Hunter Biden on Thursday (July 18) requested a judge to dismiss his tax evasion and illegal gun possession cases, citing a Florida judge’s decision to reject Trump’s confidential document case and claiming that the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate him was also unlawfully made.
The special prosecutors who have charged both Hunter Biden and Trump were appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. In the dismissal of the Trump case, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith, who charged Trump, was unconstitutional, as he was appointed directly by Garland rather than nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, wrote in the motion to dismiss Hunter’s gun possession case: “The Attorney General appointed Special Prosecutors in the Trump and Hunter Biden cases under the exact same authority, and both appointments are invalid for the same reasons.”
The motion requests the court to dismiss the jury verdict from last month, where the jury found Hunter guilty of lying on federal gun purchase forms and illegal gun possession. This marked the first conviction of a sitting president’s son.
Prior to the trial, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected Hunter Biden’s challenge against the special prosecutor, allowing the case to proceed.
Now, Hunter Biden has referenced the recent ruling in the Trump case to make his request again.
In California, Hunter Biden has also filed a similar motion to dismiss his criminal charges. He is accused of submitting false tax returns and evasion in the state and is expected to stand trial in September this year.
However, the identities of special prosecutors Jack Smith, who charged Trump, and David Weiss, who charged Hunter Biden, are not entirely the same.
Smith was hired externally from the Department of Justice, while Weiss was serving as a federal prosecutor in Delaware at the time of his appointment. Nevertheless, Hunter Biden’s lawyers insist that, according to Judge Cannon’s logic, this cannot replace the normal appointment process.
Weiss’s spokesperson stated that they are aware of the documents submitted by Hunter Biden’s legal team and said they will “respond at the appropriate time.”