The change occurred a month after Weiss was named as special counsel in the inquiry involving the president’s son by US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Biden decided to plead guilty to two misdemeanor violations relating to his federal income tax filing earlier this year.
He was also accused by federal officials of committing a criminal firearm offense, but he consented to a pretrial diversion deal that shields him from prosecution.
However, the judge in the case ordered that counsel from both parties make it plain that the agreement did not transfer the broad immunity given to Biden from prosecution on his business operations and foreign lobbying. As a result, the accord fell apart in July.
But because the parties couldn’t agree, the plea agreement failed.
