Judge presiding over federal gun case Hunter Biden initially set a court in June criminal charges against the president’s son.
During a planning conference in Delaware, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika on Wednesday, he said he plans to go to trial on June 3.
At the hearing, prosecutors and Biden’s attorneys said the trial would likely last nine days — a day or two for jury selection, three to five days for the prosecution to present its case and a day or two for the defense.
“The actual days and duration of the trial will be determined later,” the court decision read after the meeting.
Biden was indicted in September number three it was related to possession of a weapon while using drugs. Two of the counts accuse him of falsely filling out a form indicating that he did not use illegal drugs when he purchased a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018, and the third alleges that he possessed a firearm while using drugs.
Two of them are punishable by a maximum of 10 years, and the third by a maximum of 5 years.
Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, filed multiple complaints petitions for dismissal the whole thing is still going on.
One potential complication for the June 3 start date is a status conference scheduled for that day federal tax case v. Biden in California. The case is scheduled to go to trial on June 20, and a prosecutor in the office of special counsel David Weiss told Noreika on Wednesday that the California case “could drag on for several weeks” until mid-to-late July.
Noreika suggested the two sides see if the date of the status conference could be changed because Weiss’ office is also investigating the case.
The gun and tax cases against Biden followed a years-long investigation by Delaware US Attorney Weiss, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors and Biden’s attorneys reached a plea deal last July that would resolve both cases. Biden was to plead guilty to failing to pay his taxes in exchange for probation recommended by prosecutors, and a separate misdemeanor charge of illegal possession of a handgun would have been dismissed within two years if Biden had complied with the required terms. known as a diversion agreement.
Contract broke up After Noreika raised questions about some details of the deal, including a provision that could theoretically protect Biden from being charged with other tax-related crimes during the same period.
Biden has pleaded not guilty in the California case, and his attorney has moved to have the charges dismissed.