US prosecutors to file new charges against Hunter Biden, reports say | News

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Reports come after President Joe Biden’s son last month pleaded not guilty to three firearms-related charges.

Hunter Biden, United States President Joe Biden’s son, will face new criminal charges, US media have reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The nature of the charges against the younger Biden was not immediately clear, CNN and NBC News reported on Thursday, but are expected to be revealed in court documents later.

Biden will be indicted in California, CNN and NBC News said.

Special Counsel David Weiss, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee investigations into Biden, has in recent weeks been using a federal grand jury in Los Angeles to pursue inquiries into tax-related matters.

Last month, Biden pleaded not guilty to three firearms-related charges after a judge declined to sign off on a plea deal that would have avoided lengthy legal proceedings.

Under the deal reached with Weiss’s office in Delaware, Biden had agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanour tax charges and enter a diversion programme in lieu of pleading guilty to a more serious gun possession charge.

On Monday, Weiss urged a federal judge to deny Hunter Biden’s request to subpoena former president Donald Trump and ex-Justice Department officials, arguing that his lawyers had not provided evidence to support their argument that the investigation stemmed from an “incessant pressure campaign” under the previous administration.