Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs federal court after a plea hearing on two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes in Wilmington, Delaware, July 26, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Lawyers for Hunter Biden told a judge that federal prosecutors on Friday decided to “renege” on a previously agreed deal by which the son of President Joe Biden would plea guilty to tax crimes in exchange for a beneficial no-jail sentence.
But Hunter Biden’s lawyers also said in a recent Delaware federal court filing that a second agreement with prosecutors that will allow him to flee conviction for a gun-related crime is “valid and binding.”
District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, in an order Monday, told U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss to answer the filing by noon ET on Tuesday.
The brand new court filings are the most recent developments within the Hunter Biden criminal case, which was thrown into disarray on July 26, when he appeared before Noreika for what was expected to be a hearing by which he would plead guilty.
Weiss on Friday was appointed special counsel for the case by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland right after Weiss’ prosecutors said in a Delaware federal court filing that plea talks with Hunter Biden’s lawyer had failed.
The filing also said that the president’s son would likely face trial in California or Washington, D.C., and that he is perhaps charged with more crimes.
Chris Clark, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, said Friday, “We’re confident when all of those maneuverings are at an end my client can have resolution and can be moving on together with his life successfully.”
On the July 26 hearing, Hunter Biden, who has been under investigation for five years, planned to plead guilty to 2 counts of failure to pay federal income taxes on annual income of greater than $1.5 million in 2017 and 2018.
Weiss’ office had offered to recommend he receive a sentence of probation for those convictions.
Individually, prosecutors offered him a diversion agreement that will drop a criminal charge of getting a gun while being a drug user if he abided by certain conditions for a time period.
The agreements fell apart after Noreika questioned their terms on the hearing, and whether federal case law allowed the conditions prosecutors had set.
A key sticking point for the judge was the requirement that she, not the U.S. Department of Justice, be the one to choose if Hunter Biden violates the gun agreement over a two-year period.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer told her that requirement would avoid the deal becoming “more politicized” in the long run, a transparent reference to the possibility that Donald Trump is elected president in 2024, and orders the DOJ to act against Hunter.
After Noreika said she would give prosecutors and defense lawyers more time to reply her questions, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the tax crimes.
Of their filing over the weekend, his lawyers wrote: “While counsel for the Defendant are still prepared to answer the questions Your Honor posed on the July 26 hearing, in light of america’ decision on Friday to renege on the previously agreed-upon Plea Agreement, we agree that those issues are moot at this point.”
