Attorneys for Hunter Biden filed four motions in a federal court Monday to dismiss gun charges brought against him in Delaware.
Hunter’s lawyers, Abbe Lowell and Bartholomew Dalton, argued the charges brought against the son of President Joe Biden were based on a firearms statute that was recently struck down and labeled as “unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.”
The charges, therefore, should be dismissed based on Hunter Biden’s pre-trial diversion agreement and the terms of his failed guilty plea, along with the appointment of Special Council David Weiss to the case, they said.
“The prosecution charges that Mr. Biden violated a rarely used statute that it claims prevented him from owning a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance,” Lowell and Dalton wrote. “But that statute’s status-based prohibition on gun ownership recently was struck down as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.”
Hunter Biden cites Second Amendment in request dismiss gun charges, calling case "unconstitutional" in court filing https://t.co/KJzDdy5NzK
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“The indictment against Mr. Biden must be dismissed because it violates a Diversion Agreement that is in effect between Mr. Biden and the prosecution,” the attorneys wrote. “In exchange for Mr. Biden giving up various rights-including his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent by agreeing to the Statement of Facts drafted by the prosecution and numerous restrictions on his liberty-the prosecution agreed to provide him immunity for any offense concerning his purchase of a firearm.”
At the end of July, Hunter Biden appeared in a federal court in Delaware and was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and to accept an agreement that would have allowed him to avoid prosecution relating to a gun charge.
The deal fell through after Federal District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned whether the plea agreement would give Hunter Biden immunity from being prosecuted for other crimes.
In August, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in the investigation surrounding the investigation regarding Hunter Biden. Weiss later asked Noreika to dismiss the tax charges filed in Delaware in order for new charges to be filed in either California or Washington, D.C.
On Sept. 14, Hunter Biden was indicted on three firearms charges, two counts of making false statements regarding his history of drug usage and one count of possessing a firearm while on drugs.
In October, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the three firearms charges brought against him.
Most recently, Hunter Biden was slapped with three felonies and six misdemeanor tax charges by Weiss’ team in California.
Hunter Biden’s legal team argued that Weiss’ appointment as special counsel had violated the Department of Justice’s regulations because Congress had not “appropriated funds for the Special Counsel’s investigation or this prosecution.”