It's been 24-hours since Hunter Biden entered a Delaware courtroom expecting to walk away without jail time and a codification of his sweetheart plea deal offered by the Department of Justice -- wiping away felony tax fraud and a felony gun charge with minor misdemeanors and a diversion program.
“As he entered the courtroom, Mr. Biden drew a deep breath and plunged forward to greet the prosecutors who investigated him for five years with handshakes and a smile,” the New York Times reported about the scene.
But after asking just a few simple questions, U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreikam torpedoed the whole thing and exposed DOJ's collusion with the Hunter Biden legal team to evade more serious charges in the future. According to former federal prosecutor Will Scharf, this is what happened:
Based on conversations with people who were in the courtroom today, and my experience as a former federal prosecutor, I think I know the full story of what happened with the Hunter Biden plea agreement blow-up this morning.
— Will Scharf (@willscharf) July 26, 2023
Bear with me, because this is a little complicated:…
Based on conversations with people who were in the courtroom today, and my experience as a former federal prosecutor, I think I know the full story of what happened with the Hunter Biden plea agreement blow-up this morning.
Bear with me, because this is a little complicated:
Typically, if the Government is offering to a defendant that it will either drop charges or decline to bring new charges in return for the defendant's guilty plea, the plea is structured under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(A). An agreement not to prosecute Hunter for FARA violations or other crimes in return for his pleading guilty to the tax misdemeanors, for example, would usually be a (c)(1)(A) plea. This is open, transparent, subject to judicial approval, etc.
In Hunter's case, according to what folks in the courtroom have told me, Hunter's plea was structured under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(B), which is usually just a plea in return for a joint sentencing recommendation only, and contained no information on its face about other potential charges, and contained no clear agreement by DOJ to forego prosecution of other charges.
Instead, DOJ and Hunter's lawyers effectively hid that part of the agreement in what was publicly described as a pretrial diversion agreement relating to a § 922(g)(3) gun charge against Hunter for being a drug user in possession of a firearm.
That pretrial diversion agreement as written was actually MUCH broader than just the gun charge. If Hunter were to complete probation, the pretrial diversion agreement prevented DOJ from ever bringing charges against Hunter for any crimes relating to the offense conduct discussed in the plea agreement, which was purposely written to include his foreign influence peddling operations in China and elsewhere.
So they put the facts in the plea agreement, but put their non-prosecution agreement in the pretrial diversion agreement, effectively hiding the full scope of what DOJ was offering and Hunter was obtaining through these proceedings. Hunter's upside from this deal was vast immunity from further prosecution if he finished a couple years of probation, and the public wouldn't be any the wiser because none of this was clearly stated on the face of the plea agreement, as would normally be the case.
Judge Noreika smelled a rat. She understood that the lawyers were trying to paint her into a corner and hide the ball. Instead, she backed DOJ and Hunter's lawyers into a corner by pulling all the details out into the open and then indicating that she wasn't going to approve a deal as broad as what she had discovered.
DOJ, attempting to save face and save its case, then stated on the record that the investigation into Hunter was ongoing and that Hunter remained susceptible to prosecution under FARA. Hunter's lawyers exploded. They clearly believed that FARA was covered under the deal, because as written, the pretrial diversion agreement language was broad enough to cover it. They blew up the deal, Hunter pled not guilty, and that's the current state of play.
And so here we are. Hunter's lawyers and DOJ are going to go off and try to pull together a new set of agreements, likely narrower, to satisfy Judge Noreika. Fortunately, I doubt if FARA or any charges related to Hunter's foreign influence peddling will be included, which leaves open the possibility of further investigations leading to further prosecutions.
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The White House and President Joe Biden maintain the investigation into Hunter Biden was "independent" and without favoritism.
Former federal prosecutor Brett Tolman says there's "no way" Hunter's legal team and DOJ weren't on the same page. Former attorney for the Senate Judiciary Committee Mike Davis also weighed in.
There is absolutely no way DOJ and Hunter’s defense team weren’t on the same page when the deal was struck. What changed was the backlash for giving such a deal and the exposure by the @JudiciaryGOP @GOPoversight of more and broader criminal behavior. DOJ got caught. https://t.co/DeabcbNLG4
— Brett L. Tolman (@tolmanbrett) July 26, 2023
As I explain here —this happened because DOJ got caught. They probably had discussions with Hunter’s lawyers that was a verbal agreement to not pursue anything else. But after the public outcry and House hearings had to back away. Very shady stuff. https://t.co/tAfBvZ5pb0
— Brett L. Tolman (@tolmanbrett) July 26, 2023
The Biden DOJ and Hunter had an even sweeter secret deal than the written sweetheart deal.
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) July 26, 2023
They were going to end all charges against Hunter.
But they couldn't write that down.
Too much political blowback.
And they could rebuff Congress by claiming "an ongoing investigation."
So, what's next? DOJ prosecutors said in court Wednesday that Hunter Biden was under investigation for failing to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agent Registration Act. He made millions of dollars working on behalf of Burisma, a corrupt Ukrainian gas company, and took part in a number of Chinese "business deals" without registering under FARA.
Former U.S. Attorney, Brett Tolman, says the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware has a tough choice to make right now. They could dismiss this thing and admit they’re a protection racket for the Bidens or they could restore the legitimacy of the department’s reputation and do… pic.twitter.com/xQ74aN4aF7
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) July 27, 2023
According to the Department of Justice, "The penalty for a willful violation of FARA is imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Certain violations are considered misdemeanors, with penalties of imprisonment of not more than six months, a fine of not more than $5,000, or both."
Hunter Biden entered a not guilty plea yesterday after planning to enter a guilty plea. His legal team has 30 days to come up with an agreement with DOJ. In the meantime, Hunter is on pre-trial release with a number of conditions.
We’ve Got the Details of Hunter Biden’s New ‘Conditions of Release’ https://t.co/fj3BDpOXih
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 26, 2023
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