FBI ‘found cocaine on Hunter Biden’s gun pouch’

The FBI found cocaine on a gun holster owned by Hunter Biden, according to court documents.

Agents clinically tested a leather pouch which Mr Biden had used to store the .38-calibre Colt Cobra revolver.

The US president’s son has been charged with illegally possessing the gun and two counts of making false statements when purchasing it, after claiming he was not using illegal drugs at the time.

Mr Biden allegedly purchased the pistol in October 2018 but had Hallie Biden – his then-partner and widow of his brother Beau – dump it in a rubbish bin behind a Delaware convenience store 11 days later.

An elderly man then found the Colt as he sorted through the rubbish.

Five years on, FBI agents removed the gun from police storage to photograph it ahead of the trial.

Documents filed by special counsel David Weiss, the Delaware attorney who is prosecuting the case, say that they found white powder on the holster.

‘Cocaine found where gun was kept’

“An FBI chemist subsequently analysed the residue and determined that it was cocaine,” court filings read.

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

Mr Biden’s legal team is attempting to have the gun charges dismissed.

They say Mr Weiss “buckled under political pressure” to bring the charges, an allegation for which the prosecution says there is no evidence.

In his rebuttal, Mr Weiss said Mr Biden’s own book – Beautiful Things – contained a string of admissions showing he was a drug user at the time.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

But they do not usually result in imprisonment if they are not accompanied by other charges.

Plea deal collapsed

A plea deal which was agreed last year and then collapsed would have allowed the president’s son to avoid charges if he pleaded guilty to misdemeanour tax charges.

Mr Biden is also facing three felony and six misdemeanour charges in Los Angeles after he was accused of evading $1.4 million (£1.1 million) in tax between 2016 and 2019.

Republicans in Congress have opened an impeachment inquiry into the Biden family’s business affairs.

But they have provided no evidence that Joe Biden did anything wrong and he has repeatedly denied knowledge of or involvement in his son’s business dealings.

Hunter Biden’s legal woes nevertheless appear set to continue throughout his father’s bid to win a second term as president.