Timeline: Hunter Biden granted pardon after legal, political scrutiny

A month before leaving office, President Joe Biden announced that he has issued a pardon for his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted on federal gun charges and had pleaded guilty to nine tax-related charges, including three felonies.

In pardoning his youngest son, the president spared Hunter Biden the possibility of significant prison time stemming from convictions in two federal cases brought by special counsel David Weiss. For the tax charges, he faced up to 17 years in federal prison and $1.35 million in fines, while his gun-related conviction carried a potential of up to 25 years in prison.

The younger Biden had been scheduled to face sentencing on Dec. 12 for the gun-related charges in Delaware and on Dec. 16 for the tax charges in California.

Here's a timeline of Hunter Biden's legal and political scrutiny.

Dec. 10, 2020

A month after Joe Biden wins the 2020 presidential election, Hunter Biden announces that federal prosecutors in Delaware are investigating his "tax affairs."

A source with knowledge of the investigation tells ABC News that the tax probe began in 2018, but that the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware waited to notify Hunter Biden's legal team due to sensitivities around the election.

Investigators are looking into Hunter's business dealings in China and elsewhere, including scrutinizing whether he may have committed tax crimes stemming from those overseas business dealings, sources tell ABC News.

Dec. 21, 2020

Outgoing Attorney General William Barr says he doesn't intend to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, as President Donald Trump and others have suggested.

April 2, 2021

In a new memoir, Hunter Biden addresses many of the topics that emerged as fodder for his father's political foes during the presidential campaign, including his struggles with substance addiction, his dealings in China, and his seat on the board of a Ukrainian oil and gas firm during his father's tenure as vice president -- a role that later led to then-President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial on charges that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Hunter Biden's position on the board. Trump was subsequently acquitted.

The memoir, titled "Beautiful Things," also offers lurid details as it chronicles the younger Biden's repeated relapses into drug and alcohol abuse.

March 30, 2022

ABC News reports that the federal investigation into Hunter Biden over his tax affairs has intensified, according to sources.

Sources say a number of witnesses have appeared before a grand jury Wilmington, Delaware, in recent months, and have been asked about payments Hunter Biden received while serving on the board of directors of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, as well as about how he paid off tax obligations in recent years.

Nov. 17, 2022

Fresh off the GOP regaining control of the Senate in the midterm elections, congressional Republicans say they're poised to push ahead with an investigation into President Joe Biden's family, including Hunter Biden, in the coming session.

Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and James Comer of Kentucky, two high-ranking members expected to helm powerful committees when Republicans take control of Congress in January, pledge to "pursue all avenues" of wrongdoing, calling investigations into the president's family a "top priority."

Dec. 21, 2022

Ahead of an expected deluge of Republican probes, Hunter Biden retains high-powered defense lawyer Abbe Lowell to help navigate congressional oversight.

March 1, 2023

Testifying in his annual oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Merrick Garland says that U.S. Attorney David Weiss has been told he has "full authority" to make any charging decisions stemming from the Hunter Biden investigation, even if that would involve bringing a case in a district outside of Delaware.

Garland also says he has pledged to Weiss any resources necessary to conduct his investigation, and has received no reports thus far of the his investigation being stymied in any way by personnel at the main Justice Department.

March 17, 2023

Attorneys for Hunter Biden file counterclaims alleging invasion of privacy in response to a defamation lawsuit brought by Delaware-based computer repairman John Paul Mac Isaac, who they say triggered the infamous laptop controversy in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

The counterclaim is in response to an ongoing defamation lawsuit against Hunter Biden and others that was filed in October 2019 by Mac Isaac, who Hunter Biden's attorney say obtained and later disseminated data from a laptop allegedly belonging to the younger Biden.

April 20, 2023

ABC News reports that a supervisor at the IRS has told lawmakers that he has information that suggests the Biden administration could be mishandling the investigation into Hunter Biden, according to sources.

In a letter to lawmakers obtained by ABC News, the lawyer for the IRS whistleblower says his client is an IRS criminal supervisory special agent "who has been overseeing the ongoing and sensitive investigation of a high-profile, controversial subject since early 2020 and would like to make protected whistleblower disclosures to Congress."

The letter says that "The protected disclosures: (1) contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee, (2) involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case, and (3) detail examples of preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected."

