Hunter Biden has requested the Third Circuit to dismiss his felony firearms-related charges on Wednesday, following a lower court judge's affirmation of the Justice Department's authority to prosecute him.
Joe Biden's son is presently charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and two additional false statement charges stemming from his 2018 gun purchase while under the influence of drugs.
U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware on Friday rejected three separate motions to dismiss the indictment that Hunter’s legal team had previously filed.
In his appeal to the federal circuit court on Wednesday, Hunter contends that those motions were wrongly denied. Specifically, in one motion, he argues that Special Counsel David Weiss, who leads the indictment effort, violated a diversion agreement reached last year, which offered Hunter a chance to evade criminal prosecution.
Noreika, appointed by Donald Trump, rejected Hunter's motion, stating that because the agreement was never signed by Delaware's chief U.S. probation officer, the contract was never formalized.
In a separate motion, Hunter contended that Weiss' appointment as special counsel by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was unlawful, suggesting that Garland was obligated to select someone from outside the Justice Department. Weiss also serves as U.S. Attorney for Delaware. Hunter further alleged that the special counsel's investigation received improper funding.
Noreika, citing precedent for both Weiss' appointment and the source of funding for the special counsel, once again dismissed Biden's motion to dismiss.
In his third motion, Biden argued that his failed plea deal and subsequent indictment were part of a targeted and politically motivated attack against him by Donald Trump, his supporters, and other opponents of the Bidens. Noreika vehemently rejected this assertion, stating in her denial of Biden's motion that even if the Trump administration had targeted him or his father, such actions would be irrelevant to his indictment, which occurred after Trump left office.
Biden's legal team has also requested that Noreika hold a conference to clarify the scheduling of the case.
Read the appeal filing here.
