Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three gun charges after undergoing random drug testing since his July 2023 court hearing in which he tested negative for any substances.
Hunter Biden left the federal courthouse after Judge Christopher Burke released him on several conditions, journalists in the courtroom reported. Those conditions appear to be the same as his July plea deal, including that he does not possess a gun, use alcohol, or digest controlled substances.
Authorities previously fingerprinted and mugshot Hunter Biden in July, CNN reported, but the photo apparently remains concealed due to Justice Department policy.
The president’s son is charged with one count of false statement in the purchase of a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and one count of false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer.
He faces up to 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.
Moving forward, Hunter Biden could stand trial if Special Counsel David Weiss does not offer him a plea deal, as he previously offered him in July when the “sweetheart” deal fell apart under judicial scrutiny. Hunter’s charges could also be dismissed before trial, his lawyers claimed last month.
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“It’s a sharp turnaround from a plea deal that would have had Biden entering a diversion program on the matter and comes as prosecutors mull whether to file charges on the tax crimes also initially covered by the deal,” the Hill reported.
Weiss, nominated by two Democrat senators to his federal prosecutor position, investigated Hunter Biden for five years as a federal prosecutor and permitted statute of limitations to expire on other affairs, IRS whistleblowers allege.
RELATED — IRS Whistleblower: Weiss “Is Not Independent,” and He’ll Give Hunter “Preferential Treatment” Again
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.