May 3, 2023

ABC News reports that the GOP-led House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena demanding the FBI produce a record related to an alleged "criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national."

The subpoena seeks an unclassified FD-1023 document, which is generally defined as a report from an informant. The White House denounces the contents of the document as "anonymous innuendo."

May 16, 2023

Attorneys for the IRS whistleblower inform key members of Congress that their client -- along with his "entire investigative team" -- has been removed from the probe into the president's son. The Justice Department defers comment to U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who does not comment on the claim.

June 5, 2023

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announces his intention to initiate contempt of Congress hearings over FBI Director Chris Wray's refusal to physically turn over the FD-1023 document that Republicans believe is related to President Joe Biden.

June 20, 2023

Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and enter into a pretrial diversion agreement that would enable him to avoid prosecution on one felony gun charge, potentially ending the yearslong probe.

According to the agreement, the younger Biden will acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018, until they were paid in 2020 by a third party, identified by ABC News as attorney and confidant Kevin Morris. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend probation, meaning Hunter Biden will likely avoid prison time. For the gun charge, he will agree to pretrial diversion, with the charge being dropped if he adheres to certain terms.

June 21, 2023

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika sets a court date of July 26 for Hunter Biden to make his initial court appearance related to the plea deal he has agreed to.

June 22, 2023

The GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee releases transcripts of their interviews with two IRS whistleblowers that they say show that senior Biden administration officials stymied U.S. Attorney David Weiss' investigation into Hunter Biden. In their testimony, the whistleblowers claim that senior Justice Department officials blocked prosecutors' attempts to bring charges against Hunter Biden in Washington and California, and refused to grant Weiss special counsel status.

Justice Department officials dispute the claim, saying, "As both the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney David Weiss have said, U.S. Attorney Weiss has full authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges as he deems appropriate. He needs no further approval to do so."

June 23, 2023

ABC News reports that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has been given access the redacted FD-1023 document that allegedly contains claims about what Comer calls a "criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions." But Comer tells reporters that reading the document was "a total waste of my time," as more than half of the document was redacted. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight panel, says the Trump-era Justice Department investigated the claims and, "in August 2020, Attorney General [William] Barr and his hand-picked U.S. Attorney signed off on closing the assessment."

Congressional Republicans have also seized on a July 2017 WhatsApp message in which the younger Biden purportedly threatened a Chinese business associate by invoking his father's political connections, allegedly writing, "I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight."

"And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction," the message continues. "I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father."

At the time of the message, Joe Biden's term as vice president had already ended and he held no political office. But Republicans say the message undercuts President Biden's claim that he never discussed overseas business endeavors with his son. Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, reiterates that "the president was not in business with his son."

Meanwhile, Attorney General Merrick Garland disputes outright the IRS' whistleblowers' claim that Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss had requested to be named a special counsel but was turned down, saying, "Mr. Weiss never made that request to me."

June 26, 2023

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, regarding the IRS whistleblowers' claim that Garland turned down Weiss' request to be named a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, tells Fox News, "If it comes true what the IRS whistleblower is saying, we're going to start impeachment inquiries on the attorney general."

July 12, 2023

ABC News reports that Weiss has pushed back on the IRS whistleblowers' allegations, writing in a letter to Sen. Lindsey Graham of the Senate Judiciary Committee: "To clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion, I wish to make one point clear: in this case, I have not requested Special Counsel designation."

Separately, in an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, FBI Director Christopher Wray is asked by Rep. Matt Gaetz, "Are you protecting the Bidens?"

"Absolutely not," Wray answers.

July 13, 2023

Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell sends a cease-and-desist letter to Trump's legal team claiming that Trump's rhetoric on social media and elsewhere "could lead to [Hunter Biden's] or his family's injury."

"This is not a false alarm," Lowell writes. "You should make clear to Mr. Trump -- if you have not done so already -- that Mr. Trump's words have caused harm in the past and threaten to do so again if he does not stop."

July 19, 2023

In congressional testimony, the two IRS whistleblowers -- 14-year IRS veteran Gary Shapley and IRS investigator Joseph Ziegler, who has previously been unidentified -- reiterate their claims that Justice Department officials stymied Weiss' probe of Hunter Biden.

