by Katelynn Richardson
Just a few hours south of the Manhattan courthouse where Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team is attempting to secure a guilty verdict in the first criminal trial of a former president, another high-profile trial is slated to begin this summer. That trial could also deliver a seismic verdict ahead of the 2024 election: a felony conviction for President Joe Biden’s son.
For weeks, the Manhattan courthouse has served as the de-facto center of Trump’s campaign as he dispatches daily remarks to press in the hallway ahead of entering the courtroom, where he is required to stay for the duration of the trial proceedings. While Trump’s trial has dominated headlines with salacious witness testimony, a gag order that prevents Trump from responding to political attacks by witnesses and an unclear central charge that has led many to criticize Bragg for bringing the case at all, Hunter Biden will face his own trial on felony gun charges next month.
Multiple advisors to the president anonymously told Politico Wednesday they are worried President Joe Biden will feel weighed down from his son’s trial, noting he has expressed fears his son will go to prison.
“He worries about Hunter every single day, from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep,” an advisor told the outlet. “That will only pick up during a trial.”
The judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s case rejected an attempt by his attorneys on Tuesday to postpone the start date to September. His attorneys told Judge Maryellen Noreika it has been difficult to find expert witnesses willing to testify due to the case’s nature, but she was not persuaded, telling attorney Abbe Lowell she did not need to be his “scheduling secretary,” according to Politico.
Last week, a federal appeals court also tossed Hunter Biden’s bid to dismiss the federal gun charges brought by special counsel David Weiss.
The decisions mean the trial in Wilmington, Delaware, will move ahead on its scheduled start date, June 3.
Hunter Biden was indicted in September on three felony gun charges for allegedly making false statements on a form to purchase a firearm and knowingly possessing the gun while addicted to drugs.
He faces up to 10 years for the first and third offenses in the indictment, and a maximum of five for the second offense.
The indictment came after a deal that would have had him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion agreement for one felony gun charge fell apart under Noreika’s questioning. Noreika took issue with an immunity provision included in the diversion agreement.
Appeals Court Slaps Down Hunter Biden’s Bid To Dismiss Gun Charges https://t.co/2XMfOlL36i
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 9, 2024
Hunter Biden’s attorneys argued the diversion agreement remained valid, claiming it did not depend on the Court’s acceptance of the plea deal. His attorneys also argued he was a victim of “selective and vindictive prosecution” based on his “based on his familial and political affiliation with his father.” Trump recently raised his own selective prosecution argument to argue for the dismissal of his federal classified documents case.
“The charges in this case are not trumped up or because of former President Trump—they are instead a result of the defendant’s own choices and were brought in spite of, not because of, any outside noise made by politicians,” prosecutors argued in response to Hunter Biden’s claim.
Attorneys for the president’s son have also argued the gun charges are unconstitutional, pointing to the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, where the justices held that gun laws must be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition” of firearm regulation.
Noreika declined to dismiss the case on that basis last week.
In April, a federal judge also denied Hunter Biden’s motion to dismiss tax evasion charges levied against him in California by Weiss.
Lowell, meanwhile, suggested Hunter Biden may still seek review of the appeals court ruling denying his bid to dismiss the case.
“In reviewing the panel’s decision, we believe the issues involved are too important and further review of our request is appropriate,” he said last week, according to NBC News. The ruling could be appealed to the Supreme Court or to the full Third Circuit.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Katelynn Richardson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
