Hunter Biden disbarred in Connecticut following complaints about his gun and tax convictions
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9:55 AM on Monday, December 15
The Associated Press
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A judge on Monday disbarred Hunter Biden in Connecticut for violating the state's attorney conduct rules, a decision that comes after complaints were made about the federal gun and tax charges Biden was convicted of before being pardoned last year by his father, former President Joe Biden.
In an agreement with the state office that disciplines lawyers, Hunter Biden consented to being disbarred and admitted to attorney misconduct, but he did not admit to any criminal wrongdoing. He was disbarred in Washington, D.C., in May.
Hunter Biden did not speak as he and his lawyer, Ross Garber, appeared via video at a virtual court hearing before Judge Trial Referee Patrick L. Carroll III in Waterbury.
Hunter Biden was convicted last year in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
He had been set to stand trial in September 2024 in a California case in which prosecutors accused him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. He agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges hours after jury selection was set to begin.
The Connecticut judge found that Hunter Biden violated several ethical rules for lawyers, including engaging in conduct “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." In a court document, Hunter Biden admitted to some but not all of the misconduct allegations. The judge also cited the Washington disbarment.
Paul Dorsey, one of the two people who filed the complaints about the former president's son, told the judge during Monday's hearing that he objected to the agreement because Hunter Biden did not admit to committing crimes. But Leanne Larson, an attorney with the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, cited the pardon.
Hunter Biden was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1997, a year after graduating from Yale Law School.