"It appeared to me, based on what I experienced, that the U.S. Attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited and marginalized by DOJ officials," Ziegler says. "I still think that a special counsel is necessary for this investigation."

July 20, 2023

In an unusual move, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, releases the FD-1023 document containing a confidential FBI informant's unverified claim that, years ago, the Biden family "pushed" a Ukrainian oligarch to pay them millions of dollars.

The document cites an unnamed source who says that in 2015, Mykola Zlochevsky, the chief executive of Burisma -- the Ukrainian energy firm that hired Hunter Biden as a board member in 2013 -- claimed that he was "forced" to pay Joe and Hunter Biden $5 million each, apparently in exchange for orchestrating the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor named Viktor Shokin who was purportedly investigating Burisma at the time.

The assertion that the elder Biden, who was then vice president, acted to have Shokin removed in an effort to protect Burisma has been undercut by widespread criticism of the former Ukrainian prosecutor that led the U.S. State Department itself to seek Shokin's ouster.

A White House spokesperson, responding to the document's release, says "congressional Republicans, in their eagerness to go after President Biden regardless of the truth, continue to push claims that have been debunked for years."

July 23, 2023

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, during a press briefing, answers "No" when asked if there is any possibility that President Biden could end up pardoning his son Hunter Biden for any of the federal charges he faces.

July 24, 2023

Under questioning from reporters, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre reiterates that President Biden "was never in business with his son."

July 26, 2023

Hunter Biden appears before U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika to formally agree to the plea deal negotiated in June -- but during a contentious hearing, Judge Noreika defers the deal after taking issue with the structure of the arrangement.

Noreika requests additional briefings from the parties before she'll determine next steps. In the meantime, Hunter Biden enters a plea of not guilty.

July 31, 2023

Former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer testifies before the House Oversight panel, telling legislators that Burisma, through Hunter Biden, benefitted by its association with the so-called "Biden brand" -- but that Hunter Biden only provided the "illusion of access" to his father and did not discuss his business dealings with him, according to committee members who participated in the closed-door hearing.

Aug. 3, 2023

House Republicans release the complete transcript of Devon Archer's testimony before the Oversight panel, which include his recollection that Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone or referenced his father being on the phone in front of business associates "maybe 20 times" in the 10 years that Archer and Hunter Biden were business associates -- which included a period when Biden was vice president -- but that Joe Biden's interactions with Hunter Biden's associates were "not related to commercial business" and that Joe Biden had no involvement with Burisma or took any actions to benefit Burisma or Hunter Biden, according to the fully transcribed interview with the committee.

Archer confirms that he was not aware of any wrongdoing by President Biden, according to the transcription.

Aug. 11, 2023

Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in his investigation of Hunter Biden, after the Trump appointee asked Garland to be appointed special counsel in the case.

Weiss says in court documents filed within minutes of his appointment that plea negotiations have reached "an impasse" and that he intends to drop the misdemeanor tax charges against Hunter Biden in Delaware and instead bring them in California and Washington, D.C., where prosecutors say the alleged misconduct occurred.

Aug. 14, 2023

Attorneys for Hunter Biden say in a court filing that federal prosecutors reneged on the plea deal that would have resolved tax and gun charges against Hunter Biden.

Despite their acknowledgement that the plea agreement on tax charges is "moot," attorneys for Hunter Biden argue that the second part of the deal -- a diversion agreement on a separate gun charge -- remains in effect, since it is a separate contract negotiated and entered into by the parties outside the judge's purview.

Aug. 15, 2023

In court filings, prosecutors for Weiss push back on Hunter Biden's assertion that they "reneged" on the ill-fated plea deal, and dispute defense counsel's claim that the diversion agreement on a gun possession charge remains "valid and binding."

Sept. 6, 2023

Court documents filed by special counsel David Weiss say that Weiss intends to bring an indictment against Hunter Biden by the end of the month, pertaining to the felony gun charge that was previously brought under the pretrial diversion agreement brokered by the two parties.

Hunter Biden's legal team argues that the pretrial diversion agreement remains in effect.

"We believe the signed and filed diversion agreement remains valid and prevents any additional charges from being filed against Mr. Biden," says Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden. "We expect a fair resolution of the sprawling, 5-year investigation into Mr. Biden that was based on the evidence and the law, not outside political pressure."

