Jury selection starts for Hunter Biden’s trial on gun charges.
Hunter Biden’s highly anticipated criminal trial is set to commence with jury selection on Monday morning in Delaware. This trial originates from federal gun charges levied against him by special counsel David Weiss.
Despite the allegations, Hunter Biden has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the federal gun charges brought against him in the U.S. District Court for Delaware. These charges include making false statements in the purchase of a firearm, making false statements related to information required by a licensed firearm dealer, and possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
If convicted, Hunter Biden could face a maximum of 25 years in prison, along with hefty fines and supervised release periods for each count. The trial’s commencement comes almost a year after presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika raised concerns about a failed plea deal between prosecutors and Hunter Biden.
The aborted agreement, criticized as a favorable deal by some congressional Republicans, seemed to offer broad immunity to President Biden’s son on various potential criminal charges.
An indictment reveals that Hunter Biden purchased a Colt Cobra revolver on October 12, 2018, and made false written statements regarding his substance use to deceive the firearm dealer. Additionally, he is accused of possessing the gun despite being addicted to narcotics during that period.
On the firearm transaction report, Hunter falsely denied being an unlawful user or addicted to any controlled substances, despite being discharged from the Navy in 2014 following a positive cocaine test.
Prior to the trial, Judge Noreika ruled that certain salacious evidence, including references to Hunter Biden’s Navy discharge and child support case, cannot be used by Weiss’s team. Noreika also stipulated that while the prosecution must establish Hunter Biden’s past drug addiction, they do not necessarily need to prove his drug use on the gun purchase day.
Despite these limitations, the special counsel is permitted to incorporate segments of Hunter Biden’s book discussing his substance addiction into the trial. Additionally, parts of Hunter Biden’s controversial laptop might be introduced, although the defense will have the opportunity to challenge aspects of the laptop in the presence of the jury.
Moreover, Noreika barred the mention of Hunter Biden’s pending federal tax trial in California during the Delaware trial. This tax case, part of Weiss’s investigation, concerns allegations of tax evasion totaling $1.4 million, which Hunter Biden has since settled.
While Hunter Biden faces a complex legal battle, his tax trial in California has been postponed to September at the request of his legal team. The trial delay was granted by Judge Mark Scarsi, who rescheduled the proceedings to facilitate Hunter Biden’s defense.
As the courtroom drama unfolds, the nation awaits the outcome of this high-profile case involving the president’s son and the legal challenges he faces.
