Hunter Biden has been suspended from practicing law in Washington, D.C., after his federal conviction for lying on a gun application five years ago while abusing drugs.
In a Tuesday order, the District of Columbia Courts of Appeals ruled that Biden’s conviction earlier this month on “serious crimes” should result in an immediate suspension “pending resolution of this matter.” The order added that the “Board of Professional Responsibility is directed to institute a formal proceeding to determine the nature of the offense and whether it involves moral turpitude” to result in his exclusion from the D.C. bar.
Biden, 54, was found guilty earlier this month of knowingly lying on an October 2018 federal firearms application when asked whether he was addicted to drugs. The president’s son on Tuesday filed an official request for a new trial, arguing that his conviction “should be vacated” because the trial started before a circuit court issued a mandate denying his former appeal.
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The technical argument does not dispute the merits of the prosecution’s case but argues a procedure blunder that should mean the trial court that convicted him did not have jurisdiction over his case. A sentencing date has not yet been set, but Biden faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000.
Biden’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The suspension is the latest legal hit against Biden, who was admitted to the D.C. bar in 2007 after graduating from Yale Law School about a decade prior. During the week-long trial, which marked the first criminal trial against a sitting president’s son, prosecutors exposed Biden’s tumultuous love life and drug habits over the last decade. The defense, however, insisted the Biden did not knowingly lie on the federal form.
“No one is above the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Wise said in his closing arguments.