Sept. 14, 2023

Hunter Biden is indicted by special counsel David Weiss on felony charges that he lied on a federal form when he said he was drug-free at the time that he purchased a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver in October 2018. His legal team maintains that the pretrial diversion agreement from July remains in effect, though Weiss' team says it's null and void.

"As expected, prosecutors filed charges today that they deemed were not warranted just six weeks ago following a five-year investigation into this case," Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell says in a statement. "We believe these charges are barred by the agreement the prosecutors made with Mr. Biden, the recent rulings by several federal courts that this statute is unconstitutional, and the facts that he did not violate that law, and we plan to demonstrate all of that in court."

Sept. 18, 2023

Hunter Biden files a lawsuit against the IRS over alleged "unlawful disclosures" made by the pair of whistleblowers who accused government prosecutors of mishandling their investigation into him.

Sept. 19, 2023

Hunter Biden's attorney files court papers seeking to have his client's arraignment, scheduled for Oct. 3 in a Delaware court, take place via video conference instead of in person.

Sept. 20, 2023

A judge denies Hunter Biden's effort to avoid appearing in person at his arraignment on federal gun charges, ordering him to appear at a hearing scheduled for Oct. 3.

The same day, Attorney General Merrick Garland, testifying for five hours before the House Judiciary Committee, is grilled by GOP lawmakers about his department's handling of criminal probes into Hunter Biden and others. Garland pushes back on GOP claims that he's taken any directives from the White House, saying, "I am not the president's lawyer. I am not Congress' prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people. Our job is to follow the facts and the law, and that is what we do."

Sept. 26, 2023

Hunter Biden files a lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani, accusing the former Trump attorney of computer fraud over his role in obtaining and sharing the alleged contents of the infamous laptop. In a statement responding to the suit, Giuliani adviser Ted Goodman says, "I'm not surprised he's now falsely claiming his laptop hard drive was manipulated by Mayor Giuliani, considering the sordid material and potential evidence of crimes on that thing."

Oct. 3, 2023

Hunter Biden, appearing in the same Delaware courthouse where his federal plea deal with prosecutors fell apart over the summer, formally enters a plea of not guilty to the three felony gun charges that were part of the original plea agreement.

Nov. 3, 2023

ABC News reports that Hunter Biden is urging the Justice Department to investigate his former business associate Tony Bobulinski over claims that Bobulinski lied to federal investigators during an interview in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election when he alleged that the Bidens had lied to the public about the nature of then-candidate Joe Biden's involvement in Hunter Biden's proposed overseas business ventures.

Nov. 8, 2023

Hunter Biden is subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer to appear before the committee, along with his former business associate Rob Walker, President Biden's brother James Biden, and other members of the Biden family.

Nov. 15, 2023

Hunter Biden's attorneys file a motion seeking court approval to issue subpoenas to former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General William Barr, and two ex-Justice Department officials for documents they say could shed light on whether the federal gun charges Hunter Biden is facing were the result of "a vindictive or selective prosecution arising from an unrelenting pressure campaign beginning in the last administration."

Nov. 16, 2023

ABC News reports that special counsel David Weiss is using a Los Angeles-based federal grand jury to pursue the investigation into Hunter Biden's tax affairs, according to sources. The grand jury has issued a subpoena to James Biden, the brother of President Joe Biden, as part of the probe, a source says.

Nov. 28, 2023

Responding to his subpoena to appear before the House Oversight Committee, Hunter Biden, in a letter from his attorney to Republican lawmakers, says he is willing to testify before the panel -- but only in a public forum.

Dec. 7, 2023

Special counsel David Weiss files nine tax-related charges against Hunter Biden, accusing him of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2020. The indictment alleges that the younger Biden earned millions of dollars from foreign entities and "spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle at the same time he chose not to pay his taxes."

Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, claims the 56-page indictment includes "no new evidence" and says, "Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought."

Dec. 11, 2023

Attorneys representing Hunter Biden ask a federal judge to dismiss three felony gun charges he faces in Delaware. The president's son pleaded not guilty to all three charges in October, after Weiss indicted him on the charges in September.

