A judge has denied a request by President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, to appear remotely via video to face federal gun charges.
The three criminal charges, for possessing a gun while he was an illegal drug user and lying to buy it, will be read out in a Delaware federal court on 3 October.
Hunter Biden has said he will plead not guilty to the charges.
If convicted, the 53-year-old could face up to 25 years in prison.
In a two-page court filing on Tuesday, Mr Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell had asked for his client to enter his not guilty plea via video conference as it would “minimize an unnecessary burden on government resources and the disruption” from a Secret Service detail accompanying him.
This was not a case of the president’s son “seeking any special treatment”, he wrote.
But Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke denied the request in a court order on Wednesday, noting that government prosecutors had already opposed it.
Appearing in person would “emphasize the integrity and solemnity of a federal criminal proceeding”, he said.
Judge Burke added that the criminal charges against Mr Biden “are new and were not addressed at his prior hearing” in relation to a plea agreement.
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The charges on which Mr Biden was indicted last week stem from October 2018, when he was struggling with a crack cocaine addiction after the loss of his brother Beau to brain cancer.
He bought a Colt Cobra revolver handgun, reportedly on a whim, in Delaware in October 2018, about two months after completing another stint in rehab.
But Mr Biden allegedly lied on the federal firearm application form that he was not using illegal drugs at the time, for which he now faces two felony counts punishable by up to 10 years each.
A third count relates to his possession of the firearm while being a drug user and carries a maximum prison sentence of up to five years.
The weapon was found in Mr Biden’s vehicle by his late brother’s widow, Hallie, who tossed it into a rubbish bin behind a shop, reportedly out of fear he might use the gun to hurt himself.
Delaware police and Secret Service agents would go on to investigate after the pistol was discovered by a man rummaging through the bin for recyclable items.
In June, a plea deal reached between prosecutors and Mr Biden’s legal team on gun and tax charges collapsed after another judge raised objections, noting the agreement was “unusual”.
Under the terms of that deal, Mr Biden would have been forced to admit to illegal possession of a firearm and agree to drug treatment and monitoring to avoid a felony charge and potential imprisonment.
He would also have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanour counts for failing to pay his taxes on time in 2017 and 2018.
Legal analysts have said, however, that the basis of the new gun charges against Mr Biden may be subject to a constitutional challenge.
Mr Biden has no prior criminal record. He had the weapon for fewer than two weeks and never used it. Few people matching that profile face such charges, let alone prison time, they note.
Charges could be refiled against Mr Biden for the alleged tax violations.
A recent court filing from prosecutors about the tax counts filed in Delaware suggest they may be instead brought in California or Washington DC.
Hunter Biden has become a political lightning rod, despite not holding a position in the White House or on his father’s re-election campaign.
The House of Representatives Oversight Committee will next week hold its first impeachment inquiry hearing into the president over his son’s business dealings.
The White House says the Republican-led inquiry is politically motivated and predicated on baseless claims.
