In the first-ever criminal case involving the child of a sitting U.S. president, President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to allegations that he lied about his drug use when purchasing a pistol.
Hunter Biden, 53, was accused last month on three charges for falsifying information on a federal application to purchase a Colt Cobra handgun in 2018 and for having a firearm in his possession while using illegal drugs.
During his 25-minute appearance in the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden wore a dark suit and tie. When U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke questioned Biden about the accusations and his lawyer Abbe Lowell’s not-guilty plea, Biden responded, “Yes, your honor.”
He rode in a procession of six black sedans to the courthouse.
During the court hearings, six guys with earpieces who seemed to be Secret Service personnel sat close to Hunter Biden and led him out of the courthouse through a side entrance.
Burke imposed requirements on Hunter Biden’s pretrial release, such as arranging travel with a probation officer, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and looking for work. Burke claimed that Hunter Biden had lately submitted to repeated drug tests and had tested negative each time.
The hearing on Tuesday paves the way for an unprecedented first: the criminal trial of an adult child of a president who is now running for reelection.
Donald Trump, Biden’s anticipated Republican opponent in 2024, has four upcoming criminal trials of his own; two of them are connected to his efforts to have Biden’s 2020 election defeat, which he continues to claim was the product of fraud, overturned.
A hearing regarding the accusations was also attended by the president’s son in Wilmington in July.
A deal to settle the gun allegations and additional tax charges in that hearing fell apart when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Wilmington refused to accept it.
Hunter Biden had agreed to that arrangement in which he would admit to petty tax crimes in exchange for a two-year sentence reduction and immunity from prosecution on the weapons charges.
Hunter Biden’s legal representative, Lowell, announced on Tuesday that he would submit a move to dismiss the lawsuit because he thought the July agreement was still in place and thought the statute was unconstitutional.
Burke informed him that he needed to file by November 3.
After the U.S. Supreme Court expanded gun rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms, last year in a landmark decision, some legal experts have suggested that any firearms-related charges against Hunter Biden could be subject to a constitutional challenge.
Republicans, led by former President Trump, have relentlessly attacked the younger Biden for years.
Republicans have targeted Hunter Biden, who has worked as a lobbyist, attorney, investment banker, and artist, as the subject of an impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives into Joe Biden.
The president’s son, who has openly admitted to using drugs, never worked for his father’s administration or on his father’s campaign. The president has stated that he has not spoken with his son about his international business operations and that his Justice Department will act independently in any investigations involving members of his family.
