Hunter Biden has petitioned a federal judge on Wednesday for the authority to issue subpoenas to former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and two other Justice Department officials as he contests criminal charges related to gun possession.
Facing three federal weapons counts following the breakdown of a plea deal in July aimed at resolving tax and gun charges, Biden’s legal team aims to investigate whether the extensive 2018 inquiry, initiated during the Trump administration, was influenced by political motives, according to the request submitted by Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell.
“Mr. Biden seeks specific information from three former DOJ officials and the former President that goes to the heart of his defense that this is, possibly, a vindictive or selective prosecution arising from an unrelenting pressure campaign beginning in the last administration, in violation of Mr. Biden’s Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution,” Lowell stated in the request to U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika.
The investigation into Hunter Biden has been a subject of political controversy for years, with Congressional Republicans criticizing the leniency of the plea deal under President Joe Biden. Lowell’s recent filing questions whether Trump sought to influence the case.
In addition to Trump and Barr, Lowell has asked the court to subpoena former Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue. The request is to obtain documents and materials by December 1 to assist in preparing Biden’s defense.
The filing points to Donoghue’s coordination with prosecutors in New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware during his tenure under Barr and Rosen. It also references Barr’s assertion in his latest book that he refused to discuss Hunter Biden with Trump in October 2020.
Lowell’s filing cites notes from a December 27, 2020 call where Trump instructed Justice Department officials to “figure out what to do with H[unter] Biden,” indicating a perceived need for a real investigation. Lowell argues that these communications suggest improper and unrelenting pressure on the DOJ by Trump.
The indictment against Hunter Biden alleges that he knowingly deceived a firearms dealer when purchasing a revolver in 2018. He is charged with falsifying a federal firearms form and knowingly possessing the weapon despite restrictions against individuals addicted to drugs owning firearms. Biden has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment followed the collapse of a plea deal on tax and gun charges. Although the tax charges could still be refiled, Noreika rejected the deal due to disputes about its protection from potential future charges. Lowell contends that the change in the prosecution’s stance appears to be politically motivated rather than stemming from new discoveries in the investigation.
Also read :
US House Passes Temporary Spending Bill to Avert Shutdown: Bipartisan Support Prevails