Trial of Joe Biden's son begins – This is the reason

Joe Biden's son Hunter has often been in the news for negative headlines in the past. Now he is facing trial.

A trial against the president's son Hunter Biden for alleged illegal possession of weapons begins on Monday in the US state of Delaware. Joe Biden's son is accused of briefly owning a revolver in 2018, although this was prohibited for him as a drug user. The president's son has pleaded not guilty. This is the first of two trials against Hunter Biden. A trial for alleged tax evasion is to follow in California in September.

The president's son is not only in the crosshairs of the judiciary, but also of the opposition Republicans, who want to harm his father with their comments about Hunter Biden. President Biden wants to run for a second term in the November election. t-online gives an overview of what will happen next.

Hunter Biden is said to have bought a gun in October 2021 by providing false information. In the same year, Hunter Biden had openly reported on his drug addiction in a book. However, this fact would have disqualified him from buying the gun, according to prosecutors.

The lawyer and businessman had previously been investigated for failing to pay income taxes totaling more than $100,000 in 2017 and 2018 on time. Read more about this here.

Initially, the prosecution had announced that it had reached an agreement with Hunter Biden to avoid a trial in both cases. However, this deal fell through at a court hearing in late July 2023. In mid-August, US Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed a special investigator in the case: David Weiss, who had previously investigated Hunter Biden, was given additional powers and pushed the investigation forward.

In addition to the current charges, Hunter Biden is also facing trial for tax evasion. Specifically, the case concerns the years 2016 to mid-October 2020 – shortly before Joe Biden was elected president. During this time, Hunter Biden recorded more than seven million US dollars in income, according to the 56-page indictment, which was published on Thursday evening (local time). However, the accused decided not to pay taxes, but to spend the money on other things: “on drugs, hostesses and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, rare cars, clothing and other things of a personal nature, in short: on everything except his taxes.”

Several charges are listed: failure to pay taxes, tax evasion and filing false tax documents. If convicted, the maximum penalty is 17 years in prison. However, the Justice Department notes that actual penalties for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum.

Hunter Biden's lawyer criticized his client for being treated unfairly because of his father. If Hunter's last name was not Biden, no charges would have been filed, Abbe Lowell said in a statement.

Joe Biden's second son from his first marriage to Neilia Hunter Biden also made negative headlines due to his alcohol addiction and legal disputes with an ex-stripper over child support for an illegitimate child.

The family's reputation was also damaged by a position on the supervisory board of the Ukrainian gas supplier Burisma, which Hunter Biden took over in 2014. Shortly thereafter, Joe Biden, then US Vice President, made corruption allegations against the owner of Burisma.

Hunter Biden subsequently resigned from his position on the board of directors, but Republicans continue to use the case to stir up distrust of Joe Biden. There were no criminal investigations into the matter.

After the charges were brought, the House of Representatives, with a Republican majority, initiated impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden. There was sufficient evidence of abuse of power, cover-up and corruption against Joe Biden to justify further investigations, said then House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy at the time.