Hunter Biden was charged with three federal gun felonies tied to his 2018 purchase of a revolver in Delaware. Two charges alleged he made false statements on federal firearm paperwork about his drug use, and the third alleged he illegally possessed a firearm while being a user of or addicted to drugs.

The charges

  • False statement on a gun purchase form. Prosecutors said he lied when he said he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
  • False statement to a federally licensed gun dealer. This was part of the same gun-purchase paperwork issue.
  • Illegal possession of a firearm by an unlawful drug user or addict. Prosecutors argued federal law barred him from possessing the gun at that time.

What happened later

A jury convicted him on all three counts in June 2024. In December 2024, the gun case was dismissed after President Biden issued a pardon for his son.

In plain English

The case was not about using the gun in a violent crime. It was about whether he lied on the purchase form and whether he was legally allowed to have the firearm given his drug use at the time.