When hopeful Hunter Biden arrived in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, in July, it ended in chaos and uncertainty as a judge rejected a deal that would have given him broad immunity on future firearms and tax fraud charges.

Now, Biden has much lower expectations. He will appear in court on Tuesday to face three counts of lying about drug use when he bought the gun in 2018, a routine legal procedure but with huge political implications, the New York Times quoted Rador Radio Romania as saying.

Biden, 53, is accused of falsifying a federal firearms application, lying to a federally licensed firearms dealer, and illegally obtaining and possessing a handgun over an 11-day period between Oct. 12 and 23, 2018.

He plans to plead not guilty, according to his attorney, Abba Lowell.

If found guilty, Biden faces up to 25 years in prison and a fine of $750,000. But non-violent first-offenders who haven’t even used a gun in other crimes rarely receive heavy prison terms.

The federal district judge presiding over the case, Maryellen Noreika, is likely to schedule a trial or ask the parties to reconsider a deal reached this year in a simplified version: enrollment in a two-year firearms responsibility program without going to jail at all.

At the initial settlement hearing, Noreyka stunned both Biden and federal prosecutors with her principled skepticism, as she accused both sides of asking her to “ruin” a deal she saw as legally dubious and constitutional. Minutes later, the deal fell apart as Biden’s lawyers and prosecutors couldn’t quickly find a compromise that satisfied the judge.

The decision in September to indict President Biden’s troubled son, while expected, was an extraordinary move by the Justice Department and David K. Weiss, who Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed special prosecutor in August.

Republicans tried to prove that Biden’s business is connected to his father, basing their previous investigation into the president’s impeachment on the son’s activities. The first hearing took place last week and produced no new information about the president — or any evidence to support Republican allegations that he was directly involved in his son’s affairs.

The initial settlement would also resolve another case involving Hunter Biden’s late filing of tax returns for consecutive years — if he had pleaded “guilty” of the crimes.

Weiss’ team said it was still investigating Hunter’s other transactions. Most likely, he is trying to determine whether his consulting work for firms in Ukraine, China and Romania violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires disclosure of lobbying activities for foreign organizations.

Lowell argues that the charges should be dismissed. In his view, Weiss is obligated to continue acting under the original plea agreement, but has bowed to pressure from supporters of Donald J. Trump, who believe the deal was given to Hunter because of his father’s political influence.

Biden’s lawyers also say the gun charge will eventually be dismissed because the Supreme Court and some appeals courts have questioned the constitutionality of federal restrictions on the sale of firearms.

Biden asked to appear Tuesday by video conference, but federal judges rejected his request. A fact that forced him to fly from California, where he lives, to his home state.

NY Times (acquisition of Rador Radio Romania)

On the same topic:

• Portrait: Hunter Biden, the troubled son and political torment of the US president