Hunter Biden’s firearms case is opening after the jury is chosen
- Hunter Biden is charged with lying about his illegal drug use when buying a handgun in 2018, a felony
- It is a historic first prosecution of a US president’s child – and potential threat to his father’s re-election
Lawyers will make their opening statements on Tuesday in the federal gun case against US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter after a jury was seated for the trial while the first lady watched from the courtroom and the president sent a message of support.
Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction.
He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.
The proceedings come after the collapse of a deal with prosecutors that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department after Republicans decried the now-defunct plea deal as special treatment for the Democratic president’s son.
