The judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s gun charge case in Delaware has denied a request to issue subpoenas to Donald Trump and others in his administration.
In September, following the collapse of a summertime plea deal, Hunter Biden was indicted on three charges related to false statements in the October 2018 purchase of a firearm due to allegedly making a false and fictitious written statement about his drug use when purchasing the gun. The plea deal would have led to President Joe Biden’s son pleading guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to pay federal tax while avoiding prosecution on the felony firearms charge.
Last month, Hunter Biden’s legal team filed a motion requesting that the ex-president and his father’s potential 2024 rival should be issued a subpoena for documents purported to prove political motivation in the younger Biden’s case—an argument Trump has made countless times throughout his own legal battles.
The legal team also requested subpoenas for documents spanning seven years and involving former Attorney General William Barr, former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue.
On Monday, Special Counsel David Weiss of the Delaware District Court wrote in his 32-page legal rebuttal that Hunter Biden “misunderstands the difference between pretrial arguments to dismiss an indictment and trial defenses,” adding that “it is black-letter law that claims of vindictive and selective prosecution are not trial defenses and may only be brought and litigated pretrial.”
“Not only does [the] defendant’s motion fail to identify any actual evidence of bias, vindictiveness, or discriminatory intent on the Special Counsel’s part, his arguments ignore an inconvenient truth: No charges were brought against [the] defendant during the prior administration when the subpoena recipients actually held office in the Executive Branch,” Weiss wrote.
The documents requested by Hunter Biden’s attorneys in relation to Trump and other ex-DOJ officials included:
- All documents or records reflecting communications between the recipients “discussing any formal or informal investigation or prosecution of Hunter Biden.”
- All documents or records reflecting communications about Hunter Biden between the recipients and any other “government official or staff person.”
- Any personal records, such as journals or notes, related to Hunter Biden.
- Any documents produced for the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol mentioning Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the gun-related charges.
Newsweek reached out to Hunter Biden’s legal team via email for comment.
Mark Makela/Getty Images
Weiss, a Trump-appointed judge, added that each Hunter Biden-related gun charge will be brought during the current administration in which his father is president. Attorney General Merrick Garland personally appointed Weiss as special counsel earlier this year.
Weiss also wrote that Hunter Biden “has not shown, nor can he, how external statements by political opponents of President Biden improperly pressured him, his Attorney General, or the Special Counsel to pursue charges against the President’s son.”
“[Hunter Biden’s] allegations and subpoena requests focus on likely inadmissible, far-reaching, and non-specific categories of documents concerning the actions and motives of individuals who did not make the relevant prosecutorial decision in his case,” Weiss concluded, ultimately referring to the requests as “untenable.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.