Hunter Biden, the eldest son, withdrew his request for a new trial on Tuesday after accusing federal prosecutors of “misunderstanding appellate practice” and “not reading” previous court orders.
The 54-year-old man, who was convicted on June 11 of three counts of falsely claiming to be under the influence of drugs to obtain a firearm, filed a request for a new trial on June 24, arguing that Delaware federal judge Maryellen Noreika did not have jurisdiction over the case because an appeals court decision was pending.
But prosecutors from Special Counsel David Weiss’s office noted in their response Monday that the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had already approved Noreika to try his eldest son, a detail overlooked by Hunter and his legal team.
“[W]”When the trial began on June 3, the Third Circuit had already dismissed both of Defendant’s appeals with a stamp of ‘in lieu of order’ and denied his request for new trial,” prosecutor Derek Hines wrote in Monday’s filing, later adding: “Defendant had repeatedly argued before trial that this Court had been deprived of jurisdiction by his appeals, but this is the first time he has concocted this ridiculous story of the mystery of the missing orders. However, both dismissal orders were clearly stamped ‘in lieu of order’ and provide no basis for this Court to reconsider its prior rulings regarding jurisdiction when a non-appealable order is appealed.”
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
