Hunter Biden indicted on three federal gun charges

Hunter Biden – the son of the US president Joe Biden, has been criminally charged with three counts of lying when buying a firearm.

The charges come after a proposed plea deal collapsed. 

All three counts relate to Hunter, 53, allegedly lying on forms while buying a gun when he was a drug dealer.

Prosecutors say he falsely claimed he was “not an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant narcotic drug” when he bought a Colt Cobra Special revolver at a Delaware gun store in October 2018. 

At the time, Hunter was a heavy user of crack cocaine. Under US law, it’s a crime to lie on such documentation or possess a firearm while a drug user. 

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. But actual sentences are usually less than the max sentence.