Hunter Biden, the son of United States President, Joe Biden, has been indicted by Justice Department in connection with a gun he purchased in 2018.
This is the first time in U.S. that the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president.
The three charges include making false statements on a federal firearms form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.
It’s an extraordinary turn of events after his original plea deal collapsed and potentially sets up a dramatic trial in the middle of his father’s 2024 re-election bid.
The White House thought the Hunter Biden legal drama would end this summer, but a plea deal reached with counsel David Weiss to resolve the matter without charges collapsed over the summer amid scrutiny from a federal judge.
House Republicans have also announced an impeachment inquiry into the president in relation to Hunter Biden’s business ventures.
Court filings showed that a summons was issued on Thursday for him to appear in court for an initial appearance on the charges, though it is unclear when and where the initial appearance would take place.
Hunter is currently in California, a source disclosed, adding that any plan for a self-surrender or initial appearance, including the date and location, still needs to be worked out.
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Hunter Biden’s gun-related legal troubles relate to a firearm he purchased in October 2018. While buying a revolver at Delaware gun shop, he lied on a federal form when he swore that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs – even though he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase.
According to the indictment, Hunter Biden “provided a written statement on Form 4473 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.”
It’s a federal crime to lie on the ATF form or to possess a firearm as a drug user. (Hunter Biden possessed the gun for about 11 days in 2018.)
Prosecutors have previously said the statute of limitations for some of these offenses is set to expire in October.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday evening, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, claimed the indictment was a result of political pressure.
Republican politicians, Lowell said, “have been pressuring this U.S. attorney to do something to vindicate their political position”.
“And guess what? They succeeded,” he added.
Lowell defended his client in a statement earlier in the day, saying: “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.”
Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination who has been indicted four times himself, described Hunter Biden’s indictment as a “sad situation”.
“It’s a sad situation, I mean, nobody should be happy about this,” Trump said in his first public comments on the development.
If convicted on all counts, Hunter Biden could face as much as 25 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000, according to court filings.
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