Hunter Biden will plead not guilty to gun costs, lawyer says

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, will plead not guilty throughout his preliminary courtroom look on three federal felony gun costs, his legal professional said Tuesday.

That lawyer, Abbe Lowell, revealed Biden’s meant plea as he requested a federal decide to maintain that courtroom look by video convention as an alternative of in particular person.

Hunter Biden “will waive studying of the indictment, which is merely just a few pages and will simply be learn at a video convention,” Lowell wrote in a two-page letter to Judge Christopher Burke.

“Mr. Biden additionally will enter a plea of not guilty, and there’s no cause why he can’t utter these two phrases by video convention,” Lowell wrote.

Biden, 53, was indicted final week on three prison counts associated to his possession of a firearm whereas being an illegal drug consumer.

Biden, who has been open about his substance abuse struggles, is charged in two of the counts with mendacity about his unlawful drug use in connection together with his buy of a Colt Cobra revolver. The third rely costs him with possession of a firearm by an individual who’s an illegal drug consumer.

Lowell additionally wrote in Tuesday’s letter that Biden was “not searching for any particular therapy.”

Conducting the courtroom listening to through video would “decrease an pointless burden on authorities sources and the disruption to the courthouse and downtown areas” from Secret Service brokers accompanying Biden to courtroom, Lowell argued.

“Without moving into specifics, quite a few brokers and automobiles are required for what would have to be a two-day occasion (for a continuing which may be very quick in length),” the legal professional wrote.

Federal prosecutors oppose Biden’s bid for a digital look, Burke famous in a courtroom order Monday directing them to reply by no later than Wednesday.

Lowell referred to as their opposition “puzzling,” arguing that searching for a video look on this case is a “common sense request.”

Biden in late July had pleaded not guilty to separate misdemeanor costs of failing to pay federal taxes on greater than $1.5 million in annual earnings in 2017 and 2018. He had meant to plead guilty to these costs, however his cope with prosecutors fell aside in courtroom beneath scrutiny from a decide.

Biden was additionally anticipated to enter right into a pretrial diversion settlement on gun-related costs at the moment. After the plea deal on the tax costs collapsed, U.S. Attorney David Weiss stated that the firearm-related diversion settlement had been withdrawn.

Lowell argues that the deal took impact and thus bars Biden from being charged with the gun crimes.

He famous in a courtroom submitting earlier this month that Biden “has been following and will proceed to comply with the circumstances of that Agreement.”