(CN) — Hunter Biden asked the Third Circuit to dismiss his felony firearms-related charges Wednesday, after a lower court judge resoundingly affirmed the Justice Department's right to try him.
President Joe Biden’s son currently faces one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and two additional false statement charges arising from his purchase of a gun in 2018 while he was using drugs. Hunter Biden’s counsel previously submitted three separate motions to throw out the indictment, each of which were denied on Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware.
In his appeal to the federal circuit court Wednesday, Biden argues those motions were wrongfully denied.
In one motion, Biden argued that Special Counsel David Weiss — who heads the indictment effort — violated a diversion agreement made last year providing the president’s son an opportunity to avoid criminal prosecution.
Biden and Weiss have vastly different understandings of the agreement, which was proposed last summer in a hearing that was eventually scrapped after talks broke down.
Biden has argued the agreement is both valid and active, meaning the courts should dismiss the indictment immediately.
In contrast, Weiss has argued that the agreement is not in effect, and never was.
Noreika, a Donald Trump appointee, concurred with Weiss’ interpretation, denying Biden’s motion. Because the agreement was never signed by Delaware’s chief U.S. probation officer, she said, the contract was never finalized.
“As evidenced by the document itself, probation did not approve,” Noreika said in her ruling.
Biden argued in a separate motion that Weiss’ appointment to special counsel by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was not legal, suggesting that Garland was obligated to tap someone from outside the Justice Department. Weiss concurrently serves as U.S. Attorney for Delaware. Biden also alleged that the special counsel’s investigation was improperly funded.
Noreika, citing precedence for both Weiss’ appointment and the special counsel’s source for funding, again denied Biden’s motion to dismiss.
His third motion posited that his failed plea deal and subsequent indictment were part of a targeted and politically motivated attack against him by Donald Trump, his supporters and “other opponents of the Bidens.”
Noreika strongly rejected this argument, writing in her denial of Biden’s motion that even if the Trump administration ever targeted him or his father, such instances would be irrelevant to his indictment, which occurred after Trump left office.
“The problem with this argument is that the charging decision at issue was made during this administration by Special Counsel Weiss — at a time when the head of the executive branch prosecuting defendant is defendant’s father,” she wrote. “Any claim of vindictive prosecution based on actual vindictiveness must fail.”
In light of the appeals, Biden's counsel has also asked Noreika to hold a conference clarifying the case's scheduling.
Biden also faces nine separate federal tax-related charges, including tax evasion. He has pleaded not guilty to all nine charges, and is scheduled to face trial on June 20.
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