Disciplinary authority recommends suspension of Hunter Biden’s law license in DC

A Washington, DC disciplinary office is calling for Hunter Biden’s law license to be suspended after he was convicted last week of federal gun law violations.

The Office of the Disciplinary Counsel, which acts as prosecutor in disciplinary proceedings against members of the Washington Bar, sent a letter to the Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals on Monday proposing Biden’s suspension, citing rules governing the suspension of lawyers following a conviction of a serious crime.

The wording of the ruling provides that the appeals court should order the president’s son to be “immediately suspended from the practice of law in the District of Columbia pending the resolution of this matter” after a jury in Delaware found him guilty of three counts of weapons offenses.

The proposed order, which says Biden has been a member of the Washington DC Bar since 2007, would also direct the Board on Professional Responsibility to “initiate formal proceedings to determine the nature of the offense and whether it involves moral turpitude.”

According to the DC Bar’s rules, any crime is considered an “aggravated crime,” and the court is responsible for entering an order for the attorney’s “immediate suspension,” regardless of any pending appeals, while the board initiates any disciplinary proceedings. However, the court also has the discretion to lift a suspension “if it is in the interest of justice to do so.”

Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Biden, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.

Biden, who pleaded not guilty in the case, was found guilty on all three counts related to possession of a gun he purchased under the influence of drugs in 2018.

Two of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The third charge carries a maximum sentence of five years. Both charges also carry a maximum sentence of $250,000. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Biden has also pleaded not guilty to the tax charges in a trial that is now scheduled to begin on September 5.