Hunter Biden’s attorneys filed an appeal of his federal gun crimes conviction on Monday, only to inexplicably withdraw it moments after it was uploaded to the public docket.
“The motion for a new trial has been deleted at the request of counsel,” a note on the docket for the U.S. District of Delaware’s website read. It described a note as a “correcting entry.”
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, did not respond to a request for comment.
A federal jury in Delaware last week convicted Hunter Biden of three felonies stemming from his purchase of a gun in 2018 while addicted to crack cocaine, and unlawfully possessing the weapon for 11 days while using drugs.
Defense attorneys initially filed papers saying that the U.S. Judge Maryellen Noreika, who oversaw the case, didn’t have jurisdiction because the Third Circuit Court of Appeals had not resolved that issue.
Judge Noreika has denied multiple motions to toss the gun charges against Hunter Biden, including arguing that the case should be dismissed because it violated the defendant’s Second Amendment rights.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld all of Judge Noreika’s rulings, but has not yet ruled on Hunter Biden’s request to have the full Third Circuit hear the appeal based on the Second Amendment. Since that question remains unsolved, Mr. Lowell wrote Monday that Judge Noreika didn’t have the authority to seat a jury.
“The Third Circuit, however, did not then and has not yet issued its mandate as to the orders dismissing either appeal, “ Mr. Lowell wrote in the appeal.
