WILMINGTON, Delaware: President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he lied about his drug use while buying a handgun, in the first-ever criminal prosecution of a sitting U.S. president’s child.
Hunter Biden, 53, was charged last month with three counts related to lying on a federal form to acquire a Colt Cobra handgun in 2018 and for being an illegal drug user in possession of the gun.
Biden wore a dark suit and tie during his appearance at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, which lasted 25 minutes. “Yes your honor,” he said after U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke asked how he pleaded. He arrived at the courthouse in a motorcade of six black sedans.
Also read: Here’s everything to know about cases against Donald Trump
Tuesday’s hearing sets the stage for a historic first: The criminal trial of the adult child of a sitting president who is campaigning for reelection.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s attorney, had asked the court to conduct Tuesday’s hearing by video to spare Hunter Biden, the Secret Service agents who protect him and downtown Wilmington the hassles associated with his appearance. Hunter Biden traveled to the hearing from his home in California
Burke had rejected the request, saying defendants are required to appear in person.
In that hearing, an agreement to resolve the gun charges and separate tax charges unraveled when a U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Wilmington refused to accept it.
Under that deal, Hunter Biden had agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax violations and would avoid punishment on the gun charges if for two years he did not possess a firearm and refrained from using illegal drugs and alcohol.
Lowell said he would file a motion to dismiss the case because he believed the agreement remains in effect. Burke said he would have to file by Nov. 3.
