Hunter Biden's law license suspended in DC following historic guilty verdict
Hunter Biden arrives at federal court with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden for a verdict in Wilmington, Del. on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Photo by Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - Hunter Biden's license to practice law in the District of Columbia was suspended following a jury finding him guilty in his criminal gun trial earlier this month.
As of Tuesday morning, Biden is "suspended immediately from the practice of law" in Washington, D.C., pending a formal proceeding that will determine whether to uphold the suspension. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals E-filing system shows the order was filed on Tuesday.
The Office of the Disciplinary Counsel in Washington, D.C., sent a letter to the D.C. Court of Appeals last week seeking to suspend Biden's license after his guilty verdict on June 11.
The suspension only affects his ability to practice law in Washington, D.C.
The D.C. Bar's website still lists Robert Hunter Biden as being in "good standing" and "active" as of Tuesday morning, Fox News Digital found. The page shows he has been licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C., since 2007. Biden earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale University in 1996 and previously worked for law firm Boies Schiller Flexner.
Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's defense attorney Abbe Lowell's office for comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
Biden was found guilty on June 11 of lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm in 2018. He was found guilty on three charges: making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
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Biden had pleaded not guilty in the case.
Prosecutors worked to prove that Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018, when he ticked the "No" box when asked if he is an unlawful user of substances or addicted to controlled substances.
Biden has a long history of drug abuse, which was underscored in his 2021 memoir "Beautiful Things." The book was repeatedly referenced by both prosecutors and Biden's defense team amid the nearly seven-day trial. The memoir walks readers through Biden's highs and lows with addiction to crack cocaine and attempts to get sober.
Lowell did not deny Biden's long history with substance abuse amid the trial, instead arguing that on the day Biden bought the Cobra Colt .38, he did not consider himself an active drug addict. Lowell cited the first son's stint in rehab ahead of the October 2018 purchase.
Prosecutors, however, argued Biden was addicted to crack cocaine before, during and after he bought the handgun. In addition to citing Biden's memoir, the prosecution team also presented the jury with text messages Biden shared with family and apparent drug dealers to prove his addiction around the time period he purchased the firearm.
Hunter Biden found guilty in gun trial
Hunter Biden has been convicted of all three felony charges in his federal gun trial in Delaware.
Just one day after the gun purchase, prosecutors showed the court that Biden texted Hallie Biden, his sister-in-law turned girlfriend, to say he was "waiting for a dealer named Mookie." A day after that text, he texted that he was "sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney" in Wilmington.
Three of Biden’s exes took the stand and testified during the trial, making court proceedings emotional at times. Biden's ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, who was married to Biden for more than 20 years and with whom she shares three adult daughters, was among those who took the stand and told the jury about her experiences with Biden when he was using drugs.
"I was definitely worried, scared," she said, describing how she would scour his car for drugs and drug paraphernalia to ensure their daughters would not drive the vehicle around with the substances.
An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows the gun that Hunter Biden purchased. (U.S. Government Exhibit)
Biden's ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, also took the stand, walking the jury through Biden’s rampant drug abuse throughout their relationship, including him smoking crack in hotel rooms, stealing away to public bathrooms to smoke crack and how she helped pick up drugs for him. She said the crack cocaine he purchased often was the size of a "ping pong ball," which he broke into pieces and lit up in glass pipes. Kestan testified under immunity.
The jury took roughly three hours across two days to reach the guilty verdict.
Biden will be sentenced later this year, though no date has yet been issued.
The law license suspension in Washington, D.C., comes after Biden's defense team re-submitted a motion requesting a new criminal trial, arguing the federal court in Delaware lacked jurisdiction to go to trial earlier this month. The motion comes one week after Lowell filed a similar motion but quickly withdrew it without explanation.
Read the full DC Court of Appeals order below: