Hunter pleads NOT GUILTY to lying about addiction when buying a gun

Hunter Biden pleads NOT GUILTY to charges he lied about drug addiction when buying a gun

• Hunter, 53, pleaded not guilty in a Delaware court on Tuesday to three felony charges related to him lying about his drug use when purchasing a gun in 2018
• It is the first-ever criminal prosecution of a sitting U.S. President’s child 
• Hearing follows the unraveling of a plea deal in July that would see Hunter avoid punishment on the felony charge of lying on a form to buy a firearm

Hunter Biden, 53, was all smiles when departing a Delaware courthouse on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to lying about his continued crack cocaine use when buying a handgun in 2018.

The appearance and guilty plea comes after what Republicans called a ‘sweetheart’ plea deal – that would have seen Joe Biden’s son avoid jail time – collapsed this summer. 

The judge also revealed the president’s troubled son has submitted to multiple random drug tests, and has been negative each time. 

The case is the first-ever criminal prosecution of a sitting U.S. president’s child and looks set to overshadow Biden’s run for re-election.

Hunter, who showed up to court with a fresh buzz cut on Tuesday, was charged last month by U.S. Special Counsel David Weiss with three felony counts related to lying on the federal form. 

His attorney Abbe Lowell claimed on Tuesday the charges were a result of ‘political pressure’

Hunter Biden, 53, grinned as he left a Delaware courthouse on Tuesday after entering a not guilty plea to three felony charges resulting from claims he he lied about his drug abuse on a federal form to purchase a firearm

President Joe Biden’s 53-year-old recovering addict son arrives to appear in a federal court on gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware

‘These charges are the result of political pressure from President Trump and his MAGA allies to force the Justice Department to ignore the law and deviate from its policies in cases like this one,’ Lowell said after Hunter left court.

‘The only substantive and relevant changes since July, when the US Attorney decided against pursuing these exact charges against Mr. Biden, has been various court rulings undermining the constitutionality of the law at issue here and a coordinated, partisan attack on our system of justice by right-wing Republicans.’ 

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss to the case amid objections from Republican lawmakers.

The arraignment on Tuesday is taking place in a federal district court in Wilmington, Delaware.

In 2018 Hunter checked on a federal firearm form that he was not addicted to or using any illicit substances at the time of purchasing a Colt Cobra handgun. 

His own book, however, provides insight into the drug addiction and the timeline provided shows that the president’s adult son was using drugs the same year he bought the firearm. 

An agreement to resolve the gun charges and separate tax charges unraveled in July when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Wilmington, Delaware refused to accept it.

Hunter, 53, stands charged with three felony counts for lying on a federal form to purchase a firearm in 2018 

Hunter Biden arrived at LAX on Monday to depart for Wilmington, Delaware for his court appearance the following day. The case Tuesday is the first-ever criminal prosecution of a sitting president’s child

Under that deal, Hunter agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax violations for lighter sentencing and would also see that he avoid punishment on the gun charges – as long as he did not possess a firearm and refrained from using alcohol and illegal drugs for two years.

Hunter’s lawyers accuse prosecutors of breaking the agreement, insisting in court filings that they believe it remains in effect and their recovering addict client continues to comply with it.

Republicans have been unrelenting in their attacks against Hunter Biden – claiming that President Biden is at least somewhat involved in some of his son’s wrongdoing.

They accuse Hunter, who has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, investment banker and artist, of wrongdoing relating to business with Ukraine and China. He has become the subject of a myriad of congressional investigations – including the House impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden.

The above form shows Hunter Biden checked ‘no’ when asked if he is ‘an unlawful user of, or addicted to’ a controlled substance. But the president’s son detailed in his own book that he ha da relapse in 2018 – the same year he purchased the firearm

A photo found on Hunter Biden’s abandoned hard drive shows a nude image of him holding a handgun pointed down by his side

Images on Monday show Hunter Biden arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday to depart for Wilmington, Delaware for the court appearance the day following. 

Abbe Lowell, Hunter’s lawyer, said in a September court filing that his client plans to plead not guilty to the firearm charge. 

In his 2021 memoir Beautiful Things, Hunter describes he relapsed in his addiction recovery in 2018 – the same year that he purchased the firearm. He wrote about being in Los Angeles at the time and using ‘my superpower’ to ‘find crack anytime, anywhere’ from dangerous characters.

He claimed that he didn’t have regard for his life at the time, and wasn’t concerned with whether someone would pull a gun on him or try to rob him.

Some legal experts suggest that firearms charges against the younger Biden could be challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court after it ruled last year to expand Second Amendment gun rights. 

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