Hunter Biden claims not guilty to federal gun charges at Delaware courthouse
Prosecutors allege that Mr Biden, 53, lied about his drug use on application forms when he purchased the weapon in 2018.
Mr Biden has acknowledged that he was a heavy user of crack cocaine at the time, but denies breaking the law.
He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the three federal counts.
A proposed plea deal to resolve the charges abruptly fell apart in July, meaning Mr Biden was indicted shortly after.
He was charged with two counts of making false statements and one count of illegal gun possession. The charges all relate to his purchase of a revolver at a Delaware gun store in October 2018, which he kept for around 11 days.
By Mr Biden's own admission - published in a 2021 memoir - he was in the throes of a "full-blown addiction" at the time.
Two of the criminal counts against him, each punishable by up to 10 years, stem from the allegations that Mr Biden lied about his drug use on the forms. A third count, related to his possession of a firearm while a drug user, is punishable by up to five years.
In a court filing in September in which his legal team unsuccessfully sought a virtual, not in-person, court appearance, Mr Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, said that his client would enter a plea of not guilty.
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