Special counsel David Weiss opposes Hunter Biden’s request to delay his sentencing in a case involving illegal gun possession after Biden’s attorneys filed a motion on Tuesday seeking to push the hearing back by several weeks.
Lawyers for President Joe Biden‘s son cited scheduling conflicts with his other legal case in California as the reason for the requested delay, according to an eight-page motion. The first son recently pleaded guilty to nine tax charges to avoid a Golden State trial that would have dredged up potentially embarrassing testimony from witnesses, including his ex-girlfriends, about his behavior at a time when he was addicted to crack cocaine.
Biden, who was separately convicted in June of lying on a gun purchase application and unlawfully possessing the firearm for 11 days, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13. The first son’s legal team has asked the Delaware judge to move the sentencing hearing to late November or early December to allow more time to prepare presentencing materials.
However, Weiss, through a response filed by senior assistant special counsel Derek Hines, opposed the delay. No specific reasons were given for the opposition.
Defense lawyer Abbe Lowell reasoned that Weiss may believe the first son “should have brought the motion sooner,” but nonetheless said that denying the request to delay sentencing would “jeopardize Mr. Biden’s right to a fair sentencing hearing.”
Biden’s motion also argued that postponing the sentencing would accommodate both counsel and those assisting with presentencing tasks. The request points to a pretrial conference for a civil case on Nov. 12 and a Dec. 16 sentencing hearing for his federal tax case, complicating the availability of his lead trial counsel.
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Former President Donald Trump, who was running against the president before his sudden withdrawal from the campaign this summer, was recently granted a delay of his own sentencing hearing, which was initially scheduled for this week. Trump is now slated to be sentenced over his New York hush money conviction on Nov. 26, after the Nov. 5 election between him and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Hunter Biden’s gun-related charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines, but first-time offenders typically receive less severe sentences. The president has said he will not pardon or commute his son’s sentence.
