Hunter Biden’s attorneys are dropping their request for a new trial in his federal gun case nearly a month after he was convicted on three felony charges.
Biden’s legal team withdrew its motion for a new trial on Tuesday a day after the Justice Department argued his claim that a Delaware federal court lacked jurisdiction had no merit and reflected a misunderstanding of appellate court procedure.
“Referencing the procedure used by the Clerk of the Third Circuit explained in the Special Counsel’s opposition, Mr. Biden withdraws his Rule 33 motion for a new trial based on the absence of a mandate,” Biden’s attorneys said in a court filing.
Biden’s attorneys based their motion on claims that the Third Circuit’s dismissal orders were not paired with mandates, even though the appellate panel issued them in lieu of a mandate. Before the gun trial began, Biden’s legal team asked an appellate court to consider multiple motions for dismissal after they were rejected by the Delaware district court.
“While the defendant repeatedly insisted before trial that his appeals divested this Court of jurisdiction, this is the first time he has spun this laughable tale of the mystery of the missing mandates. But both dismissal orders are plainly stamped ‘Issued in Lieu of Mandate’ and provide no basis for this Court to reconsider its earlier rulings with respect to jurisdiction when non-appealable orders are appealed,” federal prosecutors argued in court papers filed on Monday.
Hunter Biden was convicted last month on three federal gun charges for lying on gun paperwork about his crack-cocaine use and subsequently possessing a firearm while being addicted to crack. His sentencing is set to take place later this year, and he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison. As a first-time, non-violent offender, Biden’s sentence will likely be significantly lower than the maximum.
Special counsel David Weiss’s team of prosecutors put forward “overwhelming evidence” at the gun trial to show Hunter Biden’s crack cocaine addiction around the time of the gun purchase and subsequent possession. The prosecution featured witness testimony, bank records, texts, photos, videos, memoir excerpts, and other exhibits against Hunter Biden.
In September, Hunter Biden is set to stand trial again on nine federal tax charges for allegedly failing to pay over $1.4 million of taxes over a four-year period. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and earlier this year, a judge rejected his attorneys’ motions to dismiss them.
President Joe Biden, Hunter’s father, has said he will not pardon his son or commute his sentence. In the meantime, Hunter is closely advising his father through the crisis of confidence among Democrats worried about the president’s age and mental fitness following his disastrous debate performance.