Dec. 13, 2023

As GOP lawmakers convene to depose Hunter Biden in a closed-door session that he has informed them he won't attend, he addresses members of the media outside the U.S. Capitol and slams House Republicans for refusing to allow him to answer questions in a public forum, saying, "I am here to testify at a public hearing today, to answer any of the committees' legitimate questions."

Jan. 10, 2024

Hunter Biden makes a surprise appearance at a hearing of the GOP-led House Oversight Committee on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for refusing a subpoena to testify before the committee behind closed doors. The committee approves a resolution recommending he be held in contempt for his refusal of provide closed-door testimony.

Jan. 11, 2024

Hunter Biden, appearing in federal court in Los Angeles, enters a plea of not guilty to the nine felony and misdemeanor tax charges in special counsel David Weiss' December indictment.

Jan. 16, 2024

Special counsel David Weiss' office issues a biting rebuttal to Hunter Biden's attempt to have the three felony gun charges against him thrown out, calling his selective prosecution claim "a fiction designed for a Hollywood script."

The filing comes on the same day that the Justice Department files a motion seeking to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by Hunter Biden against the Internal Revenue Service over its alleged failure to protect his tax information from disclosure by the two whistleblowers who accused the Biden administration of mishandling the probe into the president's son.

Jan. 18, 2024

Hunter Biden, after weeks of back-and-forth with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, agrees to sit for a closed-door deposition on Feb. 28, avoiding the threat of contempt of Congress charges.

Jan. 30, 2024

A longtime business partner of Hunter Biden, Eric Schwerin, tells the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door interview that he is "not aware of any financial transactions or compensation" that then-Vice President Joe Biden received related to business conducted by this family members.

Feb. 13, 2024

Tony Bobulinski, the onetime business associate of Hunter Biden who has become a critic of the Biden family, testifies before the House Oversight Committee, reiterating claims he made during the 2020 election that Joe Biden was "an enabler" of several of his family's overseas business schemes that "sold out to foreign actors who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government."

Feb. 15, 2024

Special counsel David Weiss indicts Alexander Smirnov, an FBI confidential source who provided derogatory information about President Biden and his son Hunter Biden, on felony false statement and obstruction charges. Smirnov is the same person that Republicans have called "a highly credible FBI source" and have used to claim Joe Biden is corrupt, multiple senior congressional sources tell ABC News.

Feb. 20, 2024

Attorneys for Hunter Biden move to dismiss the tax-related charges brought by special counsel David Weiss in California, accusing prosecutors of selectively targeting the younger Biden, violating a statute of limitations, and filing duplicative charges on three counts of failure to pay and tax evasion.

Feb. 21, 2024

In a court filing, special counsel David Weiss says that one-time FBI informant Alexander Smirnov had high-level Russian contacts and that, following his arrest the week before, Smirnov told the FBI that "officials with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story" about Hunter Biden.

Feb. 28, 2024

A measured and defiant Hunter Biden addresses a litany of allegations during six hours of closed-door testimony before the GOP-led House Oversight and Judiciary committees. The deposition appears to include no major bombshells as he repeatedly invokes his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction -- telling the committee he is "embarrassed" by some of his conduct at the time -- while vehemently and repeatedly denying that his father had any involvement in his business life.

March 7, 2024

A week after Hunter Biden's closed-door testimony on Capitol Hill, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer invites him to appear for a public hearing on March 20.

March 11, 2024

Special counsel David Weiss files his rebuttal to efforts by Hunter Biden to have his nine tax-related charges in California dismissed, slamming his arguments in court filings as a "conspiracy theory," a "house of cards," and "shapeshifting claims."

March 13, 2024

A week after his closed-door appearance before the House Judiciary Committee as part of their impeachment inquiry, Hunter Biden, through his attorney, declines an invitation by congressional Republicans to testify in public -- but suggests he would attend a hearing on foreign influence peddling if lawmakers also invited members of former President Donald Trump's family.

The development comes on the same day that the judge overseeing Hunter Biden's felony gun case in Delaware tentatively schedules his trial for June 3 -- just weeks before his Los Angeles-based tax trial is scheduled to begin on June 20.

March 27, 2024

Judge Mark Scarsi, the federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden's tax case in California, hears several defense motions to dismiss the charges and says afterward that he will issue a ruling by April 17.

