Judge delays agreement to not file charges against US president Joe Biden’s son, Hunter as he pleads not guilty to tax charges
On Wednesday, July 26, the judge overseeing the case stated she needed more time to consider Hunter Biden’s proposed bargain with prosecutors to admit guilt to tax charges and dismiss a firearms charge. This put a stop to their arrangement.
The information indicates that Hunter’s legal issues will continue to gather attention and could harm the president’s reelection bid in 2024. The arrangement had drawn criticism from his main competitor, former President Donald Trump, as well as Trump’s Republican colleagues in Congress for favoring the president’s son unjustly.
The judge’s change of heart came after what should have been a normal plea hearing turned into a three-hour ordeal that included whispered discussions between attorneys and probing inquiries from U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika.
She stated, “I cannot accept the plea agreement today,” asking the parties to explain why she should accept it. This suggests that Hunter Biden’s attorneys and prosecutors still have a chance to convince her to accept the plea agreement in its current form or to modify it so that she can accept it. Not wanting to “rubber stamp” a plea agreement, she stated.
Despite owing more than $100,000 in back taxes, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty during the hearing to charges of failing to pay taxes on more than $1.5 million in revenue in 2017 and 2018.
In a different instance, where he is accused of illegally possessing a firearm while abusing a controlled substance, a felony, he did not enter a plea.
In court, the attorneys for Hunter Biden and the prosecution disputed about whether the agreement they had struck would have precluded the younger Biden from being charged with any additional offenses. Defense attorney Chris Clark even claimed at one point that the agreement was “null and void.”
After lengthy discussions between his attorneys and the prosecution as Noreika waited in her chambers, Biden changed his mind and stated he would not plead guilty to the tax charges without a settlement in place to prevent prosecution on the gun charge.
In the end, the parties came to an understanding that Biden would only receive amnesty for a select number of tax, drug, and firearm charges.
Republicans have repeatedly charged Hunter Biden with using his father’s political influence for his own benefit in his activities in China and Ukraine, but the investigation by Delaware’s U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee, has not turned up any proof to back up those allegations.
The president supported his son, according to Karine Jeane-Pierre, a spokesman for the White House, who also noted that “Hunter Biden is a private citizen and this was a personal matter for him.”
Hunter Biden has experience working as a lawyer, investment banker, consultant, lobbyist, and artist. His battles with addiction, including his drinking and crack cocaine use, have been openly acknowledged.