Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, with attorney Abbe Lowell, left, leaves after a closed-door deposition in the Republican-led investigation into the Biden family, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The federal gun charge trial for Hunter Biden is set for June 3.
A federal judge in Delaware set aside the weeks of June 3 and June 10 for a jury trial, the court docket said.
CBS News reported that the judge is reviewing motions, including one by Hunter Biden to dismiss the case, and will issue a ruling later. Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said he does not expect the case to go to trial, telling the network he thinks the judge will dismiss it based on diversion and a plea agreement.
The president’s son was indicted last September on charges related to his purchase of a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver from a federally licensed firearms dealer on Oct. 12, 2018, when he was using drugs, Law&Crime reported. Authorities allege he made a false written statement on a federal form when he bought it, allegedly certifying he was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.
As Law&Crime reported this week, he offered the judge in his case additional authorities to support his attempt to torpedo the case as selectively and vindictively brought by special counsel David Weiss, whom the defendant likened to a tool of Russian intelligence.
Pointing to erstwhile FBI informant Alexander Smirnov’s February indictment for making allegedly “false bribery allegations” against Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, the president’s son asserted Weiss knew for years that the claims were “baseless” but reopened an investigation after pressure from congressional Republicans and, just a short time later, after prosecutors reneged on a plea agreement, Weiss was appointed as special counsel and only ramped up his probe to secure bicoastal indictments for gun and tax offenses.
Hunter Biden, 54, who struggled with addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine, has been under the spotlight.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating his finances. Senate Republicans have subjected him to immense scrutiny, opening several investigations into his overseas business dealings, specifically his work on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings.
Law&Crime’s Matt Naham and Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.
