Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden, will become the first child of a sitting president to be charged with a crime upon the striking of a judge’s gavel in Delaware.
The younger Biden, 54, is accused by prosecutors of lying on application paperwork on his drug use when he bought a firearm in 2018.
In a case that will begin on Monday with jury selection, he may be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of the three federal charges.
To the accusations, Mr. Biden has entered a not guilty plea.
Prosecutors are expected to go into graphic detail about Mr. Biden’s crack cocaine addiction during the trial, which coincides with his father’s reelection campaign. This might provide political fodder for those opposed to the president.
What fees are involved?
In this case, Mr. Biden is being charged on three federal counts: one count of illegal gun ownership and two counts of making false statements.
The allegations are all related to the revolver he bought in October 2018 from a gun store in Delaware and maintained for roughly 11 days.
Mr. Biden said that at the time he was suffering from a “full blown addiction” to crack cocaine.
He is accused of lying on a federally mandated paperwork regarding his drug use when he bought the gun, which is the basis for the two false statement charges.
Prosecutors specifically argue that when he bought a Colt, he made up the allegation that he was “not an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant narcotic drug”.
