11 Jun 2024

What’s next for Hunter Biden after his conviction on federal gun charges

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By CLAUDIA LAUER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER (Associated Press)

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden’s legal woes are not over after his conviction on three felony firearms charges in a trial that put a spotlight on his drug-fueled past.

Now, President Joe Biden’s son faces sentencing, and another criminal trial on tax charges in the middle of his father’s reelection campaign.

Jurors found Hunter Biden guilty on Tuesday after just three hours of deliberations over two days in the federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. The case stemmed from a gun Hunter Biden bought in 2018 while, as prosecutors say, he was in the throes of a crack cocaine addiction.

Here’s a look at what’s next for Hunter Biden:

Sentencing

He was convicted of lying on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

The three counts carry up to 25 years in prison. But whether the president’s son actually serves any time behind bars will be up to U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika. The judge, who was nominated to the bench by former Republican president Donald Trump, didn’t immediately set a date for sentencing.

In the federal system, first-time offenders don’t get anywhere near the maximum sentence. Federal sentencing guidelines — which judges use as they weigh punishments for defendants — are expected to recommend a far lighter punishment. And judges aren’t bound by the guidelines, so she could decide not to send him to prison at all. Other options include probation or home detention.

In pressing the judge not to put him behind bars, defense lawyers will likely note that, unlike many illegal firearm possession cases, Hunter Biden’s gun was not used in a crime. Hunter Biden never even fired the gun, which he had for 11 days before it got thrown in the trash, his lawyers have said.

The defense will also likely emphasize that Hunter Biden has since turned his life around. He has said he has been sober since 2019. Also, there have been no reported violations of his conditions of release, including that he continues to abstain from drugs and alcohol and participate in a recovery program.

Appeal likely

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in a written statement Tuesday that they will “continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available.” It’s unclear on what grounds Hunter Biden will appeal the verdict, but he mounted multiple unsuccessful challenges to the case ahead of trial.

Among other things, Hunter Biden’s lawyers have challenged the constitutionality of the gun law at the center of the case in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision that has upended firearm laws across the country.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers have also argued the president’s son was prosecuted for political purposes. Lowell has claimed prosecutors bowed to political pressure after a plea agreement hit the skids in court and was publicly pilloried by Republicans, including Trump, as a “sweetheart deal.”

Under that deal last year, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and avoided prosecution in the gun case if he stayed out of trouble. Prosecutors were planning to recommend two years of probation. But the deal fell apart after the judge raised concerns about it.

On Friday, defense lawyers urged the judge to acquit Hunter Biden of the charges, arguing prosecutors had not met their burden of proof. Noreika did not rule on the motion before the jury reached its verdict.

Other legal problems

Hunter Biden’s trial on tax charges in California is scheduled to begin September 5. He was initially slated to go to trial in that case later this month, but the judge recently granted a defense request to delay.

He’s charged in the California case with nine felony and misdemeanor tax offenses. The charges stem from what federal prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to skip out on paying the $1.4 million he owed to the IRS. Prosecutors allege he instead used the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle which, by his own admission, included drugs and alcohol. The president’s son has since repaid the back taxes.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer said at a recent hearing that he was struggling to line up expert witnesses willing to testify in the high-profile case in Los Angeles. Prosecutors said they are planning to call roughly 30 witnesses.

Republicans have also signaled they will keep going after Hunter Biden after their impeachment inquiry into the president stalled.

Last week, House Republicans issued criminal referrals against Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James, accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of the GOP’s yearlong impeachment inquiry. The president has not been accused or charged with any wrongdoing by prosecutors investigating his son.

Hunter Biden’s attorney said in a statement last week that the referrals are “nothing more than a desperate attempt by Republicans to twist Hunter’s testimony so they can distract from their failed impeachment inquiry” and interfere with his criminal trial.

A presidential pardon?

President Biden said Tuesday that he would accept the verdict and “continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.” The president has said in recent interviews he would not pardon his son.

