WASHINGTON, D.C. – The District’s law licensing committee for the D.C. Court of Appeals has recommended suspending the law license of Hunter Biden following his recent conviction on felony gun charges in Delaware.
Biden, who has been licensed to practice law in the nation’s capital since 2007 under his full name, Robert H. Biden, was found guilty by a jury in Wilmington, Del., of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application. This decision triggered a standard process in the District for a lawyer convicted of a felony.
The Court of Appeals’ disciplinary counsel sent a letter to Biden and his attorney, Abbe Lowell, informing them that the offenses for which Biden was found guilty constituted a “serious crime” under the D.C. Bar’s licensing rules.
The case drew national attention to Hunter Biden’s past drug use, as the jury concluded that he had falsely denied using or being addicted to illegal drugs at the time he illegally possessed a gun for 11 days in 2018 while addicted to crack cocaine.
According to the letter, Biden has been suspended immediately from practicing law in the District of Columbia pending further investigation into the case. The judges have to accept the recommendation for the suspension to go into effect.
During the trial, Biden’s defense team argued that prosecutors did not provide concrete evidence linking him to drug use at the time of purchasing the gun or while it was in his possession. Prosecutors, however, emphasized to the jury that their duty was to demonstrate that Biden knew he was a drug user and was addicted to drugs at the time of the purchase.
The most severe charge Biden faces carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, but as a first-time offender, he may receive a lighter sentence. The case has brought scrutiny to the forefront of the public eye, shedding light on the consequences of dishonesty and immorality in legal practice.