Hunter Biden Tries Another Delay Tactic in Federal Gun Case
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Hunter Biden’s lawyers motioned Monday to again ask a judge to push back his federal gun trial that’s slated to begin next month in Delaware, arguing in part there’s no need for the case to push forward so quick.
His lawyers are also arguing the trial, scheduled to begin June 3, would push too close to a separate trial the president’s son faces in California on tax charges.
“There is no urgency in having an immediate trial of Robert Hunter Biden, but the district court is pressing forward with a June 3, 2024 trial and imposing all the pretrial burdens that come with that,” Biden’s lawyers wrote in Monday’s filing.
Hunter has already tried, and failed, to postpone the proceedings in Delaware. Those efforts drew comparisons to Donald Trump, who has also tried a bit of everything—with some success—to have his quartet of criminal trials constantly pushed back.
Hunter’s trial is expected to be embarrassing for him and Joe Biden, as the charges stem from him allegedly lying about his drug use while purchasing and possessing a gun in 2018. Those charges threaten to put him in prison for up to five years if convicted.
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Hunter has pleaded not guilty, claiming he possessed the firearm for less than two weeks and that the charges aren’t appropriate, despite him acknowledging he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time of the purchase.
Monday’s motion asked a federal appeals court to re-hear his bid to have the indictment thrown out entirely—a particularly longshot request considering the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals already unanimously rejected a similar appeal earlier this month.
Hunter also indicated he plans to challenge the constitutionality of the gun statute at the heart of the case, and has claimed, in a Trump-like fashion, that his prosecution inside his home state is politically motivated.
Regardless of how the appeals court rules on Hunter’s motion, it’s likely Hunter will spend a portion of June in a California court room. There, he stands accused of ducking out of paying $1.4 million in taxes, prompting charges that threaten to put him away for up to 17 years if convicted.
Special counsel David Weiss is overseeing the prosecution in both trials, which are the first-ever criminal prosecutions against the child of a sitting U.S. president.
Like what’s taken place in Delaware, Hunter has launched longshot pleas to have his charges dismissed and trial delayed in California, but has had no success. With the proceedings closing in on both coasts, Hunter’s legal team has said Monday they’re running out of resources to handle it all.
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