Hunter Biden cites Trump ruling in seeking dismissal of gun and tax cases

• Lawyers for Hunter Biden on Thursday asked federal judges in California and Delaware to dismiss the criminal tax and gun cases against him in their courts.
• Biden's lawyers cited a recent opinion by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the dismissal this week of the criminal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump by Judge Aileen Cannon.
• Defense lawyers pointed to those rulings in arguing that the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel for prosecutions of Biden was unconstitutional.
• Hunter Biden is the son of President Joe Biden, who as of now plans to face Trump in November's election.

Lawyers for Hunter Biden on Thursday asked federal judges in California and Delaware to dismiss the criminal tax and gun cases against him in their courts, citing a recent opinion by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the related dismissal this week of the criminal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

Biden's lawyers in motions filed in both courts pointed to those two opinions — which questioned the legality of the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith to prosecute Trump — in arguing that the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel for prosecutions of the son of President Joe Biden was unconstitutional.

The motions follow the ruling Monday by Florida federal court Judge Aileen Cannon tossing out Smith's prosecution of Trump over his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House.

Cannon, who herself cited Thomas' recent concurring opinion in another Trump case, ruled that Smith's appointment as special counsel violated the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Smith on Wednesday filed an appeal of Cannon's