Hunter Biden asked a judge on Monday to scrap his recent conviction in a felony gun case and moved for a new trial on the grounds that the federal court in Delaware did not have jurisdiction over his case.
Biden’s trial in Wilmington lasted over a week and ended this month with a jury convicting him of three felonies for lying about his drug use on a federal form to purchase a revolver in 2018.
His attorneys argued in a filing that the court proceeded with the trial despite allegedly not having the authority to do so.
The longshot argument centered on the claim that appeals Biden had filed ahead of his trial with the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals had not been fully addressed. Biden had asked the appellate court to drop his charges before his trial, and the appellate court dismissed his appeals but did not issue “mandates” on their orders, Biden’s defense team argued.
“Thus, when this [district] Court empaneled the jury on June 3, 2024 and proceeded to trial, it was without jurisdiction to do so,” Biden’s attorneys wrote.
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Biden has not been sentenced yet, but sentencing guidelines signal that he could potentially face months in prison. Judge Maryellen Noreika, who presided over the case, has not scheduled his sentencing hearing yet but indicated after the verdict was handed down that it would typically occur about four months post-verdict.
The first son’s lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, said after the verdict that the defense team would “continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available.”
While moving for a new trial is one avenue, Biden’s attorneys have also filed motions seeking an acquittal, and they could also appeal the conviction.