The Third Circuit Court of Appeals refused to dismiss a federal gun case against hunter bidenrejecting the president’s son’s claim that he is being prosecuted for political reasons.
The decision clears the way for Hunter to face a jury trial in the case on June 3 in Delaware, during his father’s re-election campaign.
The president’s son, 54, has pleaded not guilty to three felonies related to lying about his drug use when purchasing a gun in 2018.
He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted after a trial that could last up to nine days.
His efforts to destroy the other criminal case he faces in California involving tax charges They have also failed.
Hunter’s attorneys have argued that the case was politically motivated and asserted that an immunity provision from an original plea deal that failed remains in place.
Hunter Biden is the first son of a sitting president to be impeached
Hunter faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted of firearms charges
They had also challenged the appointment of Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special prosecutor to lead the prosecution.
“This appeal is dismissed because defendant has not shown that the District Court’s orders are appealable prior to final sentencing,” the three-panel appeals court wrote in the ruling Thursday.
Last month, District Judge Maryellen Noreika also rejected Hunter’s attempt to dismiss the case.
The president’s son acknowledged battling crack addiction during that period in 2018, but his lawyers have said he did not break the law.
The investigation appeared poised to conclude with a plea deal last year, but the deal fell apart after a judge raised questions about it.
Under the agreement, he would have obtained a plea deal in which he would have received two years of probation after pleading guilty to minor tax offenses.
He would also have avoided prosecution on firearm charge If he didn’t get in trouble. He was later charged.
Biden’s lawyers have argued that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to charge him amid strong criticism of the plea deal from Trump and other Republicans.
Prosecutors responded that the evidence against him was “overwhelming,” including cocaine residue found in the bag where he kept his gun.
An image from Hunter Biden’s laptop showed the first son, now 53, posing naked with a firearm.
The president’s son has acknowledged battling crack addiction during that period in 2018, but his lawyers have said he did not break the law.
The form above shows Hunter Biden checked “no” when asked if he is “an unlawful user of or addicted to” a controlled substance. But the president’s son detailed in his own book that he relapsed in 2018, the same year he purchased the firearm.
Special prosecutor David Weiss filed gun charges in September, when Biden became the first son of a sitting president to be indicted. He faces more than 20 years in prison if he is convicted of weapons possession.
Biden’s lawyers argued that the gun charges should be dismissed for several reasons, including that the law under which he was charged was likely unconstitutional after the U.S. Supreme Court expanded gun rights in a ruling in 2022.
His legal team had also argued that Weiss was not properly named, that Biden was being selectively prosecuted and that he had a binding agreement protecting him from prosecution.
Biden also pleaded not guilty to federal tax crimes in a separate case brought by Weiss in California, and faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted. The trial is scheduled to begin June 20.
The special counsel accused Biden of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 and spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other big-ticket items.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi in Los Angeles on April 1 rejected Biden’s motions to dismiss the tax case.
The Justice Department says Hunter faces up to 17 years in prison on tax charges.