Hunter Biden Indicted by Special Counsel on New Charges
President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday by Special Counsel David Weiss on three federal firearms charges.
Documents filed in a federal court in Delaware show the felony counts stem from the younger Biden's drug use when he bought a firearm in October of 2018.
Biden, 53, was charged with one count of False Statement in Purchase of a Firearm, one count of False Statement Related to Information Required to be Kept by Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person who is an Unlawful User of or Addicted to a Controlled Substance.
If convicted, Hunter Biden could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000, according to CBS News.
Weiss was appointed as special prosecutor in the case by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in August after congressional lawmakers raised questions about President Biden's involvement in his son's business dealings. Garland granted Weiss broader authority to conduct a more sweeping investigation across various areas.
Prosecutors have conducted a multi-year investigation into Hunter Biden's business dealings. Now the House of Representatives is digging deeper into Joe Biden's ties to those controversial arrangements, opening an impeachment investigation against the president.
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In July, Hunter Biden's plea deal over tax evasion and a gun charge collapsed after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika raised multiple concerns about the specifics.
Defense attorneys have argued that a part of the deal sparing Hunter Biden's prosecution on the gun count if he stays out of trouble remains in place. It includes immunity provisions against other potential charges. His attorneys indicated they would fight additional charges against him.
Prosecutors, though, maintain the agreement never took effect and is now void.
Weiss has indicated that the charges of failure to pay taxes on time could be filed in Washington or in California, where Biden lives.
Republicans had derided Hunter Biden's plea agreement as a "sweetheart" deal. It would have allowed him to serve probation rather than jail time after pleading guilty to failing to pay taxes in both 2017 and 2018.
His personal income during those two years totaled roughly $4 million, including business and consulting fees from a company he formed with the CEO of a Chinese business conglomerate and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, prosecutors have said.
Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, has been leading the congressional inquiry into Hunter Biden's financial ties and transactions. The Kentucky lawmaker has obtained thousands of pages of financial records from various members of the Biden family through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various financial institutions.
In bombshell testimony, Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, told congressional investigators in August that Hunter used his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to help a family "brand" that engaged with foreign clients who were seeking influence in Washington.
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When announcing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden earlier this week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy cited the president's lying about his son's business as a reason to investigate.
"These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption. And they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives," McCarthy said Tuesday.
While no hard evidence has been revealed so far by the House Oversight Committee, Republicans say it could come out during the inquiry.
