BITE THE BULLET
Hunter Biden’s law license suspended as he fights for new trial after conviction for lying about drug use to buy gun
Hunter's legal team has requested a new trial regarding the conviction
HUNTER Biden's Washington DC law license has been revoked just two weeks after he was convicted on federal gun charges.
The ruling was handed down by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
3
3
3
Chief Judge Anna Blackburn-Rigsby penned the order, which was first obtained by Politico.
“The respondent is suspended immediately from the practice of law in the District of Columbia pending resolution of this matter," the order read.
It went on to explain that the DC Bar's Board of Professional Responsibility has been directed to conduct a formal proceeding to determine if the suspension will be permanent.
Specifically, the board will look into the nature of the conviction and "whether it involved moral turpitude" according to DC law.
Read More on Hunter Biden
The decision comes days after the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates and prosecutes complaints of misconduct against attorneys licensed by the DC Bar, proposed the suspension,
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel pointed to rules governing members of the DC Bar, according to NBC News.
The rules note that if an attorney has been found guilty of a serious crime, including any felony, the court may enter an order to immediately suspend the attorney.
However, the court may also waive any order of suspension "when it appears in the interest of justice to do so."
Most read in The US Sun
Hunter 54, has been a member of the DC Bar since 2007.
He graduated from Yale Law School in 1996 and later became a partner at a law and lobbying firm in 2001, according to CNN.
Hunter Biden found guilty in gun trial after explosive testimony about his drug use from his ex-wife and sister-in-law
There was no announcement of how long the suspension might last.
DC Bar regulations state that in "more serious cases" of members violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, attorneys may see suspensions of up to three years or disbarment.
If an attorney is disbarred, they may apply to be reinstated after five years.
On June 11, Hunter was convicted by a jury on three charges related to purchasing and possessing a gun while using drugs.
A sentencing date for the president's son has not yet been scheduled.
Hunter Biden's next steps
Hunter Biden was found guilty on all counts in his gun trial and is now facing 25 years in prison.
After three hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Hunter, 54, on all charges on Tuesday.
Judge Maryellen Noreika didn't schedule a sentencing date, however, federal guidelines offer a glimpse into what may be on the horizon for the President's son.
Guidelines call for a sentence of 15 to 21 months for Hunter with experts saying that defendants typically get shorter sentences and are less likely to be incarcerated if they comply with the rules of pretrial release.
Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowell said he is pursuing legal to overturn his conviction.
The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in May that Hunter has to wait until after the verdict to appeal several rulings made by Noreika to dismiss the charges.
Meanwhile, Hunter's trial in Los Angeles, California, on nine tax charges has been scheduled for September 5.
He is accused of allegedly failing to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed taxes from 2016 to 2019 and of evading tax assessment in 2018 when he filed bogus returns, according to an indictment.
He faces a maximum fine of $250,000 for each charge and up to 25 years in prison.
On Monday, Hunter's legal team requested a new trial over the charges claiming the Delaware federal Judge Maryellen Noreika, who oversaw the trial, had no jurisdiction.
In the filing, obtained by the New York Post, the attorneys pointed to decisions made by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year that rejected Hunter's appeals in the case.
At the time, the appellate court said they couldn't rule until there was a verdict.
Hunter's legal team claimed that this caused a delay in issuing a mandate to officially send the case back to Noreika, according to the New York Post.
Read More on The US Sun
“Here, no mandate was issued during the trial or even now, and the Special Counsel did not move the Third Circuit for an expedited mandate after it ruled,” the filing read.