By Jack Queen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawyers for Hunter Bidenthe son of the American president Joe Bidensaid Monday that his trial on federal weapons charges earlier this month was prematurely continued and will have to be retried.
Hunter Biden on June 11 became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime after a jury found him guilty on all three counts related to his lies about illegal drug use when he bought a gun in 2018.
Biden’s lawyers said in a court filing Monday that he is entitled to a new trial because a federal appeals court did not give the court a formal green light to proceed after rejecting his appeal.
The president’s son had unsuccessfully argued that the law under which he was charged was unconstitutionally vague and violated his right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
A jury in Wilmington, Delaware, convicted Biden of lying on a background screening form when purchasing a revolver in October 2018 and then illegally possessing the weapon for two weeks.
Biden has denied wrongdoing and his lawyers have said he will appeal the conviction.
(Reporting by Eric Beech and Jack Queen; Editing by Rami Ayyub)
