A judge announced on Tuesday that Hunter Biden’s federal gun case will proceed to trial next month. The request by lawyers representing the president’s son to postpone the trial was denied.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika denied Hunter Biden’s request to delay the trial in Delaware until September. The defence argued that the delay was needed to prepare witnesses and review evidence provided by prosecutors. The judge stated that she believes that everyone can accomplish what needs to be done by the trial’s start date of June 3.
On Tuesday, a group of three judges from a federal appeals court decided that the tax case against him can continue. The trial is set to take place in California on June 20. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a defence attempt to dismiss the case.
Joe Biden’s son may have to go to trial next month in two criminal cases on different sides of the country while his father is running for reelection.
Hunter Biden is facing accusations in Delaware for allegedly lying about his drug use on a form to purchase a gun in October 2018. He had the gun for approximately 11 days. He said he didn’t do anything wrong and admitted to having a problem with crack cocaine in 2018, but his lawyers claim he didn’t break any laws.
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Special Counsel David Weiss’ team intends to present excerpts from his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” during the gun case trial. In the memoir, Weiss discusses his personal battle with alcoholism and drug abuse after his older brother, Beau, passed away from brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46. This information was mentioned in court documents filed on Tuesday. Hunter Biden has stated that he has not consumed alcohol or drugs since 2019.
During a court hearing in Delaware, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, informed the judge that the defence has had difficulty finding experts willing to testify in the case. Many experts have been hesitant due to the media attention surrounding the case. Prosecutor Derek Hines disagreed with the idea that the media attention was responsible.
“According to his memoir, he was actively addicted,” Hines said. “I don’t know what kind of expert they can find who will say he wasn’t.” I believe that’s the problem they are experiencing.
Lowell explained that he wasn’t looking for an expert to argue against Biden’s addiction struggles. Instead, he wanted to talk about how someone can realise in the present moment that they are struggling with addiction. Hunter Biden did not have to go to the hearing on Tuesday, and he chose not to attend.
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The defence has claimed that prosecutors gave in to pressure from Republicans who alleged that the son of the Democratic president received a favourable deal initially and that he was charged due to political pressure.
However, Noreika, who was chosen by former President Donald Trump to be a judge, recently disagreed with his argument that the prosecution is politically biassed, as well as other attempts to have the case thrown out. Last week, a group of three judges from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the case could proceed to trial. However, Hunter Biden’s lawyer stated on Tuesday that they would still try to appeal the decision.
On Tuesday, his lawyers made another attempt to stop the prosecution by claiming that the special counsel’s funding was not properly approved by Congress. Last month, the judge refused to dismiss the case based on those reasons.
In California, he is facing three serious crimes and six less serious crimes for not paying at least $1.4 million in taxes that he owed from 2016 to 2019. Prosecutors say he used millions of dollars on a fancy lifestyle instead of paying his taxes. The overdue taxes have been paid now.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers asked the 9th Circuit to review the decision made by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, who refused to dismiss the indictment. This happened last month. The three-judge panel of the appeals court did not make a decision on the validity of his claims on Tuesday. However, they stated that the issues cannot be appealed at this time.
Last year, he was supposed to admit guilt to minor tax charges. If he had stayed out of trouble for two years, he would not have been prosecuted for the gun charges. The agreement marked the end of a long investigation by federal prosecutors into the business activities of the president’s son. It would have avoided criminal proceedings and prevented the Bidens from being in the news during the 2024 election.
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