Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, was charged this Thursday with three charges related to the purchase and possession of weapons, which is illegal when it comes to a person with addictions.
The indictment is signed by David Weiss, the federal prosecutor for Delaware, who in mid-August was appointed special prosecutor in charge of these investigations by the Secretary of Justice of the United States, Merrick Garland.
According to the document, on October 12, 2018 or on a date close to that day, Hunter Biden bought a pistol, a .38 caliber Colt Cobra, and lied to the seller by giving him a certificate that stipulated that he was not an illicit consumer. nor addicted to stimulants, narcotics or other controlled substances.
“I knew that this statement was false and fictitious,” notes the document, which also reproaches the president’s son for lied about his addictions in the information that was supposed to be recorded on his federal firearms license (FFL, for its acronym in English).
With a third charge, Hunter Biden is also accused of possessing a firearm knowing it was illegal due to his addictions.
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Joe Biden (left) and Hunter Biden.
Specifically, The certificate that Hunter Biden and other gun buyers have to fill out asks the buyer if he is an “illegal user.” of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic, or any other controlled substance.”
It is also noted that “the use or possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medical or recreational purposes in the state” in which that person resides.
That transaction record makes it clear that the information provided will be used to determine whether Federal or State law prohibits that person from receiving a firearm, or prohibits the person from selling or disposing of it.
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Joe Biden, US president
The Department of Justice indicated in a statement that, If convicted on all three charges, Hunter Biden could receive a maximum of 25 years in prison.
His note adds, however, that the sentences usually handed down for federal crimes are normally lower than the maximum penalty contemplated.
Hunter Biden must appear in court for the formal reading of the charges, but according to CNN, a date has not yet been set. That network indicated that he is currently in California.
The District of Delaware grand jury indictment, signed by Weiss, He does not mention the other crime for which he was also investigated, irregular tax declaration.
At the hearing held on July 27, it was planned that Hunter Biden will plead guilty after reaching an agreement with federal prosecutors, but the deal ended up falling apart after the judge who must hand down the sentence, Maryellen Noreika, nominated by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), expressed doubts about it.
Under that agreement, The president’s son, 53, could have avoided a formal accusation under certain conditions, but after a hearing full of interruptions and changes Hunter Biden decided not to sign the pact and plead not guilty.
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Republicans, led by Trump, have used the investigation against Hunter Biden to sow doubts about his businesses abroad and to describe the president’s family as corrupt.
The investigations against Hunter Biden were opened in 2018 during the mandate of Trump and the conservatives They have relied on them to attack the Democratic president, whom they accuse of having made no effort to carry this investigation to the end.
This Wednesday the leader of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, ordered to open an impeachment investigation against the president, accusing him precisely of taking advantage of his political ties to intervene in his son’s businesses and benefit from them, accusations repeatedly refuted by the White House.
*With EFE
