A hearing over Hunter Biden's plea agreement with prosecutors regarding his tax charges and a firearm violation ended on Wednesday without a resolution, after a judge refused to sign off on the terms of the deal.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika expressed concerns over the structure of the deal, which had provisions for tax charges and a weapons charge, as well as the time frame of the agreement and what charges won't be prosecuted.
Biden admitted his guilt at the start of the nearly four-hour hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, but ended up entering a plea of not guilty after the agreement was derailed. The judge chastised both prosecutors and Biden's defense lawyers for presenting her a plea deal she said suffered from procedural flaws.
Throughout the hearing, diverging views emerged between Biden's lawyers and prosecutors regarding the scope of the immunity that would be granted to Biden under the agreement.
Under the original deal, Biden had intended to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes committed in 2017 and 2018. Additionally, he was poised to enter into an agreement with federal prosecutors to avoid prison on a charge for possessing a gun while addicted to an illegal drug.
The lack of resolution means that Hunter Biden's case will continue to hang over President Biden as he runs for a second term. It will also fuel politically charged investigations into Biden family business dealings.
Biden's lawyers and federal prosecutors came to a revised agreement for the deal to apply only to misdemeanor tax crimes and a firearm violation between the years 2014 to 2019. Meanwhile, prosecutors said they are still investigating Biden and could charge him with other crimes not covered by the plea deal.
But the hearing was temporarily halted when Noreika said she didn't understand what Hunter Biden could still be charged with. She asked questions that exposed a misunderstanding between Justice Department prosecutors and Biden's lawyer, Chris Clark.
"I don't really understand the scope" of the agreement's immunity provisions, Noreika said. She noted that Biden has had numerous foreign business dealings. At one point, she raised a hypothetical as to whether Biden could be charged as acting as an unregistered foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Leo Wise, an assistant U.S. attorney representing the government at the hearing, said that Biden could still be charged with a FARA violation. His statement prompted an objection from Clark.
Noreika asked the prosecutors and defense lawyers to resolve their differences about the plea agreement and temporarily adjourned the hearing. The two sides were asked to submit briefs within 30 days.
When the hearing resumed, Wise and Clark said they were in agreement that the non-prosecution aspects of the deal will be limited to only tax violations, drug offenses and a firearm violation during the years 2014 to 2019. Biden can still be charged for crimes outside the scope of the deal.
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The proposed agreement has become a lightning rod for conservatives who claim the Justice Department failed to fully investigate the business dealings of the Biden family, including President Biden, and gave Hunter Biden politically favorable treatment.
On Tuesday night, House Republicans asked the judge to throw out the plea agreement, a highly unusual step in a criminal case. Representative Jason Smith, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, filed a brief urging the judge to consider the testimony of two Internal Revenue Service investigators who claimed that Hunter Biden received preferential treatment from the Justice Department, according to the filing, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg.
The Hunter Biden investigation has been seen by conservatives as representing a double standard in how the Justice Department handles explosive cases, especially compared to the investigations of former President Donald Trump, who is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president next year.
The Justice Department appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to lead investigations of Trump. Smith brought an indictment against Trump in June for allegedly mishandling classified information and obstructing justice. Smith has since sent Trump a letter informing him he's a target of the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, which means Trump is likely to face a new round of federal charges.
In response, House Republicans have launched a series of investigations into the business dealings of Biden family members. Republicans released an FBI raw intelligence
The investigation into Hunter Biden has been led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, who was appointed by Trump and kept on by Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Weiss has said that allegations contained in the raw FBI report are part of an ongoing investigation.
— With assistance from Erik Larson
