Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, has been indicted on a series of federal gun charges.
The three federal counts handed down by special counsel David Weiss in the state of Delaware federal court are tied to the younger Biden's possession of a gun while using narcotics.
The first is related to Biden allegedly completing a form indicating that he was not using illegal drugs when he purchased a revolver in October 2018.
"The defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, in connection with the acquisition of a firearm ... knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm," according to one count of the indictment.
Count two alleges that Biden knowingly made a false statement "that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious."
The third alleges that he “did knowingly possess a firearm, a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver ... said firearm having been shipped and transported in interstate commerce."
Ten-year jail term
Two of the counts carry a maximum sentence of ten years, while the third carries five years.
The historic indictment against the son of a sitting president comes after a plea deal with Biden on tax and gun charges fell apart in July amid a probe of his finances by Republicans in the House of Representatives, who launched an impeachment inquiry seeking bank records and other financial documents from the president and his son.
The charges read out on Thursday are unlikely to be the last. According to ABC News, Weiss withdrew two misdemeanor tax charges in Delaware with the intention of filing them in California and Washington DC – places where the alleged misconduct occurred.
No timeline has yet been given for the possibility of filing those additional charges.
