Hunter Biden catches a gun case

Hunter Biden steps off Marine One at Ft. McNair, after spending the night at Camp David, in Washington, U.S., June 25, 2023.
Hunter Biden steps off Marine One at Ft. McNair, after spending the night at Camp David, in Washington, U.S., June 25, 2023.
REUTERS/Tasos Katopodis

Federal prosecutors indicted U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter on three federal gun-related charges on Thursday. The indictments come after a plea deal the younger Biden believed he had struck with federal prosecutors dramatically fell apart at the last minute in July. Hunter now faces up to 25 years in prison for allegedly lying about his drug use on a federal form that was required to purchase a handgun in Delaware in 2018.


President Biden is at no legal risk from his son's indictment. But the charges are politically inconvenient to say the least. They come just days after the House GOP began an impeachment inquiry that centers on so-far-unsubstantiated allegations that President Biden used his political position to profit from his son’s business dealings.

On top of that, the trial – which will likely get under way next year – will now serve as counter-programming to the multiple trials in federal and state court of former President Donald Trump which are slated to start in the spring. That’s right, America: as the 2024 campaigns hit the homestretch, the DOJ will simultaneously be prosecuting President Biden’s son as well as his likely election opponent, Donald Trump. What could be better for a bitterly divided nation?

And there may be more to come: Prosecutor David Weiss, a Trump appointee whom the Biden Administration tapped as a special counsel in August, said he plans to file new indictments against Hunter Biden before the end of the month.

More from GZERO Media

Senegal's Presidential Bassirou Diomaye Faye casts his ballot during the early legislative election, at a polling station in Ndiaganiao, Mbour, Senegal on Nov. 17, 2024.

Abdou Karim Ndoye/Senegal's Presidency/Handout via Reuters

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye called the snap vote eight months after taking office, seeking a majority mandate for economic reforms as the country grapples with high inflation and widespread unemployment.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greets UN General-Secretary Antonio Guterres ahead of the G20 summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 16, 2024.

Ricardo Stuckert/Brazilian Presidency/Handout via Reuters

As G20 leaders meet in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, it’s not just the city’s famed statue of Christ the Redeemer casting a shadow: it’s US President-elect Donald Trump.

President Joe Biden, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba participate in a trilateral meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, on Nov. 15, 2024.

REUTERS/Leah Millis

In a joint press conference on Friday at the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, US President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, and Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned of the latest “dangerous and destabilizing” cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

Former President Donald Trump attends court during closing arguments in his civil business fraud trial at the New York Supreme Court on Jan. 11, 2024.
John Nacion/NurPhoto via Reuters

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election puts the country in an unprecedented position. He’s the first convicted felon to win the presidency and was elected to the nation’s highest office while facing multiple criminal cases at the federal and state level. What will happen to these criminal proceedings?

- YouTube

The world is quietly being reshaped by a demographic time bomb: Birthrates are plummeting, and the global population is rapidly aging. By 2050, one in six people will be over 65. While the overall population is still increasing—driven by growth in developing countries like Nigeria and Pakistan—experts predict it will peak in about 60 years. The shift to depopulation will have huge implications for the future of work, healthcare, and retirement. So what can we do about it? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the different strategies governments are using to try to get people to have more kids, particularly in East Asia, where the population crisis is severe.

The Puerto Princesa Forest Restoration Initiative is a project to plant more than 400,000 seedlings to restore Palawan forests destroyed by Super Typhoon Odette in the Philippines. It’s part of a larger global effort by the Priceless Planet Coalition, launched by Mastercard with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute, to fund the restoration of 100 million trees around the world. These projects extend beyond carbon sequestration — they’re aimed at creating economic opportunities for women in the region, enabling them to better provide for their families. Read more about how many local women and community members are leading the charge on nursery construction, maintenance, and seedling production.

- YouTube

Listen: The world is on the brink of one of the most fundamental demographic shifts in modern human history: populations are getting older, and birth rates are plummeting. By 2050, one in six people on Earth will be over 65, which will have a huge impact on the future of work, healthcare, and social security. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jennifer Sciubba, President & CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, to discuss declining fertility, the aging crisis, and why government efforts all over the world to get people to have more babies don’t seem to be working.