A federal judge in Delaware declined to dismiss a federal gun case against Hunter Biden on Friday, dismissing his assertion of being targeted for political reasons and other arguments.
Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court rejected defense attempts to halt the prosecution of Biden, reported Politico.
He faces charges of falsifying his drug use in a 2018 gun purchase application to buy a firearm he retained for approximately 11 days.
Biden’s legal team contended the case was politically driven and claimed immunity under an earlier plea deal.
His lawyers also questioned the appointment of special counsel David Weiss, Delaware’s U.S. attorney, to oversee the prosecution, Politico added.
Noreika, appointed by ex-President Trump, hasn’t decided on the constitutionality of the gun charges.
Meanwhile, Biden also faces tax charges in LA, accused of evading $1.4 million in taxes during his drug-use days, in a case the judge declined to dismiss, the report read.
Biden admitted to battling crack cocaine addiction in 2018. His legal team contends he didn’t break the law, arguing political bias in the charges.
Defense lawyer Abbe Lowell has claimed that Biden was unfairly singled out due to political pressure on Weiss, who Biden’s attorneys said succumbed to criticism from Trump and Republicans over the plea deal, Politico stated.
Noreika stated in her ruling that Biden’s team lacked substantial evidence to prove any actual influence on the special counsel’s team.
“The pressure campaign from Congressional Republicans may have occurred around the time that Special Counsel decided to move forward with indictment instead of pretrial diversion, but the Court has been given nothing credible to suggest that the conduct of those lawmakers (or anyone else) had any impact on Special Counsel,” the judge wrote.
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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