Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden (D), will face gun charges in federal court after an appeals court recently threw out his attempt to have them dismissed. The trial is set to begin the week of June 3.
“The defendant’s Second Amendment defense does not implicate a right not to be tried that can be collaterally appealed,” the three-judge panel said. “Constitutional defenses, like the defendant’s Second Amendment defense, can be effectively reviewed on appeal after final judgment.”
The panel consisted of Judges Thomas Hardiman, nominated by George W. Bush; Cheryl Ann Krause, nominated by Barack Obama; and Arianna J. Freeman, nominated by Joe Biden.
The younger Biden’s legal team argued that “[t]he chilling effect on Second Amendment rights caused by both this prosecution and the district court order may persist long after this case is resolved on the merits.”
The president’s son is charged with making false statements on a federal form when purchasing a firearm in 2018; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a licensed firearm dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
“On or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver with serial number RA 551363 … knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm … in that the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, provided a written statement on Form 4473 certifying he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious,” reads the indictment against him.
At the time of the 2018 firearm purchase, Hunter Biden filled out a Form 4473 which asks, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” A “yes” answer disqualifies a person from being able to purchase a firearm. By his own admission in his 2021 book, Beautiful Things, Hunter Biden was almost certainly an addict at the time of the purchase.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
When questioned about his son’s alleged wrongdoing in 2022, President Joe Biden said, “He came along and said, by the way, this thing about a gun—I didn’t know anything about it. But turns out that when he made [an] application to purchase a gun, what happened was he say—I guess you get asked, I don’t guess, you get asked a question, are you on drugs or do you use drugs? He said no. And he wrote about saying no in his book. … And I’m just so proud of him.”
It is still unclear if Hunter Biden’s defense team will try to use the Second Amendment to question the constitutionality of the drug question on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Form 4473, but that was floated as a defense last year.
America’s 1st Freedom will keep you updated on all future developments.
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