Hunter Biden Drops Bid to Redo Trial After Conviction on Gun Charges

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:27 pm

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has given up his bid to overturn his criminal conviction on a trio of charges for obtaining a firearm as a prohibited person.

A federal jury found the president’s son guilty on June 11 of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer and making false statements on a federal firearm purchase form stating he was not a user of unlawful narcotics at the time of his purchase, and for possessing that firearm as a prohibited person.

Biden filed a motion on June 26, seeking to throw out his conviction and get a new trial. His legal team had argued the judge overseeing his case, District Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for Delaware, lacked the jurisdiction to try the case while the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals was still deliberating his efforts to appeal the prosecution.

In a Monday, June 8, court filing, prosecutors argued that the Appeals Court had already determined the trial could proceed while they considered Hunter Biden’s appeal. Prosecutor Derek Hines, said Hunter Biden’s motion was “meritless” and “based on his apparent misunderstanding of appellate practice.”

The appeals court has already rejected two of Biden’s efforts to dismiss the gun charges.

On Tuesday, Hunter Biden’s attorneys withdrew the request for a new trial.

The president’s son currently faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on the three charges. Still, he is unlikely to face the maximum sentence because he is a first-time offender. Depending on certain mitigating factors, Hunter Biden could potentially avoid prison time altogether.

Judge Noreika has yet to set a sentencing date in the case.

In a June 6 interview with ABC News, President Biden indicated he would not pardon his son and would instead accept the jury verdict in the case.

Hunter Biden faces a separate criminal prosecution in California for tax evasion. He faces three felony and six misdemeanor counts.