A Delaware judge denied a request by Hunter Biden’s lawyers to delay the first son’s federal gun case, setting the stage for the trial next month.
United States District Judge Maryellen Noreika denied the request to push the trial to September; the defense argued it needed more time to line up witnesses and go through evidence handed over by prosecutors.
Noreika said she believes “everyone can get done what needs to get done” by the trial’s start date of June 3.
Biden is facing charges related to a form he filled out in October 2018 in order to buy a firearm — a gun he kept for approximately 11 days — in which he allegedly lied about his drug use. He has pleaded not guilty, maintaining that while he struggled with an addiction to crack cocaine during that period in 2018, he did not break the law.
He’s also facing tax charges in a California case set to go to trial in late June.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, justified the request for a delay by saying the defense is seeking expert testimony, but those who they have approached have been hesitant to testify due to the high-profile nature of the case. Prosecutor Derek Hines rejected the idea that national attention is to blame.
“It’s written in his memoir, he was in active addiction,” Hines said. “I don’t know what expert they can find who will say he wasn’t. I think that’s the issue they’re having.”
Lowell said they weren’t trying to find an expert to deny Biden’s addiction struggles but someone to discuss how someone can recognize through their struggles that they are indeed an addict.
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