Hunter Biden shouldn't face federal tax and gun charges because a failed plea deal he reached with federal prosecutors in July remains binding, his lawyers argued in court filings.
Lawyers for Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, challenged the indictment that Special Counsel David Weiss brought against him in September on three firearm-related offenses. But a footnote in the 29-page filing Monday said new tax-related charges brought against Biden last week are also invalid.
Biden's lawyers argue that all the charges should be dropped because their client has immunity under a deal he struck with Weiss in July, that called for him to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion program related to the firearm offenses.
The filing attempts to blame the withdrawn plea deal on former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, claiming they are using Hunter Biden's legal problems to damage his father heading into next year's presidential election. Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination.
"This sweeping immunity may make it difficult for the prosecutors to appease Mr. Trump and the Republican congressmen who have criticized them, but this is the deal that the prosecutors made and it reflects their choice to place the immunity provision in the Diversion Agreement," according to the filing.
Biden will be arraigned as soon as this week in federal court in Los Angeles on nine federal tax charges for offenses between 2016 and 2019, including spending millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying taxes. Prosecutors filed the case in California, where Hunter Biden has lived.
While he's expected to plead not guilty, the charges represent a political liability for President Biden as he gears up to run for re-election. It's possible that Hunter Biden will be on trial for either the tax charges or gun offenses — or both — in the heat of next year's presidential election.
The indictment doesn't provide any evidence that the president benefited from or had any involvement in his son's activities. Regardless, House Republicans plan to vote this week to formalize an impeachment inquiry into the president revolving around his son's overseas business dealings.
Biden was charged with failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes as he spent millions of dollars on a drug-fueled life featuring escorts, fast cars and luxury hotels, much of it while he was in the grips of addiction. He could face 17 years in prison if convicted of the three felonies and six misdemeanors in the indictment.
Biden and his legal team negotiated a settlement with Weiss during the summer under which Biden admitted to failing to pay taxes on $2.3 million in income in 2017 and $2.1 million in 2018, and agreed to enter a diversion program to resolve the gun offenses. He wouldn't have faced any prison time under the agreement.
The deal imploded when questioned by a judge in Delaware federal court in July. Biden's legal team contends the deal — and the immunity that came along with it — remain in effect because all parties signed it in July and it didn't require court approval.
Biden's legal team made a series of filings Monday in which they argue that Weiss and the Justice Department were looking for any excuse to walk away from the deal. They caved to political pressure and are now carrying out a vindictive, selective prosecution, according to the filings.
"This ludicrous and shameless behavior would be comical if it were not so deeply unfair to Mr. Biden, embarrassing to the country, and offensive to the concept of justice," Biden's lawyers wrote.
