Hunter Biden attempts to dismiss charges over special counsel after judge tosses Trump's docs case

Lawyers for Biden said the same ruling should be applied to both of his criminal cases, because of the use of a special counsel. However, Special Counsel David Weiss has been confirmed by the Senate as the U.S. Attorney for Delaware.

Published: July 18, 2024 6:32pm

First son Hunter Biden on Thursday sought to have the charges against him in two court cases dismissed because of the special counsel appointment in his cases, after a judge dismissed former President Donald Trump's classified documents case.

Judge Aileen Cannon ruled on Monday that Trump's classified documents case violated the appointments clause of the United States Constitution because of the unlawful appointment of Jack Smith as the case's special counsel. Smith comes from outside of the Justice Department, and was not confirmed by the Senate, which must approve U.S. state attorneys.

Lawyers for Biden said the same ruling should be applied to both of his criminal cases, because of the use of a special counsel. However, special counsel David Weiss has been confirmed by the Senate as the U.S. Attorney for Delaware.

“The Attorney General relied upon the exact same authority to appoint the Special Counsel in both the Trump and Biden matters, and both appointments are invalid for the same reason," Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, wrote in the motion on the federal gun conviction. 

Biden was convicted on federal gun charges last month, and could see some prison time for the crime. The charges included lying on a federal gun purchase form about his drug use and illegally possessing a firearm.

Biden is also facing charges in California for allegedly filing false tax returns and tax evasion, and is attempting to dismiss these charges on the same grounds.

“The President and Senate may agree that one person should be nominated for a particular position, but that does not mean that they would agree that the nominee should be confirmed to any position,” Hunter Biden’s attorneys wrote in his California case, according to The Hill.

“The Special Counsel will no doubt try to avoid the ramifications of the recent court opinions by complaining that Mr. Biden should have brought this motion sooner ... This is not a fair criticism" he continued. “In any event, it does not deprive Mr. Biden of the right to dismiss an unauthorized prosecution and it does not prevent this court from correcting a miscarriage of justice.” 

A special counsel was also appointed to investigate President Joe Biden for his own classified documents case, but no criminal charges were ever brought against him.

Smith has appealed Cannon's dismissal of the classified documents case.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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