Dec. 15 (UPI) — A judge in Connecticut on Monday ordered the disbarment of Hunter Biden after his convictions on federal gun and tax charges and then pardoned by his father, Joe Biden, as president.
In Waterbury, Judge Trial Referee Patrick Carroll III suspended him from practicing law in the state after finding he violated the rules of professional conduct for attorneys.
In April, Biden voluntarily surrendered his license to practice law in Washington, D.C.
The judge found he violated several ethical rules for lawyers, including engaging in conduct for “dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. Carroll also cited the Washington disbarment in his decision.
During the virtual hearing, Biden, 55, didn’t contest the decision and didn’t speak. He appeared with his lawyer, Ross Garber.
Biden graduated from Yale Law School and passed the bar one year later in 1997. But Biden apparently hadn’t practiced law in recent years with no cases in state or civil court.
A reciprocal discipline was imposed in the District of Columbia, where Biden lives and consented to disbarment. There were two other grievances filed by private individuals after Biden’s federal convictions on tax and gun charges last year.
Paul Dorsey, a private attorney who filed a grievance, objected to the proposed resolution because Biden does not admit to the criminal acts.
“It was very frustrating, very odd, and frankly, I don’t think the court should accept the proposed disposition as it is written because it doesn’t comply with the Practice Book. He has to admit to it, and he’s not doing that,” Dorsey said.
The proposed disposition does not include the admission of a crime because of Biden’s pardon by his father on Dec. 1, Leanne M. Larson, first assistant chief disciplinary counsel, said.
In Delaware federal court, he was found guilty of purchasing a gun in 2018 while allegedly lying on a federal form about not illegally using or being addicted to drugs. He was scheduled to be sentenced before the pardon, facing up to 25 years in prison. As a first-time offender, he could have stayed out of prison.
Biden also faced charges in California for not paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. He agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges hours before jury selection was scheduled to begin in September 2024.
After the pardon, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika closed the gun case, though she didn’t toss out the conviction.
The federal pardon covered the gun and tax offenses and any “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024.”
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said in a statement. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
Biden said it was clear that his son was “treated differently” than other people who have faced similar circumstances, and that Hunter Biden was “singled out because he is my son.”
The younger Biden said in a statement that he has taken accountability and responsibility for his mistakes “during the darkest days of my addiction.”
“I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering,” he said.
