Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, is anticipated to enter a not-guilty plea when he is charged with federal firearms offenses, according to court documents filed by his lawyers on Tuesday.
The younger Biden was indicted last week, and this is the first official sign that he intends to defend the allegations, even though his attorney has previously stated publicly that he intends to do so.
The sole surviving son of the president was charged with lying on a federal document when he claimed to be drug-free at the time of buying a Colt handgun in October 2018 by special counsel David Weiss on Thursday.
In a prior interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America” last week, Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell hinted that the senator will fight the gun allegations. She said, “On the facts, we believe we’ll have a defense.”
In an effort to lessen what he called “the monetary effect on government resources and the logistical load on the downtown area of Wilmington,” Lowell filed court documents on Tuesday asking to have his client’s initial court appearance in Delaware conducted by video conference rather than in person.
There is no reason why Mr. Biden cannot speak those two words through video conference, according to Lowell, “no matter whether in person or virtually… Mr. Biden also will enter a plea of not guilty.”
In the filing, Lowell stated that “neither Mr. Biden nor the government could be prejudiced by a first appearance conducted via video conference,” pointing out that virtual court hearings became widespread during the COVID-19 era.
According to a magistrate judge’s ruling on Monday, the prosecution has objected to a virtual arraignment.
Given that Mr. Biden is not requesting special treatment for this request and that people who do not have to take into account the extra factors outlined in this document frequently make such appearances through video, Lowell found the government’s position to be perplexing.
Hunter Biden will also face misdemeanor tax charges in California and Washington, D.C., prosecutors said in court files last month, after a plea agreement between federal prosecutors and Hunter Biden fell through in July after a five-year investigation.