Hunter Biden is preparing for his first criminal trial, which is set to start Monday, but that federal gun case stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ yearslong investigation is just one of several legal challenges the first son faces.
Biden pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges in U.S. District Court for Delaware after Weiss charged him with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a licensed firearm dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
JUDGE BARS PROSECUTORS FROM USING SOME SALACIOUS EVIDENCE IN HUNTER BIDEN’S GUN TRIAL
With all counts combined, the total maximum prison time for the charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
That trial is set to begin Monday with jury selection.
But Biden is also facing other federal charges.
Hunter Biden, flanked by his attorneys Abbe Lowell, right, and Kevin Morris, leaves the House Oversight and Accountability Committee markup titled “Resolution Recommending That the House of Representatives Find Robert Hunter Biden in Contempt of Congress” in the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Weiss charged the first son in a California federal court on alleged federal tax crimes.
Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges — specifically, three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. Weiss alleged a “four-year scheme” when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.
That criminal trial was scheduled for June 20, but Biden’s attorneys requested to delay the trial.
Judge Mark Scarsi sided with Biden’s attorneys, and moved that tax trial to Sept. 5, when jury selection will begin.
On top of the already-filed charges, Biden is also dealing with allegations of making false statements to Congress.
House Republicans obtained information they say proves “indisputably” that the first son lied under oath multiple times during his congressional deposition earlier this year.
Hunter Biden talks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2023. Biden lashed out at Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting he will only testify before a congressional committee in public. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The House Ways and Means Committee, last month, said Biden lied at least three times during his deposition.
HUNTER BIDEN TAX TRIAL POSTPONED TO SEPTEMBER
After publication, Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell denied in a statement that any of the three examples were lies.
“Here they go again, grasping at straws and twisting Hunter’s testimony to try to revive an impeachment inquiry that was a complete and utter failure,” Lowell said.
But Committee Chairman Jason Smith warned that “lying during sworn testimony is a felony offense that the Department of Justice has prosecuted numerous individuals for in recent years, and the American people expect the same accountability for the son of the President of the United States.”
HOUSE GOP CLAIMS HUNTER BIDEN LIED UNDER OATH MULTIPLE TIMES DURING CONGRESSIONAL DEPOSITION
House Republicans claim Biden mischaracterized his role working for his firm, Rosemont Seneca, and actually controlled bank accounts he claimed in his deposition he did not.
They also said Biden claimed he did not help a foreign national obtain a visa, but the committee says emails between himself and his former associate Devon Archer show that the first son helped a man named Miguel Aleman with visa documents.
Hunter Biden is seen after making a statement during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol about testifying publicly to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The committee also pointed to Biden’s claim that he sent a text to the wrong “Zhao,” due to being under the influence, but WhatsApp records show Biden only spoke with one Zhao — Henry Zhao of Chinese energy firm CEFC.
Biden in the WhatsApp message allegedly told a Chinese business associate from Chinese energy company CEFC that he and his father would ensure “you will regret not following my direction.”
Biden requested the $10 million wire for his joint-venture with CEFC called SinoHawk Holdings.
“I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Biden told Henry Zhao, the director of Chinese asset management firm Harvest Fund Management. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
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Zhao responded, in part, “CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family.”
House Republicans have not yet taken steps to hold the first son accountable for those alleged lies, or taken any formal steps to accuse him of making false statements to Congress.
Biden was deposed before the House Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means Committee earlier this year. Congressional Republicans have been investigating Biden’s overseas business dealings and whether his father, President Biden, personally benefited from those arrangements.