The president’s response to the verdict stands in stark contrast to Trump, who blasted the justice system as “rigged” after his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was convicted of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Trump denied any wrongdoing and has cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system working to deny him another term.

While in the White House, Trump used his pardon power to benefit a broad array of allies, Republican supporters in Congress convicted of crimes and others whose causes were championed by friends.

The beneficiaries included four associates convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian election interference investigation, but notably excluded two others — former campaign aide Rick Gates and former personal lawyer Michael Cohen — who cooperated with prosecutors as part of that probe.

In a statement Tuesday, Trump’s campaign called Hunter Biden’s verdict “nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family.” Trump and his allies have long pressed forward unsubstantiated or debunked allegations that Joe Biden — while serving as vice president — acted to advance his family members’ foreign business interests.

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Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker and Colleen Long in Washington contributed.

11 Jun 2024

Girls state lacrosse: Stillwater routs Minnetonka in quarterfinals

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Maycie Neubauer and Mady Richert have had little trouble putting the ball in the net this season.

Both have picked up their goal-scoring touch even more at the right time.

Richert had four goals and four assists, Neubauer had a hat trick and an assist, and Stillwater routed Minnetonka 18-5 Tuesday in a state girls lacrosse quarterfinal at Chaska High School.

Cassidy Keykal had her first hat trick of the year. Crimson Keykal, Ava Mosley and Rayna Malmberg added two goals each for the tournament’s fourth seed.

When breaking the postgame huddle, the Ponies say “Family.”

“We played it just like any other game. Our big thing is team and playing together will get us as far as we can go,” Neubauer said.

That next step will be a big test.

Stillwater (13-3) will face No. 1 Lakeville South at 5 p.m. Thursday at Eden Prairie High School. The title game is scheduled for 3:30 Saturday in Eden Prairie.

Undefeated Lakeville South beat Stillwater 16-4 a month ago. The Cougars routed Cretin-Derham Hall in their quarterfinal matchup.

Neubauer, also a top Alpine skier at Stillwater but will play lacrosse at Florida Southern, has at least three goals in five of her past six games. Her 32 goals this season include six games with three goals, one four-goal outing and a five-goal game.

A junior, Richert has a team-best 51 goals. She has five four-goal games, including three of her last four outings, and a trio of five goals. She has scored at least three goals in 11 or her 16 games.

“Me and May we’re kind of like best family friends so there’s just a lot of chemistry there, and we kind of know where each other is. And we’re able to use that to our advantage,” Richert said.

Goals by Neubauer, Indira Capelle, Crimson Keykal and Richert gave the Ponies a 4-0 first-quarter lead, the middle two on textbook feeds from Marit Wolden and Mosley.

Ava Wixo got fifth-seeded Minnetonka (14-3) on the board early in the second, but Neubauer, Cassidy Keykal, Malmberg and Mosley scored in a 2 minute, 10 second span for a 9-1 lead less than four minutes later.

“Lacrosse is all about streaks and who’s feeling hot. There’s just no stopping us today. We all came together and peaked at the right time,” said Richert.

Stillwater had 26 shots on goal in the game and scored on five of its six third-quarter shots for a 15-1 advantage.

Minnetonka had just 10 shots on goal for the game.

11 Jun 2024

Boys state lacrosse: Slow start to season sparked Lakeville North’s return to championship form

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An early season, seven-game stretch featuring four losses served as a wakeup call for Lakeville North in the midst of what junior attacker Blake Piscitiello called a “championship slump.”

It can be difficult to maintain an edge as the defending champ. But nothing re-lights the flame like defeat.

“After a couple losses? Yeah,” Piscitiello said. “It was not fun practices, it was annoying practices. … We had to get back to, ‘We’re the hungry guys again. We’re coming for business.’ It’s gotten better.”

The Panthers won their eighth straight game Tuesday, a 17-3 state quarterfinal victory over Moorhead at Eden Prairie High School. Third-seeded Lakeville North will meet second-seeded Stillwater in the semifinals Thursday at 3 p.m. at Chaska High School.

