Hunter Biden asks court to subpoena Trump in gun case

Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, made a request to a Delaware judge to subpoena former US president Donald Trump saying that gun charges against him were the result of apolitically motivated investigation. He made a filing in US District Court in Delaware and has sought documents and records from the former president and also from his former attorney general Bill Barr, former acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and former acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue.

Hunter Biden (53) faces three felony charges originating from his purchase of a .38-caliber revolver in 2018 when he was addicted to drugs. He has admitted to his addiction at the time but has pleaded not guilty to gun charges.

The charges against him accuse him of possessing the revolver illegally and making false statements on a form at the time that he was not using drugs.

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While seeking subpoenas, Hunter Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell said in court filings that Trump had put "incessant, improper, and partisan pressure" on Barr and other top Justice Department officials in order to investigate Hunter.

"Mr. Trump has made a plethora of concerning public statements calling for an investigation or possible prosecution of Mr. Biden, both while in office and since leaving," Lowell said.

Lowell has mentioned tweets by Trump and an excerpt from Barr's recent book. Barr was attorney general when Trump was president.

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Barr says in the book that in October 2020 Trump asked him about the status of the Hunter Biden investigation.

"Dammit, Mr. President, I am not going to talk to you about Hunter Biden. Period!" Barr says he responded angrily.

Barr resigned from his position in December 2020. After this, Rosen and Donoghue took over the Justice Department's leadership till January 2021 when Trump left the White House.

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Issues related to Hunter Biden often eclipse Joe Biden's image as he is gearing up to contest the US Presidential Election 2024. He will possibly face Trump who is the current frontrunner in the race within the Republican Party to win the nomination.

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The Republican Party has launched an impeachment inquiry in Congress in what they claim is a criminal conspiracy by the Biden family. However, the party hasn't yet provided any evidence that President Biden has done anything wrong.

(With inputs from agencies)