Posted on 09/14/23
| News Source: The Hill
Prosecutors in Delaware brought three gun-related charges against Hunter Biden Thursday, indicting the president’s son after special counsel David Weiss said he would pursue charges following the evaporation of a plea deal.
The court filings detail charges Hunter Biden would have entered a diversion program for under the failed plea agreement, charging him both with failing to disclose drug use when seeking to buy a weapon, resulting in two separate charges, as well as for unlawful possession of a firearm while addicted to a controlled substance.
The indictment does not list any tax crimes — a matter that also would have been covered by the prior plea agreement that had Biden plead guilty on two charges of willful failure to pay taxes.
Weiss was elevated to special counsel status in August shortly after discussion around the plea agreement broke down, signaling he may instead seek to bring charges outside the state.
In later filings, Weiss indicated he would bring an indictment against Biden before the end of September.
In the same round of filings, Biden’s attorneys said their client was still abiding by the terms of the diversion agreement surrounding the gun charge, signaling they expected that provision to remain in effect.
Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, did not immediately respond to request for comment nor did the White House, while the White House referred questions to the Department of Justice.
The charges come the same week that House Republicans kicked off an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, who they allege improperly interfered in Ukraine in order to benefit his son as he served on the board of energy company Burisma.
The White House has denied any wrongdoing including a salacious but unproven allegation from Republicans that the president may have accepted a bribe from a Ukrainian oligarch in the process.