Special counsel indicts Hunter Biden

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has been indicted by special counsel David Weiss in connection with a gun he purchased in 2018, the first time in US history the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president.

The three charges include making false statements on a federal firearms form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.

Here's what to know:

What led up to the indictment: Weiss has been leading the Hunter Biden investigation since late 2018. The probe appeared to be winding down in June when Weiss announced a two-pronged agreement under which Biden would plead guilty to two federal tax misdemeanors, and enter into a “diversion agreement” where the gun charge would be dropped in two years if he passed regular drug tests and stayed out of legal trouble.

But at a court hearing in July, the deals collapsed under scrutiny from the federal judge overseeing the case. Weiss was granted special counsel privileges in August.

Gun was purchased in 2018: Hunter Biden’s gun-related legal troubles relate to a firearm he purchased in October 2018 and possessed for about 11 days. While buying a revolver at a Delaware gun shop, he lied on a federal form when he swore that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs. Prosecutors allege he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase.

These are the charges: The three-count indictment was handed up Thursday by a federal grand jury in Delaware, according to court filings.

What Hunter Biden's lawyers are saying: His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, blasted the indictment as politically motivated. “As expected, prosecutors filed charges today that they deemed were not warranted just six weeks ago following a five-year investigation into this case,” Lowell said in a statement. 

What could happen next: Hunter Biden is currently in California, a source familiar told CNN, adding that any plan for a self-surrender or initial appearance, including the date and location, still needs to be worked out. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000, according to court filings.

In addition to the gun case, Weiss is still weighing whether to charge Biden with tax crimes. He said in a court filing last month that “a trial is now in order” on the tax offenses and that he “may bring tax charges” possibly in California or Washington, DC.

Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell said that the indictment brought against his client Thursday “violates the agreement the government made with Hunter Biden,” a reference to a deal he reached with prosecutors this summer, which later collapsed.

Biden was charged Thursday with three federal counts including making false statements on a federal firearms form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person. Prosecutors allege the president's son lied on a federal form when he swore that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs when he purchased a firearm in October 2018 – even though he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase. 

"The constitutionality of these charges are very much in doubt,” Lowell said, referencing an August ruling by an appeals court covering three southern states that declared the statute unconstitutional. 

The attorney also slammed special counsel David Weiss, who investigated these allegations for several years, for bowing to Republican politicians who have “been pressuring this US attorney to do something to vindicate their political position.”

Lowell said he was not in a position to be “working with the White House” in regard to the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry over whether President Joe Biden was involved in his son’s business deals. But he said “Hunter did not share his business with his dad” and “did not share money from his businesses with his dad.” 

“This is an impeachment first, find a reason second,” Lowell added.  

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday called the indictment of Hunter Biden a “sad situation.” 

Trump has been indicted four times and is facing 91 criminal charges over four separate cases against him.

Democrats and Republicans are largely reacting along partisan lines to the indictment Thursday of Hunter Biden.

The son of the US president is charged with three crimes — two counts for alleged false statements he made while purchasing the gun and a third count for possessing the gun while addicted to drugs.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he has not yet had time to look at the Hunter Biden indictment, telling reporters, “I haven’t read it. Don’t know."

Rep. Dan Goldman compared the reaction to Biden's indictment to that of former President Donald Trump's.

Rep. Andy Biggs claimed the Department of Justice is trying to "protect" Hunter Biden following the gun charges.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, a Republican, called the indictment "a very small start."

Rep. Adam Schiff, former House Intelligence Committee chairman, told CNN's Manu Raju that the public should let the Justice Department do its work. 

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz dismissed the indictment by comparing it to charging serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer with a minor crime.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said he plans to fight the gun charges brought against his client by special counsel David Weiss on Thursday.

He issued the following statement after the indictment:

Federal prosecutors charged Hunter Biden with three crimes — two counts for alleged false statements he made while purchasing the gun and a third count for possessing the gun while addicted to drugs.

Hunter Biden’s gun-related legal troubles relate to a firearm he purchased in October 2018. While buying a Colt Cobra revolver at Delaware gun shop, he lied on a federal form when he swore that he was not using, and was not addicted to, any illegal drugs – even though he was struggling with crack cocaine addiction at the time of the purchase.

