Hunter Biden indicted on firearms charges

Hunter Biden has been indicted on felony gun charges weeks after a plea deal struck between President Biden’s son and prosecutors fell apart.

Special counsel David Weiss charged the younger Biden with one count of False Statement in Purchase of a Firearm, one count of False Statement Related to Information Required to be Kept By Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person who is an Unlawful User of or Addicted to a Controlled Substance.

The development comes a month after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in the investigation into the president’s son.

Earlier this year, Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor offenses related to his filing of federal income taxes. Federal authorities also charged him with a felony firearm offense, for which he agreed to enter a pretrial diversion agreement that allows him to avoid prosecution. But that deal fell apart in July when the judge in the case said she is not ready to accept the plea deal and demanded that lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal does not convey broad immunity offered to Biden from prosecution on his business dealings.

The White House declined comment on the charges, referring reporters to the Justice Department and Hunter Biden’s personal representatives, and noting that it is an independent investigation.

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