FILE - Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, speaks during a news conference outside the Capitol, Dec. 13, 2023, in Washington. Hunter Biden is pushing for a delay in his federal gun trial, asking an appeals court to pause the Delaware trial set to begin next month. Defense attorneys argued Monday, May 20, 2024, there isn't an urgent need to start the trial on June 3, shortly before the scheduled start of another trial on tax charges in California.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware. He has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law. The lawyers are also appealing a separate decision from U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejecting a claim that the case violates the Constitution's Second Amendment on firearm ownership.’s son to trial in the midst of the president’s reelection campaign. Hunter Biden is separately charged in the tax case in California that is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in late June.
Under the deal, he would have gotten two years’ probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor tax charges. He also would have avoided prosecution on the gun charge if he stayed out of trouble.