President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has been indicted by a special counsel on three felony gun charges, according to court documents unsealed on Thursday. The charges stem from a gun purchase he made in 2018, when he allegedly lied on a federal form about his drug use and addiction.
The indictment comes after a plea deal that Hunter Biden had reached with prosecutors in June fell apart in July, following objections from a federal judge and the collapse of a related tax deal. The plea deal would have allowed him to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses and enter into a pretrial diversion program to avoid prosecution on the gun charge.
The special counsel in charge of the case is David Weiss, a Trump appointee who was retained as the U.S. attorney for Delaware by Attorney General Merrick Garland, due to the sensitive and unique nature of the investigation into a president’s son. Weiss was granted broader authority to pursue charges against Hunter Biden in any district in the country last month.
The gun-related charges are based on a Colt Cobra revolver that Hunter Biden bought at a Delaware gun shop on October 12, 2018. He filled out a federal form, known as ATF Form 4473, in which he answered “no” to the question: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”
According to the indictment, Hunter Biden knew that this statement was false and fictitious, as he was using and addicted to crack cocaine at the time of the purchase. It is a federal crime to lie on the ATF form or to possess a firearm as a drug user or addict.
The indictment charges Hunter Biden with one count of False Statement in Purchase of a Firearm, one count of False Statement Related to Information Required to be Kept By Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person who is an Unlawful User of or Addicted to a Controlled Substance.
Each of the first two counts carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000. The third count carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that the new charges were politically motivated and unwarranted. He said that his client had not violated the law and that the charges were barred by the agreement that prosecutors had made with him earlier. He also said that several federal courts had ruled that the statute under which Hunter Biden was charged was unconstitutional.
Lowell said that he planned to demonstrate all of that in court and that he expected Hunter Biden to be exonerated.
The indictment is likely to add more legal pressure on Hunter Biden, who is also facing potential tax charges in California and Washington, D.C., related to his overseas business dealings. Weiss has indicated that he may bring those charges soon.
The indictment also comes as House Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry against President Biden over his alleged role in his son’s influence-peddling. The White House has dismissed the move as “extreme politics at its worst” and said that “the president hasn’t done anything wrong.”