Hunter Biden cites 2nd Amendment in request to dismiss gun charges
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Hunter Biden in Delaware earlier this year. Photo: Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The gun charges against Hunter Biden are "unconstitutional under the Second Amendment" and the case should also be dismissed as a collapseed plea agreement still grants him immunity, his attorney said in federal court filings Monday.
The big picture: Federal prosecutors maintain the plea deal didn't go into effect as the Probation Office didn't approve it, but attorney Abbe Lowell said there's "no provision" for this and that President Biden's son should have "sweeping immunity" from this case and the "recently filed tax charges in California."
- Lowell argued that the investigation into Hunter Biden had been "polluted with politics" since former President Trump appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to the probe. He said the case should also be dismissed because his elevation to special counsel under Attorney General Merrick Garland was unlawful.
- Garland should have appointed someone from outside the government as special counsel as Department of Justice rules required this, according to Lowell's filings to the judge overseeing the case.
What they're saying: "The announcement that this case would be resolved through a Diversion Agreement and a Plea Agreement drew a sharp rebuke from former President Trump (who appointed Mr. Weiss), extremist House Republicans, and the far-right media," per one of the filings, which claimed the special counsel "changed his decision because he buckled under political pressure."
- Lowell also addressed Hunter Biden's indictment that alleges he illegally owned a gun as a drug user and that he lied on a federal firearm purchase form, arguing that recent court rulings meant the charges were unconstitutional.
- "Because persons protected by the Second Amendment can no longer be denied gun ownership due simply to past drug use — a practice inconsistent with this nation's historical tradition on firearm regulation —any false statement by Mr. Biden concerning his status as having used a controlled substance no longer concerns 'any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale' of a firearm," he wrote.
- "Quite simply, asking about Mr. Biden's status as a user of a controlled status is constitutionally irrelevant to whether he can be denied his Second Amendment right to gun ownership."
Zoom out: Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in October to the three charges related to alleged illegal firearm possession.
- Lowell accused Weiss of "bow[ing] to Republican pressure" last week after the DOJ filed nine tax-related charges against Hunter Biden.
What we're watching: Prosecutors have until Jan. 16 to respond to the motions to dismiss the Hunter Biden case.
- Representatives for the DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Go deeper: GOP report repeats allegations of DOJ bias in Hunter Biden probe
