Hunter Biden bizarrely withdraws demand for new gun crimes trial
Lawyers for Hunter Biden filed, and then quickly deleted, a demand for a new trial after he was found guilty on charges related to lying on a form for purchasing a handgun. Lawyers filed a new motion withdrawing their motion seeking a new trial nearly immediately after the first filing appeared, a Delaware court's website notes. 'The Motion for a New Trial (formerly DI 233) has been deleted at the request of counsel,' according to the 'correcting entry.' The legal confusion comes after the president's son was found guilty of three criminal charges in his blockbuster gun and drugs trial.
After a jury handed down the verdict last week, Hunter Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell (pictured) issued a statement saying 'We are naturally disappointed by today’s verdict' but vowing to 'vigorously' pursue remedies. 'We will continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available to Hunter,' he wrote. Sentencing is expected in the case in September. The since-deleted filing had made arguments on complex procedural grounds. It stated that an appeals court 'has not yet issued its mandate as to the orders dismissing either appeal' related to criminal charges involving the president's son. The filing argued that when the court empaneled a jury on June 3, 'it was without jurisdiction to do so.'
Hunter Biden had been expected to appeal the conviction based in part on recent Second Amendment decisions by higher courts. DailyMail.com has reached out to Lowell for further clarification. A jury in Wilmington, Delaware unanimously convicted Joe Biden ’s son of two counts of lying on a federal government form to buy a gun, and one count of possessing the firearm while abusing drugs. Jurors deliberated for less than three hours after a trial that had lasted over a week.
The swift and historic conviction marks the first time a sitting U.S. president’s child has been found guilty of a federal crime . He could now face up to a maximum of 25 years in jail. President Joe Biden said at a press conference in Italy days afterward that he would not pardon his son, nor would he commute his sentence. He said in a statement immediately after the verdict: 'I am the President, but I am also a Dad. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. 'I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.'
Ironically, the verdict came hours before President Biden was set to give a speech on gun control at the Gun Sense University Conference in Atlanta. During the trial, the jury heard that Hunter bought a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver from a gun store not far from Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware on October 12, 2018. In doing so he was required to fill out a form and checked a box saying he was not a drug user. The prosecution devoted much of the trial to highlighting how Hunter was in fact heavily using crack at the time. Jurors heard from key witness Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter's late brother Beau. Hallie and Hunter had a romantic relationship after Beau's death in 2015.
Hallie told the court she had also taken crack, that she had been with Hunter at times when he bought the drug, and that she was 'ashamed' about her own use of it. Eleven days after Hunter bought the gun Hallie found it in his truck. She 'panicked' and dumped it in a trash can outside a Wilmington grocery store, the court heard. It was then retrieved by a military veteran going through the trash for recyclables and eventually tracked down by the FBI. Jurors also heard from Hunter's former girlfriend Zoe Kestan who said the president's son had been using crack 'every 15 minutes' in 2018.
There were also text messages from Hunter in October 2018 talking about meeting a 'dealer called Mookie' at a 7-Eleven grocery store. He also sent a text message to Hallie saying he had fallen asleep smoking crack on top of a car. Jurors saw images of the president's son bare-chested and disheveled in a filthy room. They also watched video of his crack cocaine weighed on a scale. Hunter did not testify but jurors heard his voice when prosecutors played audio excerpts of his 2021 memoir, 'Beautiful Things,' in which he talks about hitting bottom after the death of his brother, and his descent into drugs before eventually achieving sobriety.
Prosecutors said Hunter was in the throes of crack addiction when he bought the gun and therefore lied when he checked 'no' on the form. Hunter lawyers argued that he did not consider himself an 'addict' when he bought the gun and had been to rehab in Los Angeles two months earlier, in August 2018. Jurors deliberated for one hour yesterday and two hours today before reaching their verdict at 11 am Tuesday. According to 'Juror 10' - who spoke anonymously after the verdict - the jury had been split 6-6 when they left court on Monday night. But they were 11-1 in favor of conviction when they returned on Tuesday morning. Shortly after that they were unanimous.
Juror 10 said he felt 'very sad' about convicting Hunter. He added: 'In deliberating we were not thinking of the sentencing and I really don't think that Hunter belongs in jail. 'No politics came into play and politics was not even spoken about. The first family was not even spoken about. It was all about Hunter.' The juror went on: 'When Hallie testified, I mean, that was for me, that was a very sad time because I did not know that Hallie also got addicted to crack. So I really felt sorry for that.' The judge said that sentencing dates are usually discussed ‘20 days out’ from a conviction. The smiling prosecutors said they had no comment. Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowell confirmed in court that he would be pursuing his challenges to the conviction. These include a Second Amendment challenge, that the charges violate Hunter’s constitutional right to bear arms.
