FILE — Hunter Biden walks to board Air Force One at John F. Kennedy International Airport, March 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The bar association of Washington, D.C., this week filed notice of their intent to seek the suspension of Hunter Biden’s law license in the wake of his multiple felony convictions for lying on a gun application.
D.C. Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel and Board on Professional Responsibility asked a court of appeals to mete out punishment to President Joe Biden’s adult son under Rule XI, which requires automatic suspension for any attorney found guilty of a felony.
The rule reads, in relevant part:
Upon the filing with this Court of a certified copy of the record or docket entry demonstrating that an attorney has been found guilty of a serious crime or has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to a charge of serious crime, the Court shall enter an order immediately suspending the attorney, notwithstanding the pendency of an appeal, if any, pending final disposition of a disciplinary proceeding to be commenced promptly by the Board. Upon good cause shown, the Court may set aside such order of suspension when it appears in the interest of justice to do so.
There is currently little information available on the docket in the bar discipline case and no documents have been publicly filed. Hunter Biden, however, is represented by counsel in the matter.
Last week, the younger Biden was found guilty by a jury of his peers on all three counts filed against him by special counsel David Weiss — the quick denouement to a case dating back to 2018.
In a recent interview with ABC News, the 46th president said he would not pardon his son if the jury went on to find him guilty, so if President Biden keeps that promise, Hunter will have to mount a successful appeal in order to obtain a favorable outcome.
Judging by the arguments raised in motions for a judgment of acquittal, an appeal may repeat claims that the charges ran afoul of the Second Amendment and that the evidence was not sufficient to convict.
The first charged count alleged that Biden “knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive” StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply to obtain a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver, averring 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 and 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 by checking the box “no.”
The third count alleged that Biden illegally possessed the revolver from Oct. 12, 2018, to Oct. 23, 2018, while “knowing” that he was an unlawful user of or addicted to drugs.
Jurors heard that Hallie Biden, Beau Biden’s widow and the subsequent girlfriend of Hunter 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. The gun was recovered and turned in days later by a man who had sifted through trash, Politico reported. No state charges were brought, but the federal case against Hunter did eventually come.
The jury also heard from the defendant’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, who reportedly testified about finding drug paraphernalia in Hunter Biden’s car in 2018, not knowing exactly when that year this allegedly took place. Biden ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, CNN additionally reported, testified that she saw Hunter smoking crack the month before he bought the revolver.
The defense maintained that, despite its client’s published crack addiction admissions, the prosecution did not have solid proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Hunter Biden, a trained lawyer, “knowingly” viewed himself as an addict after exiting rehab and buying the revolver at issue by lying.
More Law&Crime coverage: Special counsel’s summary of damning evidence sheds light on why jurors felt convicting Hunter Biden was only option
“While there has been much testimony about the defendant’s abuse of drugs and alcohol, ultimately this case was not just about addiction — a disease that haunts families across the United States, including Hunter Biden’s family,” Weiss said after the verdict. “This case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction.”
Hunter Biden faces a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison, but his sentence will almost certainly significantly lower the maximum penalty because he is not a prior offender and was convicted of nonviolent crimes.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
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