---
title: Hunter Biden gun case dismissed after President Joe Biden's sweeping pardon
description: A federal judge dismissed the gun case against Hunter Biden on Tuesday after President Joe Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his son.
image: https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/hubfs/Annie%20G%20images/2024-12-02T162806Z_362819896_RC28FBAQ85US_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-HUNTER-PARDON.jpg
---

 1 min read

# Hunter Biden gun case dismissed after President Joe Biden's sweeping pardon

[![Picture of Merit Street Media](https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/hubfs/Merit%20logo.png) Merit Street Media ](https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/news/author/merit-street-media-1) |  Dec 03, 2024

![Hunter Biden gun case dismissed after President Joe Biden's sweeping pardon](https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/hubfs/Annie%20G%20images/2024-12-02T162806Z_362819896_RC28FBAQ85US_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-HUNTER-PARDON.jpg)

Washington — A federal judge dismissed the gun case against Hunter Biden on Tuesday after President Joe Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his son.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika closed the case the week before Hunter Biden was to be sentenced. He could have faced up to 25 years in prison, though as a first-time offender he likely would have gotten far less time or avoided prison entirely.

Prosecutors opposed dismissing the case, arguing in court documents that a pardon shouldn't wipe away the case “as if it never occurred." Hunter Biden was convicted on three felonies after he lied on a federal form to purchase a gun in Delaware by saying he wasn’t a drug user in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged being addicted.

The Justice Department special counsel is also opposed to dismissing a case filed in California after he failed to pay [$1.4 million in taxe](https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-federal-tax-case-california-bb2e2eb41eb2cd30206a47c40ba6044e)s. A federal judge in Los Angeles hasn't yet ruled in that case.

The president's Sunday decision to go back on previous pledges and issue his son a blanket federal pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, drawing [criticism from many Democrats](https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-pardons-his-son-hunter-biden-267044df999f1944c05e0ed6c95957cd) as well as Republicans and threatening to [cloud Biden’s legacy](https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-pardon-president-trump-d5c8e7fbead7218c9b1e03a290945267) as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20.

Hunter Biden was originally supposed to strike a plea deal with prosecutors last year that would have spared him prison time, but the agreement [fell apart](https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-criminal-case-joe-biden-2024-015cba20dfba90930706fc8a7d4ae38d) after Noreika questioned unusual aspects of it.

*Copyright Associated Press* 

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

## Have a comment or news tip for us?

Reach out and share your story.

[![Contact Us](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/43649162/4576b39d-eb1c-41b3-aaf7-780db156d431.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/43649162/4576b39d-eb1c-41b3-aaf7-780db156d431)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Merit Street Media",
    "url" : "https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/news/author/merit-street-media-1"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2024-12-03T17:22:18.838Z",
  "datePublished" : "2024-12-03T17:22:18.000Z",
  "headline" : "Hunter Biden gun case dismissed after President Joe Biden's sweeping pardon",
  "image" : [ "https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/hubfs/Annie%20G%20images/2024-12-02T162806Z_362819896_RC28FBAQ85US_RTRMADP_3_USA-BIDEN-HUNTER-PARDON.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/news/hunter-biden-gun-case-dismissed-after-president-joe-bidens-sweeping-pardon",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/hubfs/Merit%20Logo-White-1.png"
    }
  }
}
```