News/Commentary

Plea deal drama kicks off Hunter Biden proceedings, Judge’s concerns prompt need for revised deal

July 26, 2023 | | Print Article

Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal appeared to have fallen apart in court according to both prosecutors and his defense team and then seemed to bounce back to life.

The first son was expected to plead guilty Wednesday to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax and to enter a pretrial diversion agreement over a separate gun-related felony charge in a deal crafted by the Justice Department. He would have faced no jail time per the arrangement and it was expected to sail through court. That evidently did not happen.

As the proceedings continued Wednesday, it appeared prosecutors and the defense team came up with a revised agreement.

On Tuesday, Biden’s legal team was accused of lying and trying to get whistleblower information stricken from the docket via a phone call to the clerk’s office. That incensed the judge on the case.

Republicans have also been urging Delaware Judge Maryellen Noreika to reject the plea agreement because of growing evidence of government interference in the investigation into Hunter Biden’s dealings.

Hunter Biden arrived at the Delaware federal courthouse at 10 am on Wednesday morning to stand before Judge Noreika, a Trump appointee who has donated to both political parties, according to Just the News.

CNN is reporting that the judge had expressed concerns about the terms of the plea agreement.

“The judge called a second recess in the Hunter Biden plea proceedings as it appeared that the agreements the president’s son had reached with prosecutors had begun to unravel,” CNN reported.

“The judge said she had ‘concerns’ about the parties seemingly linking the tax plea agreement to the deal on the gun charge. During the proceedings, prosecutors confirmed that the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son was ongoing,” the media outlet continued. “The judge had been questioning the parties on the scope of the agreement.”

Noreika reportedly asked if the investigation was ongoing, to which attorney David Weiss responded that it was, but said he could not share any further details with the court. She also wanted to know if the gun charge was tied to the plea deal.

The confusion over the gun charge prompted the judge to pause the proceedings so a resolution could be reached.

The plea deal had asked for probation for Hunter Biden. Conditions of that probation include abstaining from drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs. He would have to submit to random drug tests as well.

If the plea deal were thrown out, Hunter Biden would have to answer for earning more than $1.5 million annually in 2017 and 2018. He did not pay taxes for either year and owed over $100,000.

Each of those tax charges carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison. For the gun charge, he could get 10 years.

Attempting to avoid that nasty outcome, it appears that the prosecutors and the defense have agreed to a revised plea deal according to CNN.

“The Hunter Biden plea proceedings have restarted and the president’s son has agreed to a limited agreement that covers 2014 to 2019 and only includes conduct related to tax offenses, drug use, and gun possession,” the media outlet reported.

“President Joe Biden’s son will still plead guilty to the tax misdemeanors for 2017 and 2018, but the agreement will also cover his tax-related conduct for the three years prior,” CNN continued. “The two sides have agreed that this deal does not shield him from potential future charges.”

This is the first time in US history that a sitting president’s son has pleaded guilty to any crime in federal court.

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