This is Hunter Biden’s first appearance before a judge since he was indicted on September 14 on three counts
This Tuesday, Hunter, son of the president of deer Joe Biden, has pleaded not guilty to charges against him for buying a gun in 2018 lying, although he later admitted that he struggled with his crack addiction.
This is the first appearance before a judge of Hunter Biden since he was charged on September 14 with three counts of illegal purchase and possession of firearms, which include maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
The sentence, however, is usually lower for those who, as in this case, have no criminal record.
His appearance, which lasted about half an hour, took place in a federal court in the center of the city of Wilmington (Delaware), which dawned this Tuesday surrounded by reporters, spotlights and television cameras, as well as a strong security device.
Inside the building, a brief court hearing took place where Judge Christopher Burke confirmed that the son of Joe Biden understood his rights and the crimes of which he was accused and then allowed him to plead guilty or not guilty to them.
His lawyers asked him to appear via videoconference to save the cost of traveling the accused with his Secret Service agents from his residence in the state of California to Delaware, on the opposite coast of the country. However, the judge ruled that He was to receive no “special treatment” and was ordered to attend in person.
What is Hunter Biden accused of?
Hunter Biden is accused of having lied on a form he was required to fill out when, in October 2018, he purchased a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver at a store in Wilmington.
Specifically, he was charged with two counts of making false statements, the first for checking a box on the form where he assured he was not a drug addict and the second for providing that information to in the store knowing it was a lie..
The third charge was for possessing the weapon for 11 days, even though he knew he was addicted to drugs. drug.
Hunter Biden, 53, has publicly acknowledged that for decades he has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, which worsened after the death of his brother Beau in 2015 from a brain tumor.
When he bought the gun in 2018, he was plunged into a spiral of depression after divorcing Kathleen Buhle, with whom he had three children and, in addition, He was going through a very difficult time with his crack addiction, as he himself narrates in his memoirs “Beautiful Things” published in 2021.
The charges against Hunter Biden are the result of an investigation that was opened in 2018 during the government of Donald Trump (2017-2021) and that the former president himself, who is now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, was used to -attack on Biden, who is with him. may face each other in the 2024 elections.
The investigation, which has lasted five years, led this year to an agreement between Hunter Biden’s defense and the prosecution team led by prosecutor David Weiss, appointed by Trump, which would have ended the judicial drama.
However, that agreement has now collapsed Hunter Biden is facing a test that will likely take place in the middle of the campaign for the November 2024 election.
During this new judicial phase, Weiss, the Trump-appointed prosecutor who investigated Hunter Biden from the beginning, was appointed special prosecutor for this case by Attorney General Merrick Garland, giving him more great freedom and authority to prepare a report about his research that can be made public during the election campaign.
This litigation is developing like another political fight in Congress.
There, the Republican majority in the Lower House has opened an impeachment inquiry into Biden, who is accused of using his political influence to favor his son Hunter’s foreign businesses, something that has been repeated which was denied by the White House.
