Hunter Biden is expected to appeal his felony conviction for falsifying a federal firearms application, arguing that the judge violated his constitutional rights in her instructions to the jury. Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell has signaled that any appeal would be based on the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 that vastly expanded gun rights. This ruling spawned legal challenges to the part of the federal firearms form at the center of the Biden case which included a question asking buyers about their drug use. Any appeal would be an uphill climb, and the lawyers representing President Biden’s son cannot file one until he is sentenced within 120 days, or about a month after he is scheduled to go on trial on federal tax charges in Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. There is still a possibility that special counsel David Weiss will seek a plea agreement before the tax trial begins, and would have leverage in negotiations now that Biden is already a convicted felon.
On Tuesday, after deliberating for a little more than three hours, a jury convicted Biden of three felony counts related to lying on a federal firearms application and illegally possessing a weapon. Lowell said he would “vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available to Hunter.” President Biden said he would “accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.” That Hunter Biden, 54, would base an appeal on a Supreme Court decision that his father has described as an affront to “common sense and the Constitution” is perhaps the crowning paradox in a case replete with complexities. The Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen paved the way for potential challenges to other gun laws, including those that deny firearms to people addicted to drugs. President Biden said he would not pardon Hunter Biden, but the White House did not rule out the possibility that the president would reduce his son's sentence.