Hunter Biden pleads not guilty on federal gun charges

WILMINGTON, Del.— Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to three firearms charges during his arraignment in a federal court in Delaware on Tuesday, amid a high-profile legal battle that has pit the president’s son against his Justice Department as the 2024 presidential campaign gets underway.

After twenty-five minutes of discussion, Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, entered the plea on his behalf. Lowell said the defense would be making a number of motions in a case that the president's son had months ago hoped to put behind him, including on the constitutionality of the charge related to his purchase of a handgun. Lowell also said to expect a request for an evidentiary hearing ahead of the Nov. 3 motions deadline set by the judge.

Hunter Biden, 53, the son of President Joe Biden said that he understood the nature of the charges against him, barely blinking before responding to the judge, "Yes, your honor."

Absent from the hearing were the tensions that erupted during the younger Biden's July appearance before a different judge overseeing the case, when he had expected to finalize a plea deal. This time the president's son embarked on a new phase of legal peril that could see further charges forthcoming over his alleged tax crimes.

Wearing a grey suit, Hunter Biden spoke with his attorneys in muffled tones and barely a glanced around the room. He exited the hearing through a side door.

Hunter Biden was denied a request to appear by video, with a magistrate judge siding with government prosecutors to say that Hunter Biden “should not receive special treatment in this matter.”

Hunter Biden arrived in the courtroom shortly before 10 a.m. ET. accompanied by the defense lawyers. The hearing lasted less than 30 minutes. The judge reiterated Hunter Biden's conditions for release and said that he would be subject to random testing as he refrains from drugs and alcohol. He has been tested already a number of times, the judge said.

The case has placed Joe Biden’s family in the spotlight ahead of the 2024 presidential election, with scrutiny of Hunter Biden intensifying amid his indictment by a special counsel and the case unfolding against the backdrop of his father’s campaign.

Nearly two months after a deal with prosecutors fell apart in a dramatic courtroom scene, Hunter Biden was indicted last month in federal court on three counts tied to his possession of a firearm while using illegal drugs.

Two counts accuse him of lying on a federal form about his use of narcotics when he purchased a Colt Cobra revolver in Delaware in October of 2018. The third count claims he possessed a gun while using a narcotic.

Still open is a yearslong inquiry into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax evasion.

In the original case, charged in June, a joint filing with prosecutors said Hunter Biden had the gun for 11 days, during which “he purchased and used crack cocaine regularly.” The firearm was “subsequently discarded in a trashcan outside a supermarket in Greenville, Delaware,” according to the filing.

The initial plea deal in which Hunter Biden agreed to a deferral program for a single gun count collapsed in open court as U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, questioned the terms of the agreement.

Under the terms of the deal, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges in return for prosecutors recommending a sentence of probation, while a separate felony gun charge would have been dropped as part of a two-year diversion program.

After the judge requested both parties return with more information, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty. Talks between his team and prosecutors then fell apart, extinguishing the possibility of a deal. He later reshuffled his legal team, elevating attorney Abbe Lowell.

Lowell said Hunter Biden plans to fight the gun charges, which he argues are not constitutional. On Tuesday, Lowell said this would be among several motions filed by the defense "that won't be a surprise."

His team has lately gone on offense, filing a barrage of separate lawsuits against the Internal Revenue Service, Rudy Giuliani, and former Trump aide Garrett Ziegler, whom he claims violated privacy and computer fraud laws.

Charges linked to Hunter Biden’s taxes could be filed within the coming month, in Washington, D.C., or California, where he has been a resident in recent years.

The case comes as the Justice Department has also undertaken the unprecedented move of indicting a former president, Donald Trump, in two separate cases.

In Washington, House Republicans continue to seek answers on whether the Justice Department granted Hunter Biden favorable treatment as it investigated him. Republicans have also launched an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden that is expected to probe his son’s business dealings as they search for evidence of wrongdoing.

The White House has denied any involvement by the president in the Justice Department’s case or his son’s business affairs.