Hunter Biden, 54, is facing charges for lying on a federal form when he bought a gun in 2018. He wrote on the form that he was not a drug user, despite being addicted to cocaine at the time.
Specifically, according to the AP, “Hunter Biden, who spent the weekend with his parents, has been charged in Delaware with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application used to screen firearms applicants by saying he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Today is Jill Biden’s 73rd birthday; she is spending it, along with daughter Ashley, at a courthouse in Delaware where son Hunter’s jury selection has begun. President Biden is not attending as he and the White House have attempted to maintain distance from the Hunter’s legal issues.
The President has stated, “I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” he said, adding that would have no further comment on the case. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
The case against Hunter Biden stems from a period when, by his own public admission, he was addicted to crack. His descent into drugs and alcohol followed the 2015 death of his brother, Beau Biden, from cancer. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars. The Trump appointed judge is Maryellen Noreika.
Biden has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department, after Republicans decried the now-defunct plea deal as special treatment for the Democratic president’s son.
