Inside Hunter Biden’s federal gun charges case in Delaware

As the judge’s gavel struck in Delaware, Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden became the sitting president’s first child to be criminally charged.

Prosecutors alleged Biden, 54, lied about his drug use on an application when he purchased a handgun in 2018.

Mr. Biden claimed Not guilty of the charges.

Opening statements in the case are expected to begin Tuesday after 12 jurors and four alternates are sworn in on Monday.

If a jury finds him guilty on all three federal charges, Mr. Biden could face up to 25 years in prison.

The trial, which comes as his father campaigns for re-election, will likely see prosecutors delve into graphic details about Biden’s crack cocaine addiction, potentially providing fodder for the president’s political enemies.

President Biden has repeatedly declined to comment on the trial’s case, but said in a statement the morning the trial began that he has “endless love” and “trust” for his son.

“Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he brings to recovery is an inspiration to us,” said Elder Biden.

Here’s what we know about this incident:

Mr. Biden faces three federal charges in connection with the incident. Two counts of making false statements and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

The charges all relate to the purchase of a revolver from a Delaware gun store in October 2018, which he kept for approximately 11 days.

By Mr. Biden’s own admission, he was deep into a “full-blown addiction” to crack cocaine at the time.

The two false statement charges stem from allegations that he lied about drug use on federal regulatory forms when purchasing weapons.

In particular, prosecutors alleged that he falsely claimed that he was “not an illegal user or addict of any stimulant” when he purchased a Colt Cobra Special revolver.

The third charge involves possession of a firearm while an alleged drug user.

The gun was found discarded at a grocery store in Greenville, Delaware, sparking an investigation that ultimately led investigators to return to the form.

To convict Mr. Biden, prosecutors will have to convince jurors that Mr. Biden knowingly made false statements on the form to defraud the store that sold him the handgun.

In addition, it will be necessary to prove that former Vice President Biden was a drug user or addicted to drugs and that he knowingly possessed a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika has already ruled that defense lawyers cannot argue that prosecutors must prove Biden used drugs on the day he purchased the weapons before they can convict him.

Instead, at a pretrial hearing, the judge agreed with the prosecution’s argument that they only need to prove that “the unlawful use has occurred recently enough to indicate that the individual has actively engaged in such conduct.”

In court filings ahead of the start of the trial, prosecutors suggested they would rely in part on highly personal text messages and other communications made while Biden was addicted.

In text messages cited in court documents, Mr. Biden called himself “a liar, a thief, a blamer, a user, I am delusional and an addict unlike every other addict you know.”

Prosecutors are also expected to rely on testimony from witnesses including Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Bull, and Harley Biden, Biden’s former partner and the widow of Biden’s older brother, Beau.

Prosecutors could also point to Biden’s 2021 memoir detailing his experiences as a drug user who “stayed awake 24 hours a day and smoked a cigarette every 15 minutes, seven days a week.”

“All my energy went into smoking dope and preparing to buy it, i.e. feeding the beast,” he wrote in the book.

Mr. Biden himself has remained silent about the trial, but legal documents filed by his lawyers say the focus will be on how much Mr. Biden knew about his addiction at the end of the purchase and the quality of the evidence itself.

His primary attorney, Abbe Lowell, unsuccessfully sought permission from the court to call an expert witness who could testify about the addict’s understanding of the substance abuse problem.

In an interview with the BBC after Biden’s claim of innocence, Drew Stevenson, a professor at South Texas College of Law, said that charges of illegal gun possession usually result in “slam dunk cases.”

“I don’t think there will be such a question. [Mr Biden] You will be found guilty.”

Mr. Biden’s third charge of possession of a firearm while a drug user is considered unusual because it can be difficult to prove that someone is a drug user and possesses a gun.

“It’s really rare for someone to be tracked down and prosecuted for this reason,” Professor Stevenson said. “But this is a high-profile person and members of Congress are calling for him to be prosecuted.”

Among the most prominent evidence in the trial will likely be information about Mr. Biden’s infamous laptop, which has been the focus of intense media speculation and conservative media outlets.

The laptop has also been at the center of unsubstantiated theories linking Biden and his father to corruption, which both men have denied.

Mr. Biden’s lawyers have argued that the computers were tampered with before they ended up in the hands of investigators.

David Weiss, the special prosecutor appointed to oversee the investigation into Hunter Biden, said the tampering claims were a “conspiracy theory” with “no evidence.”

Prosecutors wrote in a May filing that the laptop contained “significant evidence” of Biden’s guilt.

The two false statement charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years, while the third charge carries a maximum penalty of 5 years, meaning Biden could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. am.

However, actual sentences for federal crimes are generally lower than the statutory maximum sentences.

If Mr. Biden is found guilty, the judge in charge of the case will make the final decision on the sentence after considering sentencing guidelines and various other legal factors.

In addition to the gun charges in Delaware, Mr. Biden faces separate federal indictments in California on charges of evading tax assessments, failing to properly file and pay taxes and filing fraudulent tax returns.

Months after a plea deal that would have addressed both charges notably collapsed last year, Mr. Biden also pleaded not guilty on taxation.