April 1, 2024

Judge Scarsi denies all eight of Hunter Biden's motions to dismiss his nine-count tax indictment in California, paving the way for a June 20 trial.

April 12, 2024

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika denies attempts by Hunter Biden to dismiss the three federal gun charges he faces, all but ensuring he will stand trial in June.

April 30, 2024

Attorneys representing Hunter Biden threaten to sue Fox News for violating "revenge porn" laws and publishing since-discredited bribery allegations as part of a scheme to "paint him in a false light," according to a letter obtained by ABC News.

May 20, 2024

Special counsel David Weiss' office suggests in court papers that they will call multiple women who had relationships with Hunter Biden to testify in his upcoming felony gun trial, including his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and the widow of his late brother Beau Biden, Hallie Biden.

May 22, 2024

Prosecutors say in a court filing that they plan to use Hunter Biden's infamous laptop as evidence in his upcoming felony gun trial to help them prove that he unlawfully obtained a firearm in 2018.

The development comes on the same day that U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi grants Hunter Biden's request to postpone his Los Angeles trial on tax charges until Sept. 5 -- raising the likelihood that a jury could be deliberating whether to convict the president's son on several felony counts in the waning weeks of the 2024 election.

June 3, 2024

A jury of six woman and six men is sworn in on Day 1 of Hunter Biden's federal gun trial in Delaware, where the president's son is accused of lying on an ATF form when he said he was not using drugs at the time of his gun purchase in 2018.

June 4, 2024

Prosecutors enter Hunter Biden's infamous laptop as evidence on Day 2 of the trial, with an FBI special agent testifying that investigators were able confirm the laptop was his by matching its serial number to his iCloud account.

Prosecutors cite messages found on the laptop to argue that Hunter Biden was addicted to drugs at the time of his 2018 gun purchase, and also play audiobook excerpts from his 2021 memoir in which he discusses his past drug use. But the FBI witness acknowledges under cross-examination that she cannot verify that his drug use was continuous during that period.

June 5, 2024

Prosecution witnesses Kathleen Buhle and Zoe Kestan, Hunter Biden's ex-wife and ex-girlfriend, testify on Day 3 of the trial about Hunter Biden's drug use to bolster the government's argument that he was using drugs at the time he purchased the gun in Delaware in October 2018.

Kestan, however, concedes on cross-examination that she had "no idea" what Hunter Biden was up to from Sept. 23, when he left California for Delaware, until November, when the two reconnected.

June 6, 2024

Hallie Biden, the widow of President Joe Biden's late son Beau Biden who was romantically involved with Hunter Biden at the time he purchased the gun at the center of the case, testifies on Day 4 of the trial about how she discovered the firearm in Hunter Biden's vehicle on Oct. 23, 2018, and, in a panic, disposed of it in a trash receptacle outside a local supermarket.

She tells jurors that she also found "remnants" of crack in Hunter Biden's vehicle at the time she discovered the gun -- but acknowledges under cross-examination that she did not see Hunter Biden abusing drugs or alcohol for most of the month of October, potentially undercutting the prosecution's contention that he was using drugs at the time he purchased the gun on Oct. 12.

Meanwhile, President Biden tells ABC News anchor David Muir in an exclusive interview that he will accept the outcome of the trial and that he would rule out issuing a pardon for his son.

June 7, 2024

After the government rests it case, Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi Biden, testifying for the defense, tells jurors on Day 5 of the trial that her dad "seemed great" just days after he purchased the Colt revolver at the center of the case -- but her testimony under cross-examination suggests that drug remnants found in his truck by his then-girlfriend Hallie Biden 11 days after the gun purchase likely came from him.

June 10, 2024

The defense rests its case without Hunter Biden taking the stand on Day 6 of the trial.

Prosecutors tell the jury in closing arguments that Hunter Biden "knew he was using drugs" when he said otherwise on the gun-purchase form, while the defense argues that prosecutors failed to "fill in the gaps" about Hunter Biden's drug use around the time of the gun purchase "because they don't have the proof."

June 11, 2024

Hunter Biden is found guilty on all three counts in his federal gun case: two counts of making false statements for saying on a federal form that he was not addicted to drugs at the time he purchased the firearm at the center of the case, and a third count of illegally obtaining the firearm while addicted to drugs.

