Washington: Special Counsel David Weiss, who has been investigating Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, for five years, has announced that Hunter Biden will face federal firearm charges by the end of September, following a breakdown in his plea deal, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
Weiss initially filed charges against Hunter Biden in June, accusing him of failing to file his tax returns on time for earnings exceeding $1.5 million in 2017 and 2018. Additionally, Biden was found to have possessed a handgun for a brief period in 2018, despite openly admitting to a serious drug problem.
In July, Hunter Biden reached a plea deal with Weiss, agreeing to plead guilty to two minor tax charges. As part of the agreement, he was offered probation, having already paid his owed taxes and penalties. The felony gun charge was to be suspended if Biden completed “pretrial diversion,” often involving counseling or rehabilitation.
However, the deal fell apart during a dramatic hearing on July 26, primarily due to concerns about potential charges related to Hunter Biden’s business dealings in countries like Ukraine and China. These charges included possible violations of lobbying regulations for foreign governments without registering with the Justice Department.
Three weeks after the plea deal collapsed, Weiss dropped the tax charges and indicated that new charges would be filed in other states. On Wednesday, Weiss informed the Delaware court that Hunter Biden would face charges related to the firearm possession, carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
These legal challenges have cast a shadow over Hunter Biden, 53, a Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist, and have become a focal point of criticism from Republicans, who have accused the Justice Department of shielding him. Some Republicans have alleged that Weiss, a Republican appointee, has treated Hunter Biden leniently, though no evidence has been provided to support these claims.
