UpdateUS Special Prosecutor David Weiss has filed three charges against Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, as expected. Hunter Biden is said to have violated the gun law by, among other things, “unlawfully possessing a firearm as a drug addict.” It is the first time that a child of a sitting president has been charged.
Biden, 53, is accused of lying about his drug use when he bought a firearm in October 2018. In order to purchase the weapon, he had to fill out a form that asked, among other things, about the use of narcotics. He did not fill this in truthfully, which is a criminal offence. This is evident from the complaint filed in federal court in the state of Delaware. Biden has admitted to struggling with an addiction to crack cocaine at the time.
Biden previously appeared to have made a deal with the judiciary to avoid prosecution for violating the gun law. In return, he would plead guilty to tax evasion. However, that agreement did not last because of the – according to the judge – unusual provisions, after which special prosecutor Weiss announced last week that he would still prosecute Biden.
Lawyers for Biden have argued that part of the deal, which would suspend Hunter’s gun possession charges as long as he does not commit any new crimes, remains in place. Attorneys already indicated they would pursue additional charges but did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. However, prosecutors believe the deal was never finalized and is now invalid.
Biden family under fire
Republicans were anyway dissatisfied with the previously concluded deal. That would have allowed Hunter Biden to serve probation instead of prison after pleading guilty to failing to pay taxes in both 2017 and 2018. His personal income during those two years totaled approximately $4 million (approximately €3.75 million). Some of that income came from a company he founded with the CEO of a Chinese business conglomerate and Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
The latter also causes problems for Joe Biden: The Speaker of the House of Representatives gave an investigative committee the task on Tuesday to consider possible impeachment proceedings against President Joe Biden (80), largely because of son Hunter’s business dealings. Republicans have received testimony about how Hunter Biden used the “Biden brand” to win assignments abroad, but they have provided no hard evidence of criminal offenses by the president.
According to the White House, there is no evidence whatsoever and even the Republicans in the Senate reportedly see little interest in an impeachment of Joe Biden.
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