Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has entered a not guilty plea to charges of illegally owning a handgun at a 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.
The charges could also lead to fines of up to $750,000 (£621,000).
Clad in a dark suit and flanked by Secret Service agents and his defence team, Mr Biden did not speak during the brief arraignment, other than to acknowledge the charges against him and his rights as a defendant.
The plea was entered on his behalf by his attorney, Abbe Lowell.
Mr Biden appeared to be relaxed, laughing and smiling with his defence team before proceedings began and waving to an acquaintance in the room. As he exited, he waved to reporters and said “thank you”.
While no date has been set for the beginning of the trial, prosecutors and Mr Biden’s defence team have been given a 30-day deadline to file any pretrial motions they might have.
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 court, Mr Lowell said that Mr Biden’s defence team would seek to have the charges dismissed, arguing that they are both unconstitutional and barred by the previous agreement made with prosecutors.
He appeared on Tuesday in a federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware – which is the hometown of the Bidens.
