Joe Biden's son, Hunter, a prime target of the American right and political torment of his father, was charged Thursday, September 14 at the federal level with illegal possession of firearms.

Hunter Biden is accused of lying when buying a Colt Cobra in 2018, saying he did not suffer from addictions while he admitted to using drugs at the time. He "knowingly made a false written statement" and found himself in possession of the revolver unlawfully, according to court documents.

After trying at all costs to avoid being brought to justice, Hunter Biden, 53, could find himself on trial in the middle of the electoral campaign for the presidential election next year, in which his father seeks a new term. If convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.

Trump's target

Hunter Biden has been targeted for years by his father's predecessor, Donald Trump, and many other Republicans, who accuse him of corruption and say the Justice Department is trying to cover him up.

His indictment Thursday for illegal possession of a weapon "is the only crime that Hunter Biden has committed that does not involve Joe Biden-the-Crapule," responded Donald Trump on his platform Truth Social, using one of his favorite nicknames for the Democratic president.

On Tuesday, Republicans announced they were launching an impeachment inquiry into President Biden's controversial overseas affairs, accusing the Democrat of fueling a "culture of corruption." The White House denounced this use of the "worst extreme political maneuvers".

More arrangement

The indictments announced Thursday come from a federal grand jury and were issued by David Weiss, who has been investigating Hunter Biden for several years and was recently appointed special counsel.

The son of the Democratic president had reached an initial agreement negotiated with David Weiss in Delaware in June, which would likely have allowed him to avoid jail time and an embarrassing trial for him and his father. But one judge questioned the validity of the arrangement. Then prosecutors - led by David Weiss - confirmed that it was no longer on the agenda.

Hunter Biden constantly returns in the speech of many Republicans about President Biden and his family. Conservative parliamentarians accuse him of having done dubious business in Ukraine and China while Joe Biden was Barack Obama's vice-president (2009-2017), capitalizing on the networks and his father's name.

A former associate of Hunter Biden recently told Congress that Biden had arranged for his father to speak on the phone several times with foreign partners, but without Joe Biden getting involved in his affairs.

Paternal support

"Today's indictments against Hunter Biden are a tiny start, but unless Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in fraud and influence peddling, it will be clear that President Biden's Justice Department is protecting Hunter Biden and the big boss," Republican Congressman James Comer said Thursday on X (ex-Twitter).

The president has always maintained that he stands by his son's side in his personal and judicial setbacks. "My son didn't do anything wrong. I trust him," Biden recently said of Hunter's charges of tax evasion and illegal gun ownership.

"He never abandoned me," Hunter Biden once wrote of his father. "At times, his perseverance put me off. I was trying to disappear into a black hole with alcohol or drugs and then he was there, landing again with his lantern."

Hunter, who has long suffered from drug and alcohol addictions, says he has not taken anything since 2019 following an intervention by his second wife Melissa, with whom he had a son, and his father.

With AFP

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