Hunter Biden Claims DOJ Mistook Sawdust for Cocaine

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs a House Oversight Committee meeting at Capitol Hill on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC.

The legal team for Hunter Biden on Tuesday argued that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had mistaken sawdust for cocaine in photos found on his phone and used as evidence in court against him.

Context:

Hunter Biden, 54, is the son of President Joe Biden and has, for the last several years, been embroiled in numerous legal battles pertaining largely to his tax history and history of drug abuse. His troubles, and his international business dealings, have frequently been used as political ammunition by Republicans against his father.

The younger Biden is currently facing three gun charges leveled against him by federal investigators, alleging that he lied about his drug use while applying for a firearm permit. These charges were brought after the FBI claimed to have found cocaine residue on a gun pouch that he owned in 2018.

“To be clear, investigators literally found drugs on the pouch where the defendant had kept his gun,” prosecutors said.

What We Know:

On Tuesday, Hunter Biden’s legal team filed a new motion attempting to compel the provision of discovery documents, arguing that prosecutors had not provided enough material to that point. Within the filing, Lowell also dismissed photo evidence prosecutors used in court, which they claimed showed cocaine.

According to the attorney, the photos, which were taken from Hunter Biden’s phone, actually show sawdust. He also claimed that the photos were sent to his client by someone else, his former psychiatrist, Dr. Keith Albow.

“The prosecution’s latest filing amplifies why Mr. Biden and the Court cannot take the prosecution’s assertions concerning its discovery production or what that discovery reveals at face value,” Lowell wrote in the filing. “The prosecution is flat out wrong — both that Mr. Biden ‘took’ this photograph and in claiming that it depicts ‘cocaine.’ Multiple sources have pointed out, and a review of discovery confirms, this is actually a photo of sawdust from an expert carpenter and it was sent to Mr. Biden, not vice versa.”

He added later: “Mistaking sawdust for cocaine sounds more like a storyline from one of the 1980s Police Academy comedies than what should be expected in a high-profile prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice.”

Newsweek reached out to the District of Delaware via email for comment on Tuesday afternoon. Any responses provided will be added in an update.

Views:

Recently, Special Counsel David Weiss, who has been overseeing the cases against Hunter Biden, indicted FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, alleging that he had lied to investigators concerning Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine, which were some of the most prominent claims used against President Biden by Republicans in their attempts to impeach him. In response to the indictment, some Democrats called for the proceedings to be dropped outright.

“James Comer’s lead informant in his sham impeachment against POTUS was just indicted for lying and making up his claims,” Representative Robert Garcia of California wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter. “We demand Comer apologize to the President and end this political stunt immediately. What a joke.”

“James Comer’s star witness against Joe Biden was just charged by the TRUMP-APPOINTED Special Counsel with making false claims,” posted Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas. “THIS is the informant who provided the core ‘evidence’ in the GOP impeachment investigation. According to a federal grand jury, he made it all up.”

In a prior statement to Newsweek, House Judiciary Chair James Comer claimed that the impeachment of Biden did not hinge on the claims from Smirnow.

What’s Next :

Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the gun charges against him. He faces up to 25 years in prison and a fine of $750,000 if found guilty.

Update 02/20/24 5:08 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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