President Joe Biden‘s son, Hunter Biden, was denied his bid to make a virtual appearance in court over his three felony gun charges.
The Wednesday afternoon order by U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke comes as Biden has been seeking to appear remotely for his arraignment, while prosecutors say he should be treated no differently than other defendants. His arraignment was initially set for Tuesday at 10 a.m., but Burke changed it to Oct. 3 at the same time following an unopposed motion from Hunter Biden.
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“In the end, the Court agrees with both Defendant … and the Government … that Defendant should not receive special treatment in this matter – absent some unusual circumstance, he should be treated just as would any other defendant in our Court. Any other defendant would be required to attend his or her initial appearance in person. So too here,” the magistrate judge wrote.
Special counsel David Weiss filed a response just before Burke’s order on Wednesday, saying the court’s pandemic-related order authorizing virtual proceedings expired back in June 2022. Since then, the defendants’ first court appearances are “almost always held in person,” according to Weiss.
“This defendant should be treated no differently,” Weiss said.
“If ‘convenience’ was a legitimate basis to warrant virtual proceedings, every defendant would ask for them in every case,” Weiss wrote in response to a filing from President Joe Biden’s son on Wednesday, who cited remote courtroom practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and a potentially high-traffic scenario surrounding his arrival at the Wilmington, Delaware, federal courthouse as his reasoning to show up via a remote video feed.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell argued Tuesday that a virtual court appearance would avoid an “unnecessary burden on government resources and the disruption to the courthouse and downtown areas” of Wilmington that would result from his client’s Secret Service protection.
Weiss also said the previous arraignment related to this matter was “anything but routine,” noting “the defendant and his previous attorney were not prepared to answer the Court’s questions” over a proposed plea agreement with prosecutors.
At the late-July proceeding, the expected plea deal between the younger Biden and Weiss’s office on criminal tax charges fell apart under scrutiny from U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika. While she is still the presiding judge, this arraignment will take place before Burke.
“Although the government anticipates this proceeding should be straightforward since the parties have not reached an agreement to resolve this matter, we believe an in-person proceeding may be more conducive to addressing any unforeseen issues that arise,” Weiss wrote.
The first son was indicted last week on three criminal counts related to his possession of a firearm while being an unlawful drug user.
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Hunter Biden, 53, has been open about his substance abuse struggles. He faces two counts of lying about his illegal drug use in connection to a firearm purchase, with a third count accusing him of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful drug user. Lowell indicated on Tuesday that his client plans to plead not guilty to the charges.
Legal experts anticipate the younger Biden could face separate misdemeanor charges over lapsed tax payments stemming from 2017 and 2018.
