The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was "skeptical" of charging Hunter Biden for lying about his drug use when he bought a firearm.

The detail was included in a New York Times report on Biden's legal defense strategy as federal investigators weigh charges for lying on his background check in 2018.

The Times reports that ATF officials were "skeptical" of charges because Biden "had sought treatment and had no prior criminal history."

Hunter's gun charge

Biden falsely stated on his 4473 form "no" when asked if he was an "unlawful" user of drugs, despite a notorious cocaine habit that he documented in his own memoir.

The .38 pistol went missing in a 2018 incident involving Biden's then-girlfriend Hallie Biden, who is also the widow of Hunter's late brother Beau Biden.

In texts at the time, Hunter wrote that Hallie Biden dropped the gun in a trash can because she "was scared I would harm myself due to my drug and alcohol problem."

The Secret Service allegedly intervened in the matter after police began investigating, even though the Bidens were not then under Secret Service protection.

Hunter Biden's financial affairs have attracted more attention. The president's son has long been suspected of acting as a middleman in an international influence-peddling scheme surrounding his father.

U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, a Trump appointee, is said to be weighing charges of tax evasion and lying on the gun form.

Fortunate son

Whistleblowers from inside the FBI and IRS have alleged the federal probe into Hunter Biden is being obstructed, despite attorney general Merrick Garland's promise to protect the investigation's independence.

If investigators decline to charge Hunter for lying on his background check, it will likely fuel further suspicion that he is receiving special treatment. The ATF said just this week that it remains illegal for firearm owners to use illegal drugs after Minnesota relaxed marijuana laws.

"Until marijuana is legalized federally, firearms owners and possessors should be mindful that it remains federally illegal to mix marijuana with firearms and ammunition," said ATF's Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeff Reed, of the St. Paul Field Division.

If charges are brought, Biden's lawyers are reportedly prepared to cite the Supreme Court's landmark Second Amendment ruling last year, which unsettled gun regulations not grounded in the nation's "historic tradition."