The trial for Hunter Biden on illegal gun possession charges is set to begin June 3 in Delaware.
Biden, the son of anti-gun President Joe Biden, faces felony charges for purchasing a firearm while on illegal drugs, lying on the federal NICS background check form about his drug use when he purchased the revolver back in 2018 and then illegally possessing the firearm afterward. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The indictment against the younger Biden concerning the purchasing and lying charges states: “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 from Company 1, licensed under the provisions of Chapter 44, Title 18, United States Code 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 under the provisions of Chapter 14, Title 18, United States Code, in that defendant, Robert 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.”
As for the third charge concerning possession of the illegally purchased firearm, the indictment states: “On or about October 12, 2018, through on or about October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant Robert Hunter Biden, knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance as defined in Title 21, United States Code, Section 802, did knowingly possess a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver with serial number RA 551363, said firearm having been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.”
As they did in an earlier court appearance, Hunter Biden’s lawyers are likely to argue that the statute making it illegal for drug users to purchase and possess a firearm is unconstitutional. In a motion to dismiss, the younger Biden’s attorneys actually argued that the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision actually made the charges moot.
“Because persons protected by the Second Amendment can no longer be denied gun ownership due simply to past drug use—a practice inconsistent with this nation’s historical tradition on firearm regulation—any false statement by Mr. Biden concerning his status as having used a controlled substance no longer concerns ‘any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale’ of a firearm,” his attorneys argued in the motion.
That’s a truly ironic claim for the son of a president who wants to continue making background checks more and more stringent, even to the point of wanting to require them on a so-called “universal” basis.
Last year it looked like Biden would escape prosecution through a sweet plea deal in which he had agreed to plead guilty to two tax evasion charges and enter a Pretrial Diversion Agreement with respect to the firearm charges. However, on June 20, 2023, a district judge in Delaware tossed out the plea agreement, paving the way for the upcoming court battle.
Per Hunter Biden’s own account of his addiction—as chronicled in his 2021 book, Beautiful Things—it is almost certain that he was an addict at the time he purchased the gun. Under the terms of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993—a law that then-Sen. Joe Biden shepherded through the U.S. Senate—lying on Form 4473 is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. And the other counts could carry similar penalties.
Aside from the firearms charges, the younger Biden also faces nine tax-related charges in California. Biden has pleaded not guilty to those charges, too, and the date has not yet been set for that trial.