Hunter Biden, the president’s son, will ask a judge to dismiss his indictment on three federal gun charges, his attorney said Thursday in court records.
A grand jury indicted Biden last month, accusing him of lying about his drug use while buying a Colt Cobra 38 special in October 2018. However, Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a court filing Thursday that Biden believes an earlier agreement reached with prosecutors granted him immunity in connection with the case.
“Mr. Biden maintains that the ‘stand alone,’ ‘bilateral’ Diversion Agreement that both parties signed remains in force, and he will seek to dismiss the Indictment against him pursuant to the immunity provisions of that Agreement,” Lowell wrote.
[ Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to federal tax charges after deal stalls ]
Over the summer, Biden was expected to admit in court that he had a gun for 11 days in October 2018 despite being “an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance” as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. As part of the deal, he would have pleaded guilty to two federal tax charges. However, the deal fell apart in July under the scrutiny of a federal judge.
In a motion filed Wednesday in court, special counsel David Weiss said the “proposed diversion agreement … did not enter into effect” as it was not signed by a judge.
[ Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to federal gun charges ]
“There was, as a result, no effective waiver of indictment,” he wrote.
Prosecutors said Biden lied about his drug use while buying a gun on Oct. 12, 2018. He’s accused of lying on a form and to the gun’s seller. He is also facing a charge for having a firearm while using a controlled substance from Oct. 12, 2018 to Oct. 23, 2018. At the time, he was regularly abusing crack cocaine, The Washington Post reported.