Hunter Biden indicted on firearms charges

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was indicted Thursday on three criminal counts related to firearms possession, according to a court filing.

The indictment in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware comes weeks after an agreement with federal prosecutors unexpectedly collapsed.

Hunter Biden, who has been open about his struggle with substance abuse, is charged with two counts of lying about illegal drug use in connection with the purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver. In the third count, he is charged with possession of a firearm by an illegal drug user.

The two most serious charges carry up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Actual fines are often much lower than the statutory maximum.

“We believe that the agreement prosecutors have with Mr. Biden, several recent federal court rulings that the law is unconstitutional, and the fact that Mr. Biden has not violated the law make these charges unlikely. We believe it will be stopped, and we are going to prove all of that in court,” Hunter Biden’s attorney Abby Rowell said. NBC News.

The White House did not respond to an initial request for comment.

The 53-year-old son of a sitting president appeared in federal court in July with the intention of pleading guilty to misdemeanor tax charges.

His attorneys had reached a separate pretrial diversion agreement with prosecutors on unrelated firearms charges.

But the plan stalled after the presiding judge pressed prosecutors and Mr. Biden’s lawyers for details of the agreement.

Instead of putting his legal problems in the rearview mirror, Hunter Biden ultimately pleaded not guilty at a hearing to charges of failing to pay more than $1.5 million in annual federal taxes in 2017 and 2018. The tax was later repaid. .

Since then, U.S. Attorney David Weiss and Mr. Biden’s lawyers have argued in dueling court filings over the validity of a prior agreement to let Mr. Hunter avoid prosecution on weapons charges.

“We believe in the diversion agreement that was signed and submitted.” [on the gun charge] Rowell said earlier this month that Biden “has been in compliance with the terms of his release under the agreement, including regular visits by his probation officer in recent weeks.” office. “

In early September, Weiss, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as special prosecutor in the Hunter Biden case, indicated that prosecutors intended to file charges by the end of the month.

The charges compound the pressure the Bidens were already facing this week. On Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) urged Republican leaders on the floor to launch an impeachment inquiry centered on allegations that Joe Biden benefited from his son’s overseas business dealings. instructed. Currently in office.

White House officials condemned the move, saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the president and criticizing Mr. McCarthy for launching an investigation without a previously promised House vote.

The indictment was made public just over an hour before the president, who is running for re-election in 2024, was scheduled to give a speech in Maryland touting his economic policies.

Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump, who is grappling with his own extensive criminal case as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

In response to the news of Hunter Biden’s indictment, Trump, who has maintained that the president’s son is receiving special treatment, appeared to distance himself from Weiss.

“Attorney Weiss was appointed by two Democratic senators from Delaware under a blue slip!” Trump I have written In true social.

In a subsequent post, President Trump complained that the firearms charge was “the only crime Hunter Biden committed that Crooked Joe Biden did not participate in.”

This is breaking news. Please check back for the latest information.

— CNBC’s Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.