(UnitedVoice.com) – President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is a recovering drug addict. The younger Biden has spoken extensively about his addictions to alcohol and crack cocaine. He was never arrested for his drug use, but federal authorities later charged him with allegedly committing a felony gun crime. His trial is just days away. A federal appeals court has now shot down his last-ditch effort to get the case thrown out.
Appeals Court Denial
On Tuesday, May 28, the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit denied Hunter Biden’s latest request to have the case thrown out. A week before the verdict, the younger Biden’s legal team argued the three gun felonies should be thrown out because the case violated the Second Amendment.
According to Biden’s team, the charges ran afoul of the Supreme Court’s 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which protected him from lying on the federal form for the background check in 2018. Prosecutors have charged him after he checked a box affirming he was not a drug addict when he bought a pistol. It’s illegal for drug users to own firearms.
Judge Maryellen Noreika previously denied Hunter’s attempt to throw out the case because it violated the Second Amendment. She said the charges were compatible with the high court’s precedent. His defense team had cited a 5th Circuit case that ruled in favor of another drug user. Noreika pointed out that the case was about a person who used marijuana, not crack cocaine.
However, the lower court judge said that Hunter could appeal his conviction on Second Amendment grounds if he was convicted. The appeals court also noted that the president’s son’s argument was premature.
Hunter’s Trial Will Proceed
The first son’s trial for the gun charges is scheduled to begin on June 3. President Joe Biden recently took heat for visiting Hunter’s ex-girlfriend, Hallie Biden, over Memorial Day weekend. She is set to testify in the case against Hunter because she reportedly threw the gun in question away days after Hunter bought it.
The White House denied the president was trying to influence Hallie in any way. They said he visited because the ninth anniversary of his other son’s death was days away, on May 30. Hallie was married to Beau Biden for more than a decade until he died in 2015. The couple had two children together.
Hunter is also facing charges for allegedly committing tax crimes. That trial is going to take place in California in the coming months.
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