- District Judge Maryellen Noreika has refused to throw out a federal gun case against Hunter Biden
- His lawyers had argued that the case was politically motivated and argued that an immunity provision from an original plea deal that fell apart still stands.
- Biden became the first child of a sitting president to be indicted. He faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted on weapons charges
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a federal gun case against the government Hunter Bidenrejecting the president’s son’s claim that he is being persecuted for political purposes and for other reasons.
District Judge Maryellen Noreika’s ruling increases the chance that Biden could be tried in the case as early as June, during his father’s re-election campaign.
His efforts to quash the other criminal case he is facing in California involving tax charges have also failed.
Norieka denied several defense requests to dismiss the case accusing Biden of lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to purchase a gun that he kept for about 11 days.
His lawyers had argued that the case was politically motivated and argued that an immunity provision from an original plea deal that fell apart still stands.
Hunter Biden attends the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 1, 2024
They had also challenged the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware as special prosecutor to lead the prosecution.
Noreika, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, has not yet ruled on a challenge to the constitutionality of the gun charges. Biden has pleaded not guilty.
The president’s son has acknowledged that he was struggling with an addiction to crack cocaine during that period in 2018, but his lawyers say he did not break the law.
The investigation appeared poised to conclude with a settlement last year, but the agreement imploded after a judge raised questions about it.
Under the deal, he would have received a plea deal in which he would have been placed on probation for two years after pleading guilty to tax charges.
He would have done that too avoided prosecution on gun charges if he stayed out of trouble. He was subsequently indicted.
Biden’s lawyers have argued that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to charge him amid heavy criticism of the plea deal from Trump and other Republicans.
Prosecutors have countered that the evidence against him was “overwhelming,” including cocaine residue found in the bag where he kept his gun.
Norieka said in her ruling that Biden’s team provided “nothing concrete” to support the conclusion that anyone actually influenced the special counsel’s team.
The judge wrote: “The pressure campaign by Republicans in Congress may have occurred around the time the Special Counsel decided to proceed with the indictment rather than divert the pretrial, but the Court has been presented with nothing credible to indicate that the behavior of those legislators (or anyone else) had any impact on the special counsel. It’s all speculation.’
The form above shows that Hunter Biden checked “no” when asked if he is “an unlawful user of or addicted to” a controlled substance. But the president’s son describes in his own book that he relapsed in 2018 – the same year he bought the firearm.
Special counsel David Weiss filed the weapons charges in September, when Hunter Biden became the first child of a sitting president to be charged. He faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted on weapons charges.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers had argued that the gun charges should be dismissed for several reasons, including that the law under which Hunter Biden was charged was likely unconstitutional after the U.S. Supreme Court expanded gun rights in a 2022 ruling that provided a tough new test to determine legality of firearm restrictions.
Biden’s legal team had also argued that Weiss was improperly appointed, that Hunter Biden was selectively prosecuted and that he had a binding agreement protecting him from prosecution.
Hunter Biden has also pleaded not guilty to federal tax crimes in a separate case brought by Weiss in California and faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted. That process starts on June 20.
The special counsel accused Hunter Biden of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other expensive items. U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi denied Hunter Biden’s requests to dismiss the tax charges on April 1 in Los Angeles.