Hunter Biden may already have been convicted for lying about his drug use when he purchased a revolver from a Delaware gun store in 2018, but he's hoping to get that conviction wiped off the books with a little help from the judge who recently tossed out the case against Donald Trump over his storage of classified documents. 

In that case, Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the appointment of prosecutor Jack Smith was unconstitutional because it failed to follow the proper procedure, which in part requires special prosecutors to be appointed by the president or confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In a court filing, Biden's attorneys say the same argument applies to special counsel David Weiss, who prosecuted Biden's gun case in Delaware. 

Hunter Biden's team had raised similar arguments before, unsuccessfully, but they say there's now good reason to reconsider them. Both of Hunter Biden's cases are being overseen by judges nominated by Trump. Cannon, the judge who threw out Trump's case, was also nominated by the former Republican president.

“Based on these new legal developments, Mr. Biden moves to dismiss the indictment brought against him because the Special Counsel who initiated this prosecution was appointed in violation of the Appointments Clause as well,” Hunter Biden's lawyers wrote. They also cited an opinion this month by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that questioned the propriety of a special counsel appointment.

“The Attorney General relied upon the exact same authority to appoint the Special Counsel in both the Trump and Biden matters, and both appointments are invalid for the same reason,” the lawyers added.

The problem for Biden is that Weiss was already serving as the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, so he had jurisdiction to prosecute Hunter for purchasing and possessing a firearm while an unlawful user of drugs. Biden's attorneys also filed the same request in California, where Weiss has charged Biden with filing false tax returns, and they may actually have a shot at getting those charges thrown out. I would be surprised, however, if U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who oversaw Biden's trial on gun charges, overturns his conviction in the Delaware federal court.

Ironically, while Hunter Biden is depending on Cannon's dismissal of the Trump case, his dad has slammed Cannon's decision, as well as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's concurrence in the presidential immunity case that was cited repeatedly by Cannon in her own ruling. 

Joe Biden said in an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt this week that Cannon’s decision was “specious” and that “I don’t agree with what Clarence Thomas’ dissent and/or the Supreme Court decision on immunity.”

Smith’s office is appealing Cannon’s decision.

“The dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel,” spokesperson Peter Carr said in a statement.

That's going to make for some awkward father-son conversations, though I suppose the elder Biden can always tell Hunter he doesn't remember telling Holt anything of that nature... or being interviewed by him at all. 

I still believe that Hunter's best chance of having his conviction thrown out is to raise a Second Amendment challenge on appeal. His attorneys can cite the Supreme Court's decision in Rahimi, which specifically said that individuals deemed by a judge to be a danger to others can be temporarily deprived of their Second Amendment rights. Biden is arguably not dangerous; at the very least, he wasn't charged or convicted of a crime of violence. And this isn't a temporary deprivation of his Second Amendment rights; as a convicted felon he's now prohibited from keeping or bearing arms for the rest of his life (or his dad goes back on his word and issues him a pardon). 

Weiss has a few weeks to file his response to Biden's motion, so don't expect a ruling from Noreika anytime soon. In fact, the next thing we hear from her might be a date for Hunter Biden's sentencing, which is expected to take place this fall.