Judge rejects Hunter Biden's appeal on gun charges, paving way for trial in June

A federal appeals court has rejected Hunter Biden's effort to throw out gun charges against him, paving the way for a trial to begin next month.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed an effort by the president's son to have his felony gun case in Delaware thrown out, rejecting his challenge to the charges on procedural grounds.

The three-judge panel said in its short ruling -- just four pages total -- that it did not consider the merits of Biden's challenge at this stage, instead saying it was the improper time for them to take up such an appeal.

The ruling paves the way for Biden to stand trial in the case, which is set to begin on June 3, according to an order issued Thursday by Maryellen Norieka, the district judge overseeing his case.

Biden will next be scheduled to appear in court on May 24 for a pretrial conference.

Prosecutors say Biden lied on a federal form about his drug use when he obtained a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver in 2018, after he later acknowledged in his memoir, "Beautiful Things," that he was addicted to drugs around that time. He owned the firearm for 11 days and never fired it, his attorneys have said.

Biden was indicted by special counsel David Weiss last September.

A previous attempt to have the charges dismissed in April also failed.