Fox News contributor and constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley explained on Tuesday that Hunter Biden’s legal team could employ an “interesting” strategy that could put their client at odds with his father’s agenda.
Hunter pleaded not guilty to three felony gun charges in a Delaware court Tuesday, with Turley calling the whole debacle “nightmarish” for President Joe Biden and his family.
Turley then argued that Hunter’s legal team may have made a grave mistake when they reportedly said to rip up the controversial plea deal that fell through in July.
“Once you basically have a deal like this collapse in court and you break off any agreement with the Department of Justice, they tend to go at you full bore. They tend to go for all of the possible charges and we’re already seeing that on the gun side. We may see it on the tax side,” Turley said.
“What do you expect from the Hunter case? Because the Trump case could go into December if not into the new year. But on the Biden case, how long?” Fox’s Bill Hemmer asked Turley. (RELATED: First House Impeachment Inquiry Hearing Lays Out Potential Next Steps Of Biden Investigation)
“Well, the interesting unknown here is whether the Biden team will challenge the underlying federal law. This is a law that Hunter’s father supported and they would have to challenge it on the basis of Supreme Court cases that President Biden opposed, vehemently, from the Supreme Court. So it would be a bit of a reversal of fortunes and that could indeed be their plan. They could be arguing that recent federal cases makes the underlying statute unconstitutional. That would create a rather interesting dynamic for the White House,” Turley said.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2022 in the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen that any gun control laws must be consistent with “historical tradition of firearm regulation.” President Joe Biden opposed the ruling, saying that it should “deeply trouble us all.”
Citing the Bruen case, Hunter’s team may ask the judge to dismiss the possession charge due to the lack of a historical precedent that bars drug users from owning guns.
Hunter pleaded not guilty to three counts related to his Oct. 2018 purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver while allegedly being addicted to crack cocaine, CNN reported. Hunter was indicted in September for two counts related to giving false statements about his drug use and a third count for gun possession while he was a known drug user. Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison for the gun charges if he is convicted.