The drama continues when it comes to Hunter Biden's legal troubles. On Tuesday morning, it was revealed that his longtime attorney, Chris Clark, is withdrawing from the tax case. The court filing, obtained by Fox News, noted that Clark's move was "necessitated by recent developments in the matter."
As the filing notes in part:
Mr. Clark's withdrawal is necessitated by recent developments in the matter. Pursuant to Delaware Rule of Professional Conduct 3.7(a), "a lawyer shall not act as advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness unless... disqualification of the lawyer would work substantial hardship on the client." Based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea agreement and diversion agreement will be contested, and Mr. Clark is a percipient witness to those issues...
The filing also makes clear that Hunter Biden will still have representation in the case.
Hunter had been given a sweetheart plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid jail time for not only tax and gun charges, but could have also given him immunity from prosecution for future crimes.
Judge Maryellen Noreika, who handled the case, expressed grave concern about the unprecedented nature of the plea deal, as well as if she even had authority. Thus, it fell apart.
Hunter was thus forced to enter a not guilty plea, and last week it was revealed he will be going to trial, although another attorney of his, Abbe Lowell, claims that a trial is "not inevitable." As the Fox News report mentioned:
Hunter Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell, who has been representing the president’s son, officially added himself as counsel in the federal case on Monday.
Lowell, appearing on CBS News’ "Face the Nation" this weekend, maintained that a trial for the president’s son is "not inevitable," and said another plea agreement could still be negotiated.
"It's not inevitable," he said, adding that "we were trying to avoid [a trial] 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.
Lowell’s comments came just days after the Justice Department appeared to indicate that a trial was imminent.
Clark's name might sound familiar, as he was the one involved in a back-and-forth with Ted Kittila, the GOP attorney for the House Ways and Means Committee. On the eve of last month's plea deal, Hunter's legal team had been accused of dirty tricks and deception to block the filing from the Ways and Means Committee.
The attorneys faced sanctions as a result, and in their response chalked the matter up to a "misunderstanding" claiming "our understanding is there was no misrepresentation."
As the Daily Mail report on the matter mentioned, "Clark has previously engaged in unusual methods for a high-powered lawyer – including in responses to DailyMail.com," the report mentioned, going on to refer to "a near-unintelligible email" in response to a story about Hunter Biden's meetings in the White House.
Hunter Biden's Legal Team Is Accused of Some Deep Deception on Eve of Plea Deal https://t.co/zkGXB8x68Y
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 26, 2023
Clark was also of Hunter's attorneys in attendance at DOJ headquarters. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) had also been raising concerns for years about Clark's association with Criminal Division Chief Nicholas McQuaid, requesting that McQuaid recuse himself, as he had previously worked directly with Clark at Lathan and Watkins.
Such is not the only recent drama to befall Hunter Biden's legal case. As Katie covered earlier on Tuesday, Hunter's legal team is bickering with U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed special counsel last week by Attorney General Merrick Garland, about claims that the DOJ "reneged" on the plea deal.