Hunter Biden plans to plead not guilty to lying about being a drug addict when buying a gun

Hunter Biden plans to plead innocent to federal gun charges, according to a new court filing.

The filing Tuesday also said the president’s son is requesting his first court appearance be made remotely via video conference.

Hunter was charged with three felonies last week after allegedly lying about his crack cocaine addiction when purchasing a gun in 2018.

Since it does not appear that the president’s son has reached a new deal with special counsel David Weiss’ prosecutors, he will face a jury trial, which would be a huge political liability for his father Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election bid. .

Attorney Abbey Lovell said in a letter to Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke on Tuesday that Hunter would plead not guilty to the three charges.

He said Hunter ‘is not looking for any special treatment’ in requesting the remote debut appearance.

‘He has participated and will participate in any proceedings that require his physical presence.’

‘Mister. “Biden will also plead not guilty, and there is no reason why he can’t say those two words via video conference,” the letter added.

‘In short, Mr. Biden is satisfied that conducting his initial appearance by video conference will fulfill his constitutional rights.’

According to the indictment made public last week, Hunter lied about drug use when purchasing a gun in 2018.

First Son purchased the 0.38 Colt Cobra caliber pistol in Delaware, a state where any buyer has to answer a number of questions before getting their hands on the weapon.

A 2018 application asked whether the applicant consumes or is addicted to drugs. The box is clearly checked ‘No’.

Hunter admitted that he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time of purchasing the gun.

Video discovered on Hunter’s laptop computer shows him naked and brandishing a handgun in a hotel room in 2018, five days after purchasing the gun.

About two weeks later, his girlfriend and brother’s widow, Hailey Biden, found it ‘open’ in her truck and tossed it in the trash at a grocery store. Its discovery triggered a police investigation.

Additionally, a voicemail left on Hunter’s discarded laptop on October 15 had current President Biden in tears – three days after Hunter had purchased a gun and lied about his addiction – asking her to get help. Begged for.

‘This is dad. I called you to tell you that I love you. “I love you more than the whole world buddy,” Joe said in the Oct. 15 message. ‘You need to get some help. I know you don’t know what to do, neither do I.’

If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has ruled out President Biden issuing clemency for Hunter.

If Hunter is convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison

Hunter admitted he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time he bought the gun

The White House is not commenting on the new felony charges for the president’s son, and Biden joked last week that he would be in ‘trouble’ if he answered questions from the press at the end of an economics speech.

Earlier this summer, Weiss’s team struck a plea deal that spared the president’s son a prison sentence for an alleged gun crime and two tax misdemeanors.

Republicans immediately criticized it as a ‘sweetheart deal’ designed to protect Joe.

However, the plea deal spectacularly failed in court in July, leading to new charges against Hunter.

Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the ‘diversion agreement’ of Hunter’s plea deal – a clause that would have given him blanket immunity from a wide range of other potential charges, including illegal foreign lobbying – leading to the deal being thrown out.