Hunter Biden seeks new trial on federal gun charges
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Hunter Biden arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 6 in Wilmington, Delaware. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Hunter Biden filed a motion Monday calling for a new trial on the federal gun charges levied against him, just days after his historic conviction.
Why it matters: The president's son is arguing a new trial is warranted due to a "lack of jurisdiction" in the previous trial, which was handled by a federal court in Delaware that found him guilty on all counts.
- Biden's lawyers argued in a separate legal filing that passages in a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding restrictions for individuals under a restraining order for domestic violence to own firearms also lend themselves to an acquittal in the case, or "at a minimum" a new trial.
- Special counsel David Weiss, who brought the charges over Biden's possession of a firearm, has also brought a tax crimes case against him in California set to go to trial in September.
State of play: The legal team argued that Biden had no advanced warning as to what conduct would be considered a felony and therefore was unable to adapt his actions to follow the law.
- The brief also details that Weiss failed to prove he was violent or misused the gun.
- "We do not quarrel with the Special Counsel's claims and statistics that many users of crack are violent and have misused guns, but — while the Special Counsel has extensively chronicled Mr. Biden's conduct over several years of crack use — the Special Counsel has not identified a single time in which Mr. Biden became violent. Not one," the filing reads.
Catch up quick: Biden was accused of illegally purchasing and possessing a firearm in October 2018 while using a narcotic. He pleaded not guilty to charges against him.
- The trial against him — the first ever for a sitting president's son — featured intimate details about the Biden family including testimony from Hunter's former romantic partners.
What we're watching: Biden faces up to 25 years in prison over the three gun charges. Although as a first-time offender, it's unlikely he will receive the maximum sentence.
- A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Go deeper: Hunter's first felony trial becomes Biden v. Biden
Editor's note: This story has been with more information.
