Hunter Biden’s lawyers claim federal prosecutors broke their plea deal.
U.S. Prosecutors Reneged on Plea Deal with Hunter Biden, Lawyers Say
In a new filing, lawyers for Hunter Biden revealed that U.S. prosecutors have gone back on a previously agreed-upon plea deal with President Joe Biden’s son. The decision to renege on the deal was made on August 13, according to Mr. Biden’s legal team.
Prosecutors recently stated that the case, which was initially heading towards a resolution where Mr. Biden would plead guilty, is now set to go to trial due to the collapse of the plea agreement.
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Mr. Biden had initially agreed to plead guilty to two counts of intentionally failing to pay taxes. Additionally, he and the prosecutors had reached a pretrial diversion agreement for a felony gun charge.
During the first hearing after the announcement of the deals, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika expressed concerns about certain details. She discovered that the diversion agreement included a promise from prosecutors not to pursue the gun charge, as well as other charges related to the tax issues beyond the two counts already brought forward.
“Have you ever seen a Diversion Agreement where the agreement not to prosecute is so broad that it encompasses crimes in a different case?” Judge Noreika asked the prosecutors.
“No,” answered Leo Wise, one of the prosecutors.
Subsequently, the parties disagreed on the interpretation of the details, leading one of Mr. Biden’s attorneys to declare the plea agreement null and void, resulting in Mr. Biden pleading not guilty.
“The possibilities are only, one, they wrote something and weren’t clear what they meant. Two, they knew what they meant, and misstated it to counsel. Or third, they changed their view as they were standing in court in Delaware,” said Abbe Lowell, one of the lawyers representing Mr. Biden, during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Prosecutors later revealed that attempts to negotiate an updated agreement for the tax charges had failed, leading to the likelihood of a trial.
“The immunity that would have been granted would be broad immunity,” Mr. Lowell stated.
While Mr. Biden’s lawyers acknowledged that a briefing to the judge was unnecessary given the circumstances, Mr. Lowell suggested that a newly crafted agreement could still be a possibility to avoid a trial.
“We were trying to avoid one all along. And so were the prosecutors who came forward to us, and were the ones to say, ‘can there be a resolution short of a prosecution?’ So they wanted it and maybe they still do want it,” Mr. Lowell explained.
The two counts Mr. Biden faces are misdemeanors, each carrying a maximum prison term of one year upon conviction.
Prosecutors have indicated that the diversion agreement is separate from the plea deal and remains in effect. Mr. Biden’s legal team agrees with this position.
“The defendant intends to abide by the terms of the diversion agreement,” they wrote, emphasizing that “the parties have a valid and binding bilateral diversion agreement.”
The diversion agreement would allow Mr. Biden to avoid pleading guilty or going to trial for the felony gun charge, which carries a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years if he were to admit guilt or be convicted. The terms of the agreement include a 24-month prohibition on buying or owning a gun, surrendering any firearms and ammunition he currently possesses, and refraining from alcohol and drug use.
The new filing was submitted in response to the prosecutors’ request for the judge to dismiss the tax charges. Prosecutors explained that, following the impasse in negotiations, they plan to bring the charges in different jurisdictions.
“Venue for these offenses does not lie in Delaware,” U.S. Att
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