Hunter Biden Reverses Course in Gun Trial

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has reversed course in his gun trial, withdrawing his motion for a new trial.

Hunter Biden's attorneys said he was no longer seeking a new trial on his gun charges in a court filing submitted on Tuesday. The president's son was found guilty on all three counts in his gun case last month. The charges stemmed from the purchase of a revolver in 2018, during which prosecutors said Hunter Biden lied about his use and addiction to drugs. He has denied any wrondoing and said he will appeal the verdict.

Hunter Biden had previously argued that Judge Maryellen Noreika, who oversaw his gun case, didn't have jurisdiction over the trial because of the pending rulings in his appeals case. But government prosecutors had argued that his motion was based on a misunderstanding of appellate practices since Third Circuit Court of Appeals had already allowed Noreika to try the case.

Hunter Biden's legal team appeared to address those points in the new document.

"Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 41(b) requires that a mandate 'must issue'
within seven days after certain decisions concerning an appeal have passed, while noting that a Court of Appeals can 'shorten or extend the time [for doing so] by order'," the filing read. "The Third Circuit usually does the same, issuing a mandate after an appeal has been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. However, no mandate was issued by the Third Circuit."

It continued: "Instead, the Clerk of the Court's signature block, not the Order itself, contains 'Certified Order Issued in Lieu of Mandate' language. As it appears that the Third Circuit views issuing a certified order 'in lieu' of a mandate as compliant with Rule 41's procedure for shortening the time for issuance of a mandate, Mr. Biden withdraws his motion."

In his initial motion, his attorneys had wrote, "Here, no mandate was issued during the trial or even now. Consequently, the conviction must be vacated."

Hunter Biden also recently argued in a separate filing that the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Rahimi last month supports their motion for an acquittal or, "at a minimum," a new trial. In Rahimi, the justices upheld a federal ban on firearms for people subject to domestic violence restraining orders.

Hunter Biden's lawyers argued that because he never "terrorized anyone with a gun in public, or anywhere else, or used it dangerously in any way," the president's son should be acquitted.