Special Counsel David Weiss indicted President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, on felony firearm charges Thursday.
ABC News reported that Hunter was charged with one count of false statement in the purchase of a firearm, one count of false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer, and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
The first of the three charges — the one centered on giving a false statement — relates to Hunter allegedly lying on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) background check form.
On March 27, 2021, Breitbart News reported Hunter Biden may have given false information on an ATF background check form to purchase a gun in 2018. It is notable that the punishment for providing false answers on that form includes fines up to $250,000 and/or ten years of imprisonment.
ATF Form 4473 is the background check each would-be gun buyer fills out upon trying to buy a gun at retail. A Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder then calls the FBI and relays the information from the form, receiving the all-clear to sell the gun or a rejection, which means the gun cannot be sold to the would-be buyer. A third option is that the FBI can alert the FFL holder that it will extend the background check another three business days to give FBI reviewers additional time to check criminal records.
Form 4473 has a number of questions that require a “yes” or “no” answer. The question pertinent to Hunter Biden’s alleged 2018 gun purchase is drug-related. It asks:
Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.
ATF Form 4473 makes clear:
The information you provide will be used to determine whether you are prohibited by Federal or State law from receiving a firearm. Certain violations of the Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. 921 et. seq., are punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000 fine.
Charge one leads to charge three, inasmuch as a person who is an “unlawful user of, or addicted to” illegal drugs then gives false information to pass a background check and subsequently takes possession of a firearm he is barred from possessing.
The charge on information kept by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) relates to the requirement that FFLs preserve records that can be searched by the ATF when agents visit gun stores to ensure dealers are complying with laws and regulations.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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