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Democrats are going after President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, 53, after he was charged with three felonies for lying on a gun form about his drug use.
Lawmakers in the president’s own party appear to agree with the explosive accusations leveled Thursday by special counsel David Weiss, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Hunter’s crimes.
The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler (NY), said he thinks Hunter Biden is “disturbed.”
Meanwhile, the top Democratic representative in the House of Representatives, Jaime Raskin (Md.), told reporters that the “rule of law” must be respected in all cases – even when it comes to son of the president.
Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison on three counts of lying about his crack addiction when purchasing a gun. A detailed timeline in his own memoir shows he was a drug user at the time he purchased the gun, even though he claimed on the form that he was not.
Lying on the federal form to purchase a firearm is a federal crime.
Even Democrats say explosive criminal charges against Hunter Biden are justified
Democrats are usually quick to defend Hunter when it comes to matters involving his father. But now, on charges completely unrelated to the president, it appears they are turning their attention on the 53-year-old recovering drug addict.
Left-leaning lawmakers openly agree with Republicans that gun-related criminal charges are justified.
“We should not gloat over the misfortune of others,” Raskin said Thursday on Capitol Hill as news of the indictment broke. “But we have to have the rule of law and when people commit crimes, consequences follow.”
He also said there is a “presumption of innocence” that should apply to both Hunter Biden and former President Donald Trump when it comes to charges against them.
“Hunter Biden may very well have done inappropriate things. He’s a troubled man,” Rep. Nadler added Thursday.
He excused Hunter’s actions, adding, “Almost every president has had problematic family members.” »
In a sensational development, the first son will face court after a Delaware grand jury returned three charges against him, including two counts of making false statements on his firearms forms and one count of possessing a gun while addicted to illegal drugs.
Hunter is indicted on charges related to lying on a firearm report (above) required for his firearm transaction. A photo of the form shows he answered “no” when asked if he was “an illegal user or addict of marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic or other controlled substance.”
The latter is a blow for President Biden who supported his son and is running for re-election in 2024.
Weiss’ decision marks a significant escalation in his investigation of the president’s son for gun and tax crimes, which remains ongoing after Hunter ultimately broke a plea deal with prosecutors.
Earlier this summer, Hunter reached a deal that would allow him to avoid a gun trial if he complied with parole conditions for 24 months.
Republicans in Washington complained that he got a “sweetheart deal” intended to protect President Biden. However, the plea deal collapsed spectacularly in court in July, opening Hunter to new charges.
Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the “diversion agreement” in Hunter’s plea deal – a clause that granted him full immunity for a wide range of other potential charges, including illegal foreign lobbying – which killed the deal.
Weiss’ latest accusations also come the same week that House Republicans opened a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden for his alleged ties to Hunter’s business dealings and are likely to have a long-term impact on his political career.
The maximum prison sentence would be 25 years if Hunter is convicted on all counts, although federal sentences are generally less than the maximum. Hunter could also be fined up to $250,000 and given three years of probation.
Hunter lied about his drug use when he purchased a gun in 2018, according to the indictment.
A photo from Hunter Biden’s laptop showed the first son, now 53, posing naked with a gun.
The first son purchased a .38-caliber Colt Cobra pistol in Delaware, a state that requires any buyer to answer a series of questions before they can get their hands on a gun.
One of the 2018 application asks whether the applicant uses or is addicted to drugs. The box is clearly checked “no”.
Hunter admitted he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time of purchasing the gun.
Video discovered on Hunter’s laptop shows him naked and brandishing a handgun in a hotel room in 2018, apparently five days after he purchased the weapon.
About two weeks later, his lover and brother’s widow, Hallie Biden, found it “unlocked” in his truck and threw it in a grocery store trash can. His discovery sparked a police investigation.
Additionally, now-President Biden appeared on the verge of tears in the voicemail left on Hunter’s abandoned laptop on October 15 – three days after Hunter purchased the gun and lied about his drug addiction – begging him to acquire help.
‘It’s dad. I called to tell you that I love you. I love you more than anyone, buddy,” Joe said in the Oct. 15 post. ‘You need to get help. I know you don’t know what to do, I don’t either.
On July 27, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out President Biden granting Hunter a pardon. But it remains to be seen whether the White House’s position has changed now that Hunter faces the three new criminal charges.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who is leading an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings, responded to the indictment by saying the charges are a “very small beginning “.
“Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear that President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,” he said. he continued.
Democrats usually come to Biden’s defense when it comes to complaints against the president – but now appear to be turning against Hunter since the gun-related charges do not involve his father.
In August, Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Weiss to special counsel status after extensive review.
Garland’s decision to promote Weiss to special counsel came after an IRS whistleblower’s allegations that Hunter received “special treatment” during the criminal investigation.
IRS agents Joe Ziegler and Gary Shapley testified under oath to House Republicans that their investigation into the president’s son “supported felony and misdemeanor tax charges” that were ultimately not brought against Hunter due to political pressure.
Weiss tried to bring criminal charges against him in Washington, D.C., they said, but was blocked by the district’s top federal prosecutor, Matthew Graves, a Biden appointee.
Hunter’s ‘special treatment’ became a pattern that was repeated over and over again, said whistleblowers who were told they would find themselves in a ‘sticky situation’ if they tried to speak out with President Joe Biden’s adult children and grandchildren during their investigation. .
Democrats say President Joe Biden’s son Hunter SHOULD be punished if convicted on gun charges