This article has been updated to include tweets providing more details from the New York Post's Miranda Devine.
Wednesday brings us to Hunter Biden's plea deal that will allow him to avoid jail time for gun and tax charges. Tuesday has already brought plenty of drama on the matter, though. As the New York Post reported on Tuesday night, Hunter Biden's attorneys have been accused of some dirty, dirty tricks. In what's very much a big if true moment, they deceptively block the release of evidence submitted in an amicus brief from the House Ways and Means Committee to Delaware U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika. They're facing sanctions as a result.
The filing noted that Hunter Biden benefited from "political interference which calls into question the propriety of the investigation," and included testimony from IRS whistleblowers who have provided testimony to the Committee. But then, Hunter Biden's attorneys pulled a dirty trick to get the filing removed.
As the Post explained, Jessica Bengels, who is actually with Latham & Watkins, where Hunter Biden's attorney Chris Clark was formerly a partner, claimed to work with Theodore Kittila, an attorney for the House Ways and Means Committee:
What happened next was outlined in a letter sent to the judge Tuesday afternoon by the committee’s top lawyer, Theodore Kittila.
“[A]t approximately 1:30 p.m., we received word that our filing was removed from the docket,” Kittila said. “We promptly contacted the Clerk’s office, and we were advised that someone contacted the Court representing that they worked with my office [emphasis original] and that they were asking the Court to remove this from the docket. We immediately advised that this was inaccurate. The Clerk’s Office responded that we would need to re-file. We have done so now.”
Kittila included email exchanges with court officials and Hunter Biden’s attorneys in the fresh filing.
“Hi Ted, Following up on our recent telephone conversation, the woman who called was a Jessica Bengels,” confirmed court official Samantha Grimes. “… She said she worked with Theodore Kittila and it was important the document was removed immediately or they could file a motion to seal. I do deeply apologize for all the confusion on our part.”
Bengels is the director of litigation services at the New York-based law firm of Latham & Watkins, where Hunter Biden attorney Chris Clark was formerly a partner.
What followed were some testy exchanges too, once confrontations happened:
When Kittila confronted the first son’s legal team, Hunter’s attorneys tried to claim the filing contained confidential tax and identifying information, even though the whistleblower testimony has been public for more than a month.
The time stamps from the emails also indicated the request to take the document down was made after Kittila refused a request to file the testimony under seal.
“As far as I am aware, the managing attorney from Latham called the clerk’s office to note that personal tax information of the defendant had been filed in a non reacted [sic] manner and to inquire regarding having the information sealed, as we told you we would and as you said you understood,” Clark wrote. “As far as I am aware the clerk took the filing down on their own accord. Your attempts to publicly file my client’s personal financial information with no protection ls [sic] are improper, illegal and in violation of applicable rules … We will seek all appropriate sanctions in response to your actions.”
“You should probably take a step back from your statements,” Kittila warned. “The clerk’s office advised that it was represented to her that the request was being made by my firm. We will be advising Judge Noreika of this improper conduct.”
“I stand by all of my statements and I hope you have an affidavit from the clerk in support of yours,” Clark replied.
Miranda Devine tweeted out the order from the court and letters between Kittila and Clark, as well as information on Bengels.
The letters between GOP lawyer Ted Kittila and Hunter Biden’s lawyer Chris Clark are quite something: “Someone from your side unilaterally contacted the Court and had our filing taken down.” pic.twitter.com/zhzstPsS24
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 26, 2023
Full story here: Hunter Biden lawyer accused of deception to seal bid to block plea deal @nypost https://t.co/anz3yFEJW0
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 26, 2023
The Daily Mail received an exclusive on the story, and included communication in their reporting. "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.
"Clark, who has previously specialized in media industry cases, appeared to be under the mistaken impression that DailyMail.com is a News Corp company, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. DailyMail.com is in fact owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust," the report mentioned.
The Daily Mail also included a statement from the Heritage Foundation's Mike Howell:
Mike Howell, director of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, told DailyMail.com that the latest twist in the courtroom saga was 'crazy' and the alleged actions of Clark's firm 'reek of desperation'.
'Something crazy is happening right now in the Hunter Biden case,' he said. 'The judge ordered the sealing of transcripts that have been publicly available on the House website for over a month and which a House Committee voted to release in compliance with applicable rules.
'The courageous whistleblowers did the right thing in the right way – they provided sworn testimony protected under U.S. law.
'If anyone lied to the court, they need to be punished. Otherwise, we can only expect the same behavior in the future. It is unbelievable that we are dealing with these 11th-hour procedural shenanigans that reek of desperation.
'Heritage Oversight will be there in person to observe these proceedings on behalf of the American people,' Howell vowed.
As Townhall has been covering, the House Ways and Means Committee has been looking into the plea deal that the First Son was able to receive, with many committees involved in looking to get to the bottom of it, including as it applies to whether or not David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney in the case, had full authority to charge Hunter Biden.
The judge had given Hunter's attorneys until 9pm on Tuesday night to respond with Noreika noting "counsel for defendant shall show cause as to why sanctions should not be considered for misrepresentations to the court." The filing was still ordered sealed until after the hearing on Wednesday.
A response from Hunter Biden's attorneys and an affadavit from Bengels pointed to how "[t]he matter under consideration appears to stem from an unfortunate and unintentional miscommunication between a staff member at our firm and employees of the Court." The letter response claimed "[w]e have no idea how the misunderstanding occurred, but our understanding is there was no misrepresentation."
As an updated version of the Post included, Bengels spoke to a miscommunication in her affidavit as well. "I am completely confident that I never indicated that I was calling from Mr. Kittila’s firm or that I worked with him in any way," she said. "The only mention of his name was when [the clerk] had asked me if the filings had been entered by Mr. Kittila’s firm and I answered that I believed that to be the case."
Pages 2&3 of Bengels’ affidavit: pic.twitter.com/hccShNepxc
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 26, 2023
Devine also tweeted that if the court records its phone calls, that could help "shed light" on the situation.
If the Delaware court records its phone calls, that may helps shed light on how such an unfortunate “misunderstanding” occurred.
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 26, 2023
While Devine tweeted the letter showing that the attorneys claim it's been a "misunderstanding," she's also since tweeted out that there are still details that don't seem to be adding up. According to Clark's email to Kittila, a "managing attorney" called the clerk's office, but Bengels is a paralegal, who in her sworn affidavit identified herself as "a staff member" and "Director of Litigation Services."
There’s something missing from Latham & Watkins’ response: Hunter’s lawyer Chris Clark earlier wrote that the Latham “managing attorney” called the clerk’s office. So was paralegal Jessica Bengels the only Latham representative to call the clerk yesterday? https://t.co/yeSxXbF9N4 pic.twitter.com/QuwkTKuVs3
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 26, 2023
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