Hunter Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, formally pleaded not guilty to felony gun charges on Tuesday, opening the door for a public trial as his father prepares to run for reelection.
The younger Biden declared he would contest the three-count indictment issued last month by special counsel David Weiss, the same prosecutor who mediated the doomed arrangement, as he appeared in the same federal courthouse in Delaware where his plea agreement with prosecutors fell down over the summer.
Abbe Lowell, a counsel for Biden, indicated his plan to file a move to dismiss the government’s case after Biden entered his plea. He asserted that certain provisions of his previous plea agreement were still in place and declared that they would contest the legitimacy of at least one charge.
Judge Christopher Burke gave the parties until Nov. 3 to submit their motions.
Hunter Biden nodded along and responded, “Yes, your honor,” when the judge asked him if he understood the charges, potential fines, and his rights throughout the proceedings.
Hunter Biden will continue to be subject to the same supervised release restrictions that were set during the plea hearing in July, according to Judge Burke, who noted that Biden had been following the rules for the previous few months.
Hunter Biden has had “a number of” random drug tests since the plea hearing, according to the judge, and each time he has tested negative. Additionally, the judge stated that the younger Biden had been “agreeable” to the conditions.
Hunter Biden is required to abstain from alcohol as part of his supervised release and obtain written approval from his probation officer before traveling abroad.
In a statement released following the hearing, Lowell noted that Weiss had initially decided not to pursue the firearm charges against his client and claimed that the charges were the result of “political stress from President Trump as well as his MAGA allies to compel the Justice Department to disregard the law and deviate from its policies.”
After a protracted investigation, Weiss last month accused Hunter Biden. When Weiss’ office negotiated a two-pronged plea deal with Hunter Biden’s legal counsel in June, it seemed as though that investigation was about to come to an end.
However, the agreement changed after being questioned by a federal judge in July.
In exchange for a guilty plea on minor tax charges and a diversion arrangement on one felony gun charge, Hunter Biden would have been able to avoid going to jail under the terms of the deal.
The younger Biden now faces the three weapons accusations, as well as further tax-related allegations that could be brought in the upcoming weeks or months. In open court, prosecutors also hinted that they would press charges concerning Hunter Biden’s international business dealings, including possible transgressions of laws governing foreign lobbying.
On “Good Morning America” on ABC last month, Lowell said, “On the facts, we believe we’ll have a defense” against the gun charges.
Lowell initially asked the court to permit him to submit his plea via video conference in order to minimize what he described as “the financial impact on government resources & the logistical burden on the downtown area of Wilmington.” This was in an effort to forego Hunter Biden’s physical presence in court.
However, the prosecution resisted that motion and a federal magistrate court ultimately mandated that Hunter Biden make a personal appearance.
Hunter Biden is currently engaged in many legal battles at the same time as the hearing. President Biden was the subject of the first hearing in the House Republicans’ impeachment investigation last week, which was mostly based on alleged connections between the president’s political career and his son’s business ventures.
In addition, the younger Biden is launching a legal onslaught against his loudest detractors and the suspected owners of personal information obtained from a laptop he allegedly left at a Delaware computer repair facility in 2018.
Hunter Biden may spend up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the three gun-related counts, though the Justice Department has stated that any sentence would probably be much less severe than that.