It’s a federal crime to lie on that ATF form or to possess a firearm as a drug user. Hunter Biden possessed the gun for about 11 days in 2018. Prosecutors have previously said the statute of limitations for some of these offenses is set to expire in October.

Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell previously said that the earlier deal with prosecutors in the gun case “prevents any additional charges from being filed” and that his client “has been abiding by the conditions of release under that agreement.” 

Prosecutors say that deal never went into force.

Special counsel David Weiss has been leading the Hunter Biden investigation since late 2018. Over the years, his team investigated potential felony tax evasion, illegal foreign lobbying, money laundering and other matters, largely tied to Hunter Biden’s overseas business deals.

In addition to the gun case, Weiss is still weighing whether to charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes. He said in a court filing last month that “a trial is now in order” on the tax offenses ad that he “may bring tax charges” possibly in California or Washington, DC.

Special counsel David Weiss is back in the limelight after announcing Thursday that he is indicting Hunter Biden on gun charges.

The Donald Trump-appointed US attorney was named special counsel last month in the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, and he has decades of experience as a federal prosecutor.

The appointment marked another dramatic development in the long-running probe into Hunter Biden, which began in 2018 and, at one time, concerned multiple financial and business activities in foreign countries dating to when Joe Biden was vice president.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the move stemmed from Weiss’ request to be elevated to special counsel – which now gives him more powers than a typical US attorney – and due to the “extraordinary circumstances” of this case and “public interest.”

In 2018, the Senate confirmed Weiss to serve as US attorney for the District of Delaware. At the time of his nomination, he was serving as the acting US attorney for the district and was one of nine candidates whom Trump said shared his “vision for ‘Making America Safe Again.’”

The Philadelphia native is a member of the Delaware and Pennsylvania bars.

A Washington University in St. Louis and Widener University School of Law graduate, Weiss began his career in law in 1984 as a clerk to Justice Andrew D. Christie of the Delaware Supreme Court, according to his Justice Department biography.

Following his clerkship, Weiss prosecuted violent crimes and white-collar offenses as an assistant US attorney before joining the firm Duane Morris, where he was a commercial litigation associate and eventually became a partner. He later served as chief operating officer and senior vice president at The Siegfried Group, a financial services firm, according to his biography.

He served as the first assistant US attorney starting in 2007.

Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden continued into the Biden administration, prompting Garland to stress during a March Senate committee hearing that he would not interfere with the investigation. Weiss, he reiterated at the time, had “full authority” to carry out the investigation and to bring in another jurisdiction if necessary.

Read more about the special counsel.

Justice Department prosecutors may have some challenges in court if the gun case against Hunter Biden does go to trial, according to Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst.

“I certainly, if I were making history, would not want to make it with this set of facts and these laws,” she said referring to the first time the Department of Justice has charged the son of a sitting president.

Hunter Biden’s defense team has several good arguments, she said, and additionally, gun laws could be on shaky constitutional grounds.

Federal prosecutors charged the president’s son with three crimes — two counts for alleged false statements he made while purchasing the gun and a third count for possessing the gun while addicted to drugs.

Most recently, an appeals court covering three southern states ruled in August that one of the gun possession laws Hunter Biden is charged with is unconstitutional and violates the Second Amendment.

Rodgers said the section that covers an addict being in possession of a weapon is rarely charged because many similar gun statutes are “not indisputable.”

Additionally, oftentimes prosecutors will use discretion and not bring these kinds of charges if the person no longer has a gun or is using drugs, Rodgers said. All of these various factors, plus the likelihood that Hunter Biden won't want to "roll the dice either" on going to trial, means that there is “always a possibility that a deal could be struck,” she said.

“If you had someone who's clearly not dangerous, assuming he stays clean and doesn't possess a gun, that's what we should all want,” Rodgers said. “Hopefully they can work out some sort of deal here that will stop short of actually going to trial on this.”

When the DOJ appointed David Weiss as special counsel over the summer, many leading Republicans criticized his appointment, saying he couldn’t trusted to handle the Hunter Biden investigation.

Their concerns were largely based on claims that his probe was politicized and was giving special treatment to Hunter Biden because of political considerations – which Weiss denies.

Many of these same Republicans have called on Hunter Biden to be indicted, which is exactly what Weiss did today.

Here’s what some top Republicans said when Weiss was appointed in August: