President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, will reportedly plead not guilty to federal gun charges, his lawyers said in a new court filing this week.
Hunter Biden’s legal team requested in the Tuesday letter to the Court that he be allowed to make his initial appearance in court via a video call.
“We write on behalf of our client, Robert Hunter Biden, in response to the Court’s Order issued on September 18, 2023, related to Mr. Biden’s initial appearance,” Biden attorney Abbe Lowell wrote in a letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge from the District of Delaware Christopher Burke. “We respectfully request that the Court hold Mr. Biden’s initial appearance in this matter by video conference.”
“Mr. Biden also will enter a plea of not guilty, and there is no reason why he cannot utter those two words by video conference,” Lowell continued. “In short, Mr. Biden is satisfied that his constitutional rights will be met by conducting his initial appearance by video conference.”
Lowell also argued that a video conference should be allowed because Hunter Biden’s Secret Service protection would mean that “numerous agents and vehicles are required for what would have to be a two-day event (for a proceeding that may be very short in duration).”
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Special counsel David Weiss filed charges against Hunter Biden this month son after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a plea deal that fell apart last month. The agreement fell apart after U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the limits of Hunter’s immunity under the deal.
The indictment charges the president’s son with three crimes related to false statements made on a federal application to purchase a firearm. The charges relate to a time when, in October 2018, Hunter claimed he was clean of drugs to purchase a handgun. He later wrote in his memoir that he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time.
Two of the counts carry max sentences of 10 years in prison, while the third carries a max sentence of 5 years, according to NBC News. The stiff sentences are a sharp contrast to the agreement worked out under the failed plea deal. The plea agreement would have freed Hunter from jail time and instead put him in a diversion program that, if completed successfully, would have wiped the gun charges from his record.
Hunter, “knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance … did knowingly possess a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver,” the indictment says.
This is a developing news story; refresh the page for updates.