Hunter Biden will attend a status hearing Friday ahead of his trial next month on weapons charges, the first-ever charge against the child of a sitting president.
The trial is expected to begin on June 3 after a federal appeals court rejected Hunter Biden’s request for a delay.
During the hearing, scheduled for noon, Hunter Biden’s attorneys and prosecutors will have the opportunity to discuss what evidence they plan to introduce at trial, as well as the witnesses they plan to call for testimony. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the jury selection process and jury instructions and argue any outstanding motions prior to trial. The hearing is expected to last approximately 90 minutes.
Prosecutors are expected to call Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and his late brother’s widow, Hallie Olivere Biden, to testify.
Judge Maryellen Noreika has yet to rule on outstanding claims from both parties. For example, the government wants to allow parts of Hunter Biden’s book ‘Beautiful Things’ and dozens of Biden’s messages via text and WhatsApp to apparent drug dealers, relatives and friends. Prosecutors also want to rule out claims by Hunter Biden’s defense team that this is a “vindictive and selective prosecution,” or that the prosecution is “somehow attributable to or part of a Russian malign election influence campaign.”
On the other hand, BidenThe attorney’s attorneys want to exclude any reference to his pending tax case in California or his child support proceedings in Arkansas. They want to exclude any reference to Biden’s discharge from the Navy and any statements Biden made during the July 26, 2023, hearing in which the original plea deal collapsed. And they also want to “exclude any reference to his so-called ‘extravagant lifestyle’.”
President Joe Biden’s 54-year-old son was indicted last September on three charges related to possessing a firearm while taking narcotics. He pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors have accused Biden of failing to accurately fill out a form indicating he was not using illegal drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018. Prosecutors also alleged that he possessed a firearm while taking a narcotic.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Wilmington, where he owns a home, Friday afternoon while the hearing takes place, to kick off the holiday weekend.
Biden has faced attacks from the right over his son’s business dealings. The Republican-led impeachment inquiry has not produced any evidence implicating Biden in his son’s legal issues, and the president has denied any wrongdoing.
The president will spend part of his son’s trial abroad next month, but is expected to keep a close eye on developments as a concerned parent, rather than as an incumbent candidate seeking re-election, according to three people familiar with the president’s thinking.
The president’s advisers will monitor the process, watch for any references to him and decide whether to respond in real time.
Hunter Biden is also facing tax bills in California, and on Wednesday a federal judge granted his request to delay the trial from its original date of June 20 to September 5. He also pleaded not guilty in that case.
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware and Trump appointee, led the investigation into Hunter Biden. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August 2023.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
