President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden arrives for a court appearance, in Wilmington, Del, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden appeared in-person in Delaware federal court on Tuesday and, as expected, pleaded not guilty to the gun charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss. U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke then set various conditions of Biden’s pretrial release on his own recognizance.
A minute entry from the proceedings noted that Hunter Biden waived a reading of the indictment at the arraignment and pleaded not guilty to three charges. The magistrate granted Biden pretrial release provided that he abide by several conditions.
Among the standard conditions were orders not to violate the law, to submit a DNA sample if authorized, to appear in court, and to notify the court, pretrial services, or the supervising officer before changing his address or phone number.
In addition, Biden must report for supervision in the Central District of California, must remain employed or “actively seek” employment, must “communicate in writing all international travel plans and provide supporting documentation, if requested” to the District of Delaware and to “the district in which you are residing.”
Biden cannot possess a firearm, destructive device, or other weapon, he cannot use alcohol “at all,” cannot “use or unlawfully possess a narcotic drug or other controlled substance […] unless prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner,” and, if pretrial services requires it, Biden must be tested for drugs and alcohol, potentially with “random frequency.”
“The defendant must not obstruct, attempt to obstruct, or tamper with the efficiency and accuracy of prohibited substance screening or testing,” court documents note.
Finally, if pretrial services direct him to do so, Hunter Biden must participate in “inpatient or outpatient substance abuse therapy and counseling.”
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After high-profile plea deal negotiations on federal tax offenses and a gun charge fell apart over the summer, Attorney General Merrick Garland in August appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel, ramping up the Hunter Biden investigation.
From there, prosecutors signaled that they anticipated indicting Biden before the end of September. Hunter Biden was ultimately indicted in the case on Sept. 14.
The first count alleged that Biden “knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive” a gun company to obtain a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver that he “was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false an fictitious.”
The second count alleged that Biden falsely “certified” to the ATF on “Form 4473” that he was not an unlawful user of or addicted to drugs.
The third count charged that Biden illegally possessed the Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver from Oct. 12, 2018 to Oct. 23, 2018 — for 11 days — while “knowing” that he was an unlawful user of or addicted to drugs.
Hallie Biden on Oct. 23, 2018, tossed the firearm in the garbage behind a grocery store located across the street from a high school in Delaware, but when she and Hunter went back to the scene later to retrieve the gun, it was gone, Politico reported in 2021. The gun was reportedly recovered and turned in days later by a man who had sifted through trash. No state charges were brought.
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