President Joe Biden says he will accept the outcome of his son's case and that he will "continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal."

June 13, 2024

President Biden tells reporters that he would not commute any sentence handed down to his son Hunter Biden following the younger Biden's federal gun conviction.

June 24, 2024

Attorneys for Hunter Biden request a new trial in his federal gun case, arguing that his "convictions should be vacated" because the trial commenced before a circuit court formally issued a mandate denying his appeal.

July 1, 2024

Hunter Biden sues Fox News and its parent company over their production of the fictional miniseries "The Trial of Hunter Biden," which his attorneys call "an effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate him, and tarnish his reputation."

July 9, 2024

Attorneys for Hunter Biden withdraw their bid for a new trial in his federal gun case, conceding in court papers that a motion they filed last month misunderstood a technicality in the district court's capacity to carry out a trial.

July 18, 2024

Attorneys for Hunter Biden, citing a decision by a federal judge in Florida to dismiss the classified documents case against Donald Trump, file a pair of motions in California and Delaware seeking to dismiss both federal criminal cases against him.

July 21, 2024

Hunter Biden drops his lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company over the fictional miniseries "The Trial of Hunter Biden," with the intention of refiling it against new defendants.

July 25, 2024

Asked during a White House briefing if President Biden would considering pardoning his son Hunter Biden, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says, "It’s still a no. It will be a no. ... And I don't have anything else to add. Will he pardon his son? No."

Aug. 2, 2024

The judge overseeing Hunter Biden's federal gun case schedules sentencing for Nov. 13, a week after Election Day.

Aug. 7, 2024

In a court filing in Hunter Biden's federal tax case, special counsel David Weiss accuses him of accepting payments from a Romanian businessman who was attempting to "influence U.S. government agencies," while his father Joe Biden was vice president. Hunter Biden's attorneys call the claim an "inflammatory and incomplete, and therefore misleading, characterization."

Aug. 13, 2024

Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell confirms reports that Hunter Biden, while his father was vice president in 2016, attempted to enlist the support of the U.S. ambassador to Italy for a prospective business deal in what Lowell says was a "normal and proper practice."

Aug. 19, 2024

The judge overseeing Hunter Biden's federal tax case rejects Hunter Biden's latest attempt to dismiss several of the charges against him, all but ensuring that the case will go to trial in September as scheduled.

Aug. 27, 2024

The judge overseeing the case of the former FBI informant charged with lying about Joe Biden and Hunter Biden's overseas business ties rejects an effort to challenge the legitimacy of special counsel David Weiss' appointment on the same grounds that a federal judge dismissed Donald Trump's classified documents case.

Sept. 5, 2024

As prospective jurors gather for jury selection in Hunter Biden's federal tax trial, the president's son, in a surprise move, says he will seek a plea arrangement -- then ultimately pleads guilty to all counts. The plea, which avoids a lengthy and potentially embarrassing trial, means that he will face up to 17 years in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 16.

Sept. 19, 2024

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, the judge overseeing Hunter Biden's conviction on gun charges, agrees to push back his sentencing date three weeks, from Nov. 13 to Dec. 4, to allow more time for Hunter Biden's legal team to gather materials for the sentencing memorandum.

Sept. 26, 2024

Judge Maryellen Noreika again agrees to push back Hunter Biden's sentencing date in his gun case, from Dec. 4 to Dec. 12, due to scheduling conflict with special counsel David Weiss' case against former FBI confidential source Alexander Smirnov.

Nov. 7, 2024

Speaking to reporters a day after Donald Trump wins reelection over Vice President Kamala Harris, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says that President Joe Biden does not plan to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, after the younger Biden is sentenced on separate tax and gun charges in December.

Nov. 26, 2024

White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, asked if President Biden is still committed to no clemency for his son Hunter Biden, says, "I don’t have anything to add to what he’s said already."

Dec. 1, 2024

President Joe Biden pardons Hunter Biden, weeks before the younger Biden is to be sentenced on tax evasion and federal gun charges. The outgoing president, who previously said he would not pardon his son, says that "raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice" in which his son was "selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."

The blanket pardon comes one day after President-election Donald Trump nominates Kash Patel, a staunch Trump ally who previously said "Democrats should be very afraid" of a new Trump administration, for director of the FBI.