Hunter’s plea deal confusion in Delaware

A federal judge called a second recess in Hunter Biden’s hearing Wednesday as the plea agreement between Hunter Biden and the US attorney in Delaware appeared on the verge of collapsing.

Biden was expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors after making a deal in June that would allow him to avoid prosecution on a gun charge. A disagreement between prosecutors and defense lawyers about immunity from other charges threatened to kill the deal. Biden’s attorneys came to a limited agreement with prosecutors that stipulated the deal covered specific charges within a time period/

US District Judge Maryellen Noreika asked Leo Wise, a member of the prosecution, if the deal meant Biden would be immune from prosecution for other crimes, to which he responded no. Wise also told Noreika that the investigation into Biden’s finances is ongoing despite claims from Christopher Clark, Biden’s lawyer, that the investigation has closed. Noreika also questioned why the agreement had been filed under a provision that gave her no legal authority to reject it. 

Noreika put the court in recess and asked prosecutors and defense lawyers to clarify disagreement over the terms of the plea deal. According to CNN, “the president’s son has agreed to a limited agreement that covers 2014-2019 that only includes conduct related to tax offenses, drug use and gun possession.”

Wednesday’s court date was confused further the night before after a lawyer representing Republican congressman Jason Smith of the House Ways and Means Committee attempted to submit an amicus curiae letter with Judge Noreika. According to NBC, Smith’s lawyer Theodore Kittila “accused a staff member in Clark’s office of impersonating someone from Kittila’s staff in a call to the clerk of the Delaware court and asking to have the letter removed from court filings.” Biden lawyer Christopher Clark attempted to explain away this call as a “mishap.”