On Wednesday, Special Counsel David Weiss dropped a gun charge count against Hunter Biden as a “procedural step.”
This move removed an allegation that he had broken a law prohibiting drug users from owning guns when he bought one in 2018, during a period of addiction struggles.
The president’s son is now facing three-count indictment focused on the same purchase, which includes both gun possession and false statement charges.
So far, no new charges have been filed by Weiss regarding taxes or anything else.
It appeared at first that Hunter Biden would avoid prosecution on the gun charge if he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax violations.
This arrangement was known as the “diversion agreement” which would allow him to plead guilty while wiping away the felony gun violation from his record.
However, after a judge raised questions about it in July hearing, this deal fell through and the new indictment was filed weeks later.
His lawyers wrote in an August court filing that Weiss’s decision to “renege on the previously agreed-upon plea agreement” is still binding and valid.
In short, Hunter Biden’s legal situation appears to be quite complex right now with no clear resolution yet in sight.
From the Associated Press:
The procedural step removes a charge alleging he broke a law against drug users having guns when he bought a gun in 2018, during a period he has acknowledged struggling with addiction.
The president’s son is now facing a three-count indictment focused on the same purchase that includes both gun possession and false statement charges. No new tax counts have yet been filed by special counsel David Weiss, who is overseeing the case.
Hunter Biden had been expected to avoid prosecution on the gun charge and plead guilty to misdemeanor tax counts in an agreement with prosecutors. But the deal collapsed after a judge raised questions about it in a July hearing and the new indictment was filed weeks later.
