Hunter Biden’s DC attorney license suspended after gun charges

A jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found President Biden’s 54-year-old son guilty on three counts of lying on a federal gun permit, setting in motion what is considered standard procedure in the District for a lawyer convicted of a serious crime.

The appeals court’s disciplinary attorney sent a letter late Monday to Biden and his attorney Abbe Lowell and informed them that the panel had received copies of the jury’s verdict form and found that the crimes for which Biden was found guilty constituted an “aggravated crime” under the DC Bar’s licensing rules.

The case thrust the family’s darkest moments into the national spotlight and drew attention to Hunter Biden’s past drug use, which the jury found he tried to conceal on the federal gun purchase form. Biden falsely stated he was not using or addicted to illegal drugs at the time and possessed the gun illegally for 11 days in 2018 while addicted to crack cocaine, the jury found.

Calls to Lowell seeking comment were not immediately returned.

According to the letter, Biden was “immediately suspended from practicing law in the District of Columbia” pending further investigation of the case and a determination that it involved dishonesty or immorality within the meaning of the District’s bar admission rules.

During the week-long trial, Biden’s defense attorneys argued that prosecutors had not presented a drug test or other concrete evidence that Biden was under the influence of drugs when he purchased the gun or that he took drugs while he had the gun in his possession. In their closing argument, prosecutors told the jury they did not need to prove those details and that it was their job to show that Biden knew he was taking drugs and was addicted to drugs at the time of the October 2018 purchase.

The most serious charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, but as a first-time offender, Biden is likely to receive a lighter sentence.