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Hunter Biden’s lawyers use THIS Donald Trump case to toss criminal charges
![Hunter Biden’s lawyers use THIS Donald Trump case to toss criminal charges Hunter Biden’s lawyers use THIS Donald Trump case to toss criminal charges](https://images.hindustantimes.com/img/2024/07/18/1600x900/US-POLITICS-BIDEN-16_1721344739029_1721344754865.jpg)
Hunter Biden’s legal team is aiming to dismiss two criminal cases against him by leveraging a recent decision that dismissed the classified documents case against former US President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, attorneys for the first son argued that the appointment of special counsel David Weiss to oversee two federal probes into Hunter Biden is “unconstitutional.”
The court filing, submitted by lawyers Abbe Lowell and Bartholomew Dalton in a California federal court, states, “Mr. Biden brings this motion for lack of jurisdiction to challenge as unconstitutional the appointment and subsequent unlawful funding of these cases.”
This argument draws parallels to a recent decision by Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled on Monday that special counsel Jack Smith’s role in prosecuting Trump for allegedly hoarding confidential documents at Mar-a-Lago violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
Legal team for Hunter Biden challenges special counsel’s authority
Hunter’s lawyers claim that the same constitutional argument should be used regarding special counsel David Weiss. Thus, it can be stated that while considering the Smith and Weiss cases, the nature of the appointment is different. They stated that, without the approbation from the United States Congress, Merrick Garland, US Attorney General, appointed Smith, and that is why Judge Cannon disposed of Trump’s case. Garland had nominated Weiss to the Delaware U.S. Attorney post, which had been confirmed by Congress prior to his appointment as the special counsel.
Calling out Smith could potentially cause problems, as US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas pointed out earlier this month in an opinion quoted by Judge Cannon in her ruling, which Hunter’s attorneys cited.
A spokesperson for Weiss’s office told the New York Post, “We are aware of the filing and will respond in due course.”
In September, Weiss indicted Hunter on felony gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, followed by an indictment three months later in Los Angeles on felony tax fraud charges for evading $1.4 million owed to the IRS.
The President’s son was found guilty in the gun case during a June trial and faces up to 25 years in prison, though a sentencing date has not yet been set. The trial for the tax case is scheduled to begin in September.