Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, charged with gun crimes

Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, has been charged with three gun offences, setting him on course for a possible criminal trial as his father campaigns for re-election in 2024. 

Key points:Hunter Biden is charged with lying about being a drug user when he bought a revolver in 2018It is the first time a sitting president's child has been charged with a felonyIt follows a failed plea deal that would have spared Hunter Biden from jail

A grand jury in Delaware voted to press charges — a process known as indictment in the US — in a significant step forward in the Justice Department's five-year investigation into Hunter Biden's messy past.

It follows Tuesday's move by Republicans to open an impeachment inquiry into the president to investigate whether he was improperly involved in his son's business affairs while he was vice-president. 

The indictment creates an extraordinary situation in which the Justice Department will be simultaneously prosecuting multiple cases against former president Donald Trump and the current president's son in the lead-up to next year's November election.

Hunter Biden, 53, is accused of lying about his crack cocaine addiction on paperwork when buying a gun, and owning the weapon while using the drug. If convicted, he would face a possible prison sentence.

Joe Biden gave a speech on economics in Maryland shortly after his son's indictment.(Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)

Charging documents allege he bought a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver from a dealer in Delaware in October, 2018, and provided a written statement "certifying 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".

A court date is yet to be set. 

'Bending to political pressure'

Shortly after his son's indictment, Joe Biden delivered a speech on his so-called "Bidenomics" economic strategy in Maryland. He did not address his son's indictment.

But Hunter Biden's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told the Washington Post: "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."

It is the first time in US history a sitting president's child has been charged with a criminal offence, and promises to be another political headache for Joe Biden, who is facing low approval ratings.

Recent polling suggests many Americans believe he was illegally or unethically involved in his son's business affairs, despite multiple Republican-run investigations failing to produce proof.

Charges follow plea deal collapse

In June, Hunter Biden looked set to avoid a trial after reaching a plea agreement with the Justice Department.

Under that deal, he was to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanours, relating to a failure to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018, and enter a "pre-trial diversion agreement" on the gun charge that would have required him to stay drug-free for two years.

Republicans had criticised the plea deal, accusing prosecutor David Weiss of going easy on Hunter Biden. 

Trump-appointed District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to allow the deal after discovering the two parties had different views on how much it would shield Hunter Biden from future prosecution.

Hunter Biden could still face prosecution on the tax charges in another jurisdiction — possibly California, where he now lives.

He has been open about his struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism, which he says spiralled out of control after his brother, Beau, died from brain cancer in 2015.

Republicans in congress have been investigating his subsequent business dealings abroad, including his role on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father was vice-president and overseeing US relations with Ukraine. 

They have pointed to the 2016 sacking of Ukraine's top prosecutor, whose department had at one point been investigating Burisma, as evidence Joe Biden was improperly using his influence to help his son.

Joe Biden was among Western leaders who had pressured Ukraine to sack the prosecutor, citing a need to clean up corruption in Ukraine at the time.

He has previously said he did not benefit from, and was not involved in, his son's business dealings.