Hunter Biden has asked a federal court to delay proceedings in his felony gun trial, citing constitutional questions related to his connection to illicit drugs in this indictment, violations of his First Amendment rights, and a scheduling conflict with his California tax charge case, according to court papers filed May 20.
Mr. Biden’s latest request with the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Court in Delaware asks for a rehearing before the court’s full panel of 14 judges, claiming that “three new developments have occurred” since his bid was rejected by a panel of three judges in that court on May 9.
“There is no urgency in having an immediate trial of Robert Hunter Biden, but the district court is pressing forward with a June 3, 2024 trial and imposing all the pretrial burdens that come with that even before this Court has issued its mandate returning jurisdiction to the district court,” said the request, filed by the defendant’s attorney, Abbe David Lowell.
The felony indictment against Mr. Biden includes three felony weapons charges from 2018. It states that he purchased and possessed a revolver when he was using illicit drugs.
In court papers, Mr. Biden’s attorneys note he has been sober for five years and has not possessed a gun since 2018. They call this indictment, along with the tax charges indictment against him in California, scheduled for trial in late June, politically motivated.
Mr. Biden’s lawyers are asking the full 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear a bid to dismiss the prosecution.
Previously, the three-judge panel in the same court did not rule on the merits of his claims but said the court didn’t have jurisdiction to review the matter.
In a separate case, the lawyers are appealing a U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika’s decision rejecting a claim that the case violates the Constitution’s Second Amendment on firearm ownership.
In that case, Mr. Biden’s attorneys challenged the appointment of Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel to lead the prosecution.
Prosecutors countered the evidence against him was “overwhelming,” including cocaine residue found in the pouch where he stored his gun. Judge Noreika, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, said that the defense had provided “nothing credible” to suggest that lawmakers or anyone else had any impact on the special counsel, adding: “It is all speculation.”
Mr. Biden’s attorneys are asking the 3rd District Circuit Court to consider that the gun charge and the California tax charge trial, scheduled for June 20, “are back to back.”
“Republican officials have been pressing for the Special Counsel to bring additional charges and to have the trials before the election as a counterpoint to cases pending against Biden’s father’s opponent,” they said in court papers.
The May 20 request also notes that there’s a pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court that calls into question whether criminal weapons charges can be based on whether the defendant is “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any controlled substance, such as marijuana.”
“The risk of instructional error at trial from the district court not being able to predict what the Supreme Court will decide is great,” the request said.
The separate tax counts in Los Angeles allege Mr. Biden failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over three years while living an “extravagant lifestyle,” during his days of using drugs.
He is separately challenging rulings rejecting his motions to dismiss those charges.
