Washington: US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was indicted on Thursday on gun-related charges.
The indictment came just days after the Republican-led US House of Representatives announced an impeachment inquiry against President Biden for claiming he was not aware of his son’s business dealings abroad when he was Vice President.
In an earlier setback, a plea deal earlier arrived at by Hunter Biden’s representatives and the federal Department of Justice in relation to a case of late filing of taxes and gun possession, had fallen apart.
The case is being investigated by David Weiss, a Trump-appointed US attorney of Delaware, who was continued in office by President Biden and granted complete autonomy to pursue the case. He has now been re-designated as special counsel.
The indictment was filed Thursday in a federal court in Delaware, the first family’s home state, and charged Hunter Biden with three counts, two of which referred to a claim he made on a federal form that he was not using illegal drugs when he purchased the weapon, a Colt Cobra revolver., in October 2018. The third count alleges he possessed a firearm when he was using narcotics.
The first two charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each and the third 5 years.
These charge have become the spearpoint of Republican attack on President Biden and will be pursued vigorously in the 2024 elections, when he is likely to face, according to current polls, former President Donald Trump, who has been indicted on 91 counts in three separate cases.
The first two of them were pressed by the federal government and are related to his handling of classified documents and for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The third is also about these efforts, but are focussed on his actions, and 18 co—accused in the state of Georgia.
(IANS)
