White House Dodges Questions on Hunter Biden Gun Purchase – Discussion over Hunter Biden’s 2018 purchase of a pistol from a Wilmington. Del., gun store, despite his admission to having used hard drugs in the year before the purchase, is off limits for the Biden White House.
However, developments, in this case, could force its hand.
“I’m not going to get into a tit-for-tat on this. I’m just not going to,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Friday’s press conference.
In 2018, Hunter Biden purchased a pistol from the gun store and checked he had not used illicit drugs in the prior year on an ATF purchase form. The purchase first caught federal attention after his sister-in-law and then-girlfriend, Hallie Biden, tossed the gun in a trash can at an upscale grocery store they shopped at. The owner found the weapon and alerted the Delaware State Police, which in turn notified the FBI.
Around the same time, Secret Service agents showed up at the gun store requesting to see the form. The gun store owner refused, saying it was an ATF issue.
Delaware U.S. Attorney Considering Gun Charge Against Hunter
Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee, reportedly is considering charging Hunter Biden with a felony gun charge.
However, Hunter Biden’s lawyers plan to invoke a recent gun-rights decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that his father, President Joe Biden, called a “common-sense affront to the Constitution.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that a 1911 New York law requiring those who wish to carry a concealed weapon in public prove a need to do so was unconstitutional.
The irony here is that the legal defense rests on a decision rendered by the president’s nemesis, Justice Clarence Thomas. President Biden, then a senator, was a leading voice against Thomas’ confirmation in 1991.
Hunter Biden’s attorney Chris Clark has argued that the gun charge would be thrown out on appeal due to the Supreme Court precedent, especially following two recent appeals court rulings citing the decision.
Appeals Court Case Considering Firearms Form Challenge
A case pending before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals challenges the criteria used in the federal firearms background check. The challenge relies on the ATF 4473 form that Hunter Biden has been investigated for allegedly lying on.
Federal prosecutions for false statements on the form are relatively rare. Some activists have called for the removal of the question about drug use.
Marijuana Moment, a blog for marijuana users, notes that Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast has cosponsored a bill in conjunction with West Virginia Republican Rep. Alex Mooney seeking to allow cannabis purchasers to purchase and own firearms.
Second Amendment Defense Novel for Hunter Biden
A Second Amendment defense could be novel considering how jurisprudence on firearm ownership has progressed.
“A majority isn’t everybody,” Jeff Welty, a professor at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina who closely tracks gun cases, told Politico. “And given how unsettled the law is in this area, I think anyone charged with a violation of that statute would give serious consideration to raising the Second Amendment as a defense.”
John Rossomando was a senior analyst for Defense Policy and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
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