By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge dismissed the gun case against Hunter Biden on Tuesday after President Joe Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his son.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika closed the case the week before Hunter Biden was to be sentenced. He could have faced up to 25 years in prison, though as a first-time offender he likely would have gotten far less time or avoided prison entirely.
Prosecutors opposed dismissing the case, arguing in court documents that a pardon shouldn’t wipe away the case “as if it never occurred.” Hunter Biden was convicted on three felonies after he lied on a federal form to purchase a gun in Delaware by saying he wasn’t a drug user in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged being addicted.
The Justice Department special counsel is also opposed to dismissing a case filed in California after he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxe s. A federal judge in Los Angeles hasn’t yet ruled in that case.
The president’s Sunday decision to go back on previous pledges and issue his son a blanket federal pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, drawing criticism from many Democrats as well as Republicans and threatening to cloud Biden’s legacy as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20.
Hunter Biden was originally supposed to strike a plea deal with prosecutors last year that would have spared him prison time, but the agreement fell apart after Noreika questioned unusual aspects of it.