There was never any panic within the team that Lakeville North wouldn’t be at this point. Those four losses came by a total of six goals, and all came against fellow premier programs.

“We scheduled as hard as we could,” Panthers coach Matt Stonestrom said. “We knew we had experience, so there was no benefit in playing anybody other than the best teams we could find.”

If anything, the difficult schedule did Lakeville North a favor, identifying shortcomings that needed addressing. Most of those resided on the offensive end.

“Yeah, in game, you could kind of see things, and then it becomes quite clear in film. It was one of those things. I wouldn’t necessarily call us selfish in spots, but we probably tried to own the moment too much and forced it,” Stonestrom said. “So we saw a lot of places where guys were open or available, and a lot of little things – a couple yards here or there – that could kind of help us. I think that helped big time for us.”

The Panthers’ offense has logged double-digit goals in all eight victories amid their current streak. On Tuesday – after unseeded Moorhead (13-4) struck first to go up 1-0 – Lakeville North (13-4) potted five goals in the first, two of which came from midfielder/face-off extraordinaire Quinn Power, followed by two from Piscitiello.

Blake Piscitiello led the way with six goals Tuesday, while Power and Carson Piscitiello each scored four goals and Jackson Whalen tacked on three of his own. Fifteen of the 17 goals were assisted.

The offense was humming.

“I think we’ve gotten more trust in the guys next to us, so the ball is moving more freely. You see today, we just were able to share it really well,” Stonestrom said. “Everybody is playing with a lot of confidence, so that’s huge.”

“We had some new guys come into the system. After awhile, they caught up and it was just business as usual, North-brand lacrosse,” Piscitiello said. “Now we’re rolling.”

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11 Jun 2024

Boys state lacrosse: New gameplan and blue-collar approach move Stillwater into semis

by | posted in: All news | 0

Stillwater didn’t end the regular season on the strongest of notes. The Ponies dropped one-goal contests to Prior Lake and Benilde-St. Margaret’s – two of the state’s top programs – and just edged Mounds View and Woodbury for one-goal victories.

Stillwater head coach Peter Flock said the Ponies continued to struggle in the same areas of the game.

“It was turning into insanity,” Flock said. “We kept struggling in the same area and we said, ‘OK, we’re done. We’re doing something different. We don’t care if it’s the end of the season, we’re doing something new.’”

Flock said the Ponies made “almost wholesale changes” to various parts of their system. Those changes have led to massive amounts of postseason success to date. Following Stillwater’s 17-3 win over unseeded Minnetonka in the state quarterfinals Tuesday at Eden Prairie High School, the Ponies are outscoring opponents 65-20 in the playoffs.

“That was the big thing,” Flock said. “We just needed to learn and stop being stubborn and make changes to make the team better.”

The second-seeded Ponies will meet third-seeded Lakeville North at 3 p.m. Thursday at Chaska High School in the state semifinals.

Tuesday’s result was a near replica of Stillwater’s 17-5 victory over Minnetonka to open the season. The Ponies struck early and often in the quarterfinals, leading 5-0 after one and 11-1 at the half. Junior attacker Grant Giese scored six times, while sophomore attackman Bobby Appert added four goals as Stillwater (15-2) featured a largely balanced attack.

“We just played as a team,” said junior midfielder Luke Geisbauer, who had a goal and three assists. “Everyone did their job, played their role.”

Stillwater’s big lead allowed it to rest many of its major contributors down the home stretch of the contest.

“We’re not really trying to impress anyone here with numbers,” Flock said. “It really was more about winning, getting out healthy and moving on.”

Flock said Stillwater spent much of the past few days working on itself – the minute details that may not be fun for players to drill, but make the Ponies dangerous in the long run. Because Stillwater was confident in its man-to-man matchups with the Skippers (10-7).

For good reason.

Geisbauer noted the Ponies came into the week “ready to dominate.”

So far, things have gone according to plan.

“We showcased our talent, but we also were the more blue-collared team,” Flock said. “We won the ground ball battles. We won the battles that were less pretty, and it showed on the scoreboard.”

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