Indictment! Hunter Biden allegedly cheated on gun purchase

Washington - The son of US President Joe Biden (80) has been charged with violating gun laws.

In the indictment handed down by a grand jury in the state of Delaware on Thursday, 53-year-old Hunter Biden is accused of briefly possessing a revolver in 2018, even though he was prohibited from doing so as a drug user. He also allegedly made false statements to the arms dealer in order to be able to buy the Colt.

The three-count indictment is likely to hurt President Biden, who wants to run for a second term in the White House next year.

However, it comes as no surprise: the special prosecutor in charge of the case, David Weiss, had already announced last week that he would be seeking an indictment against the president's son later this month.

Hunter Biden had actually admitted to illegal gun possession and tax offenses in June as part of an agreement with the Delaware Attorney General's Office. In return for a guilty plea in both cases, he was only to receive a lenient sentence and would also have been spared a trial.

However, the deal collapsed in July after the judge in charge questioned its content.

Hunter Biden subsequently pleaded not guilty. In August, US Attorney General Merrick Garland (70) then appointed Weiss, the Delaware federal prosecutor who had already been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019, as a special investigator.

He has now brought charges against the 53-year-old for illegal possession of firearms. The tax case in Delaware was closed, but is to be reopened at another location.

Hunter Biden has been a political burden for his father for years - and is likely to remain so with a view to the presidential election in November 2024. The opposition Republicans accuse the 53-year-old of having exploited his father's important position as Barack Obama's Vice President (2009 to 2017) for business deals in Ukraine and China in the past.

On Tuesday, the Chairman of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy (58), ordered "a formal impeachment investigation" against President Biden in connection with his son's business activities. However, it remains to be seen whether impeachment proceedings against Biden will actually take place.

Hunter Biden is a lawyer and worked as a businessman for a long time. He has openly admitted to having sufferedfrom serious drug problems in the past. He has been working as an artist for several years.