Hunter Biden appeared for his arraignment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Tuesday morning, where he pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges.
NEW: Hunter Biden has arrived at the federal courthouse in Delaware for his arraignment on felony gun charges pic.twitter.com/uP2UsYFG3c
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 3, 2023
Last month, Biden was indicted on three counts related to the unlawful purchase of a firearm: “making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.”
The federal gun charges are the first charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss since he was granted full authority to investigate Biden as special counsel, and reportedly carry up to 25 years in prison.
According to the indictment, “on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver with serial number RA 551363…knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm.”
As part of a transaction for a Colt Cobra revolver he purchased on Oct. 12, 2018, Hunter had answered “no” on Form 4473 to the question “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”
According to the indictment, Biden “knew that statement was false and fictitious.”
Hunter Biden at the time was a frequent crack cocaine user, writing in his memoir that he “was smoking crack every 15 minutes.” He had previously been discharged from the Navy for testing positive for cocaine.
According to an Oct. 23, 2018 police report, Hallie Biden, the widow of Joe Biden’s late son, Beau, and Hunter’s girlfriend at the time, threw Hunter’s gun into a dumpster behind a market near a school.
After his years long investigation into Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings, Weiss offered Hunter Biden a sweetheart plea deal in June that fell apart under a judge’s scrutiny in July.
The gun case is just one of multiple criminal cases pending against Hunter, 53, including tax fraud and illegal foreign lobbying counts in DC and Los Angeles.
Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell reportedly told Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke that they will be asking for a hearing where prosecutors present the evidence they’ve gathered.
“Given what we all know about this case, we will be asking for an evidentiary hearing,” Lowell said.
Joe Biden’s public schedule was clear all day Tuesday.