Hunter Biden faces impending legal trouble after collapse of plea deal

Wilmington, Delaware - President Joe Biden's son Hunter will be charged before the end of September with a federal firearm offense after his plea deal went sour, Special counsel David Weiss said Wednesday in a court filing.

Hunter Biden (r.), President Joe Biden's son, will be charged with a gun offense by the end of September.
Hunter Biden (r.), President Joe Biden's son, will be charged with a gun offense by the end of September.  © Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The prosecutor, who has investigated the president's son for five years, said a grand jury would issue its indictment in the case before September 29.

According to the original Weiss charges filed in June, Biden failed to file his tax returns on time for earnings of more than $1.5 million for 2017 and 2018.

He also bought and kept a handgun for a few weeks in 2018 even though he had, as he has openly admitted, a serious drug problem.

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In a deal reached with Weiss in late July, Biden agreed to plea guilty to two minor tax charges.

In exchange, he was offered probation, as he had already paid what he owed the government along with penalties.

Weiss also agreed to suspend the felony gun charge if Biden completed "pretrial diversion," which often involves counseling or rehabilitation.

Hunter Biden's rocky road to prosecution

Hunter Biden initially agreed to plead guilty to felony gun and tax charges in a deal with prosecutors that was then dramatically scrapped.
Hunter Biden initially agreed to plead guilty to felony gun and tax charges in a deal with prosecutors that was then dramatically scrapped.  © Credit RYAN COLLERD / AFP

But in a dramatic July 26 hearing, the deal collapsed over the issue of whether Biden would have been immune from any other charges also investigated by Weiss, including possible crimes related to his business dealings in Ukraine, China, and elsewhere.

The judge mentioned the possibility that Biden could be charged for having acted as a lobbyist for foreign governments without registering with the Justice Department.

Three weeks later, after the deal collapsed, Weiss dropped the tax charges and indicated in a court filing that new charges would be brought in other states.

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And on Wednesday he told the Delaware court that Biden would be charged in the gun case, which could bring up to 10 years in prison.

The legal troubles of Biden, a 53-year-old Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist, have cast a shadow over his father's reelection campaign.

Without offering any evidence, Republicans have accused Biden's Justice Department of protecting his son and have accused Weiss, a Republican appointee, of going easy on Hunter.

Cover photo: Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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