WILMINGTON, Del. – Hunter Biden was indicted on gun charges on Thursday in federal court in Delaware. The latest development was somewhat expected after plea deal negotiations around tax and gun charges crumbled in July.
Biden failed to disclose on requisite paperwork to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he was using drugs when he purchased a gun five years ago in Wilmington, Delaware, according to charges outlined in Thursday’s indictment, Law&Crime reported.
Under federal law, it is a crime to knowingly make a false statement to the government. The president’s son reportedly came to possess the weapon in 2018. He is also charged with lying to a licensed gun dealer in Delaware and he is alleged to have possessed the firearm while using narcotics, a fact that has been widely exposed as a result of the infamous laptop images littering the internet.
Earlier this summer, Biden was prepared to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges if the federal gun charge of possessing a weapon while being addicted to a controlled substance was dropped. This would have allowed him to avoid jail time with nothing more than probation. The deal evaporated after it was challenged by a judge.
Special Council David Weiss still must decide whether he will charge Biden with any tax crimes. If so, the venue for those charges could be in Washington, D.C., or potentially California, reported Law&Crime.
If convicted, the maximum penalty on all charges is 25 years in prison and fines of approximately $750,000. The incarceration time is highly unlikely for most defendant’s with a similar background, and certainly for the president’s son since preferential treatment has routinely been displayed.
