Hunter Biden charged with lying about drug use while buying a gun
Washington: US President Joe Biden’s son has been charged over alleged multiple gun crimes and faces the prospect of jail if he convicted, in the latest pre-election saga to engulf the First Family.
With 14 months until the presidential election, the White House faces a fresh crisis after a grand jury indicted Hunter Biden with illegally owning a gun and lying about his drug use when he bought it in 2018.
President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden.Credit: AP
The move comes weeks after a “sweetheart” plea deal – meant to keep Hunter from being prosecuted – collapsed at the eleventh hour after the presiding judge raised concerns about its scope.
Now, in a significant setback, the 53-year-old faces a potential trial over three gun charges while his father campaigns for re-election next year.
The decision to indict Hunter was the first time the Justice Department has issued charges against a child of a sitting president.
Authorities have also signalled they are still investigating whether Hunter breached federal laws that required him to register as a foreign agent while working in China and Ukraine while Biden was vice president to Barack Obama, as well as tax evasion charges that formed part of last month’s collapsed plea agreement.
Hunter Biden (right) talks with guests during a state dinner for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House.Credit: AP
The latest development presents an ongoing headache for the president as he attempts to ratchet up his campaign amid record low approval ratings and lingering concerns about his age and ability to do the job for another four years.
On Thursday (US time), Biden was in Maryland preparing to give a major speech on the economy when the news about his son broke.
He has been at pains not to discuss Hunter’s legal woes, other than to say he is proud of his son for overcoming his addiction. The White House and the president have so far refused to comment.
The Justice Department has long been accused by Republicans of creating a “two-tiered” legal system that has focused heavily on the actions of former president Donald Trump, who has been indicted in four separate cases.
US Attorney-General Merrick Garland announces the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the business dealings of Hunter Biden.Credit: Reuters
But as the political attacks intensified last month, federal Attorney-General Merrick Garland – who was appointed by Biden – assigned a special counsel to oversee the matter, citing the “extraordinary circumstances” and public interest surrounding the case.
Special Counsel David Weiss charged Hunter with three crimes: one count of false statement in the purchase of a firearm; one of false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. The first and third charges carry a maximum10-year jail sentence or a $US250,000 fine; the second a five-year sentence or the same fine.
However, Republicans say the department must do more by digging into allegations the party has been pushing for months: that the Biden family engaged in corruption linked to Hunter’s overseas business dealings.
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“Today’s charges against Hunter Biden are a very small start, but unless US Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DoJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,” said House oversight committee chairman James Comer.
The “big guy” is a reference to the president, based on what Hunter’s associates purportedly called him.
The indictment handed down on Thursday relates to a Colt Cobra revolver bought by Hunter in October 2018, during a period when he was struggling with a crack cocaine addiction. While guns are legal in the US, it is a felony to possess one while using narcotics.
According to the indictment, Hunter certified on a federally mandated form “that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.”
In a statement, Hunter’s lawyer Abbe Lowell suggested Weiss had caved in to political pressure given prosecutors were initially of the view the gun charges could be treated as a diversion case under the previous plea deal.
“Hunter Biden possessing an unloaded gun for 11 days was not a threat to public safety, but a prosecutor, with all the power imaginable, bending to political pressure presents a grave threat to our system of justice,” he said.
“The evidence in this matter has not changed, but the law has and so has MAGA Republicans’ improper and partisan interference in this process.”
The charges also come days after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave the green light to an impeachment inquiry to probe allegations of “abuse of power, obstruction and corruption” surrounding the Biden family.
Republicans have been digging for months, but are yet to uncover clear evidence directly showing that Biden benefited from his son’s business dealings in Ukraine and elsewhere.
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“This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather the full facts and answers for the American public,” McCarthy said as he announced the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday.
“That’s exactly what we want to know – the answers. I believe the president would want to answer these questions and allegations as well.”
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