Hunter Biden Gets Boost as Judge Rules Gun Charge Unconstitutional  

The conviction of a man for possessing a firearm while an "unlawful user" of drugs has been quashed by an appeals court, in a case that could offer fresh hope to Hunter Biden, who has been charged with the same offense.

In a ruling issued on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned the conviction of Patrick Daniels, judging the initial decision of a lower court was a violation of his Second Amendment rights.

Biden was charged with illegal possession of a firearm "as a drug user" and failing to pay federal income tax in June, according to filings from a Delaware District Court. His legal team had agreed a plea deal with prosecutors, which would see him plead guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to pay federal tax, but avoid prosecution on the felony firearms charge. However this collapsed during a court hearing in late July after a row over whether the president's son would receive sweeping immunity for an ongoing investigation.

Daniels had been convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which states that it is illegal for anyone "who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" to possess a gun. Kaelan Deese, a Washington Examiner's Supreme Court reporter, described this as "the same statute Hunter Biden is charged under" on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

However, the higher court judged American "history and tradition" does not "justify disarming a sober citizen based exclusively on his past drug usage" in its ruling overturning the conviction.

While the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit only has jurisdiction over Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, its ruling is likely to attract much wider attention, including in Delaware where Biden is being prosecuted.

Newsweek has contacted Hunter Biden's legal team by email asking if they think the ruling could help their client's defense.

Biden has admitted he used to be addicted to crack cocaine, describing his struggle with the drug in his 2021 memoir Beautiful Things.

On July 26 his plea deal with prosecutors fell apart after his team learned he wouldn't receive immunity from any additional prosecution resulting from the ongoing Delaware U.S. Attorney's investigation.

Writing on blogging platform Substack Joyce Vance, formerly attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, termed the court appearance "more of a debacle."

She said: "Hunter Biden's team seemed to believe once he pleaded guilty, there would be no further prosecution coming out of the Delaware U.S. Attorney's investigation.

"The government's view seemed to be that its investigation was ongoing, and it wouldn't make that commitment. That's unusual. There's little incentive for a defendant to plead to 'some' charges knowing an investigation is ongoing and others could be coming."

On Wednesday President Joe Biden accused a Fox News reporter of asking a "lousy question" after he asked about claims he was on speakerphone with his son's business associates about 20 times. Biden insists he never "talked business with anybody" and has done nothing wrong.