Hunter Biden to plead not guilty to gun charge
Hunter Biden will plead not guilty to a federal firearms charge following the collapse of a plea deal.
Lawyers for President Joe Biden’s son confirmed their intention in a letter to the judge while also asking for the initial court appearance to be held remotely.
The 53-year-old was indicted last week for possessing a gun while being a crack cocaine user and lying on a form to buy the weapon.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
He is asking to enter the plea remotely via video conference, saying that would avoid the costs of Secret Service protection as he travels from his home in California to Delaware, as well as logistical challenges in Wilmington.
Prosecutors are expected to oppose that request.
Biden has also been under investigation for his business dealings, and the special counsel has indicated that tax charges could be filed at some point in Washington or in California.
Earlier this week Biden sued the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), claiming that two agents wrongly shared his personal information.
The agents “targeted and sought to embarrass Mr Biden” with the sharing of confidential tax information in press interviews and testimony before Congress, the suit said.
His lawyers argue that whistleblower protections do not apply, but a lawyer for one agent said any confidential information released came under whistleblower authorisation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Hunter Biden indicted on gun charges
Read more:
US president could face impeachment inquiry over family business dealings
The suit says the IRS has not done enough to halt the airing of his personal information. It seeks to “force compliance with federal tax and privacy laws” and damages of $1,000 dollars (£807) for “each and every unauthorised disclosure of his tax return information”.
The various investigations into Hunter Biden date back several years. He had been expected to strike a deal with prosecutors over the summer that included guilty pleas to misdemeanour charges of failing to pay his taxes on time.
But that deal imploded during a July court hearing.
Mr Biden’s defence lawyers have indicated they plan to fight the charges and the case could be on track toward a possible high-stakes trial.
The lawsuit marks the latest legal pushback from Mr Biden as a long-running federal investigation into him unfolds against a political backdrop.
That includes an impeachment inquiry aimed at his father seeking to tie him to his son’s business dealings.
Dozens of supporters were outside court as the man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare made his first appearance.
Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder following the 4 December killing of Brian Thompson, 50, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
The 26-year-old is accused of ambushing and shooting the executive as he walked to an investor conference.
Luigi Mangione supporters stand outside the Supreme Court. Pic: AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah
Dozens of people who showed up in court to support the suspect including former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning who was jailed for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Dozens more queued in the hallway.
Mangione is also facing federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty.
The judge set a deadline of 9 April to submit pre-trial motions.
Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson. Pic: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP
In addition to the New York cases, Mr Mangione also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.
Police say he was in possession of a gun, bullets, multiple fake IDs and a handwritten document that expressed “ill will” towards corporate America.
He is being held in a Brooklyn jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following.
A poll taken in the wake of the shooting showed most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials were partly to blame for the incident.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have not “done anything” to end the Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump has said.
He called the French president a “friend of mine” and the UK leader a “nice guy” but said Russia had only agreed to negotiate “because of me”.
Mr Trump made the comments days before both leaders visit the White House for a meeting in which they must try to press Ukraine‘s case while keeping the US leader onside.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron in Paris: Pic: Number 10/Flickr
The president also continued his criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he had “no cards” to play.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it,” he told a Fox radio show.
The comments come after he recently called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections” – apparently in response to Mr Zelenskyy saying his US counterpart was living in a “disinformation space” after Mr Trump claimed Ukraine had started the war.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
US and Russia hold talks in Saudi Arabia
Ukraine was also excluded from talks between the top US and Russian diplomats in Riyadh earlier this week.
They were intended to set the stage for future negotiations on ending the war, which started when Russia launched a full-scale invasion three years ago.
Speaking on Friday evening, Mr Trump denied speculation he could visit Moscow for talks on 9 May – the day Russia celebrates its victory over the Nazis.
President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also told reporters the Russian and Ukrainian leaders needed to “work together” to end the war.
However, the US has already dealt a huge blow to Kyiv’s position in any future talks.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that a return to pre-war borders was “unrealistic” and ruled out NATO membership as way to guarantee Kyiv’s security.
Read more:
Sombre Starmer and Europe confront emerging new world order
Trump’s direction of travel doesn’t look good for Ukraine
President Zelenskyy has insisted he will not accept any deal that his country is not involved in.
Ukraine’s leader held talks with US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday, describing it later as a “good discussion”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Has Musk taken a chainsaw to US politics?
Mr Kellogg struck a markedly different tone to President Trump when he called Mr Zelenskyy the “courageous leader of a nation at war”.
However, there are concerns over how much influence Mr Kellogg has, with a Ukrainian source saying there was a sense he had been sidelined.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway