Joe Biden's son Hunter indicted on federal gun charges

14 September 2023, 19:18 | Updated: 14 September 2023, 19:20

Hunter Biden has been indicted on three charges of lying when buying a firearm.

Mr Biden is accused of not telling the truth about his drug use on forms he had to fill in to buy a gun in 2018.

This is the first time the child of a sitting president has been indicted. The development comes after a plea bargain fell apart.

It comes as his father Joe Biden is facing an impeachment inquiry, with Republicans accusing him of corruption.

Republicans have narrow control of Congress, so are political opponents of Mr Biden.

The indictment alleges Hunter Biden lied on a form when he bought a Colt Cobra Special at a shop in Delaware in October 2018.

He is accused of wrongly ticking a box saying he was not a user of or addicted to drugs. He is also accused of illegally possessing the gun as a drug user.

The younger Biden has been the target of congressional investigations since Republicans gained control of the House in January, with politicians obtaining thousands of pages of financial records from various members of the Biden family through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various financial institutions.

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While Republicans have sought to connect Hunter Biden's financial affairs directly to his father, they have failed to produce evidence that the president directly participated in his son's work, though he sometimes had dinner with Hunter Biden's clients or said hello to them on calls.

In recent months, Republicans have also shifted their focus to delving into the justice department's investigation of Hunter Biden after whistleblower testimony claimed he has received special treatment throughout the years-long case.

Hunter Biden was charged in June with two misdemeanour crimes of failure to pay more than 100,000 dollars (£80,000) in taxes from more than 1.5 million dollars (£1.2 million) in income in both 2017 and 2018.

He had been expected to plead guilty in July, after he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation.

The case fell apart during the hearing after Ms Noreika, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics of the deal and her role in the proceedings.

Joe Biden will face an impeachment inquiry after Republicans said they found evidence of the president's "corruption".

Republican Congress leader Kevin McCarthy said: "I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

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"Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct—a culture of corruption."

The Republican have accused Mr Biden of profiting from his son Hunter's foreign business dealings, while he served as vice president from 2009 to 2017. They have not yet given evidence of this.