Hunter Biden plea deal on hold after judge said she wouldn't 'rubber stamp' it: Recap
WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge refused Wednesday to accept a plea agreement with Hunter Biden after an unexpected disagreement about the terms between prosecutors and defense lawyers temporarily upended the resolution to the five-year federal investigation.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika urged both sides to come to an agreement and called for a lengthy mid-day recess. But she wanted more time to review the proposal before accepting it.
"You all are telling me 'just rubber stamp the agreement, Your Honor,’” Noreika told the lawyers.
Biden pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges he failed to pay his taxes in 2017 and 2018, when he received more than $1.5 million each year. Biden told the court a third party paid the back taxes along with interest and fees pursuant to a personal loan he has not began to repay.
The plea deal had also covered a gun charge and would have allowed him to enter a pretrial diversion program that could eventually wipe the charge off the record.
But prosecutors and defense lawyers disagreed about the terms of the plea agreement, with Biden insisting any guilty plea encompass immunity from any other criminal charges.
Noreika asked the parties to submit legal briefs on the legitimacy of the deals offered to Hunter Biden within 30 days.
U.S. Attorney Leo Wise said that would require ordering transcripts of Wednesday's hearing and said 14 days would be sufficient.
However, Noreika set no specific date for the next hearing before court adjourned.
The hearing was held in the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building, named after the former U.S. senator a young Joe Biden defeated in 1972.
GOP gets involved in case
Noreika's postponement of the plea agreement came after Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, urged Noreika to reject the plea deal based on the allegations from two IRS investigators of political favoritism in the case.
Julianne Murray, chair of the Delaware Republican Party, was in the courtroom Wednesday. She filed a separate brief on behalf the Heritage Foundation, which claims that it offers "information that has not, and likely will not, be presented to the Court by either the government or the defendant."
"I have not had time to review those submissions," the judge said, noting it consisted of 900 pages.
The plea agreement aimed to resolve a five-year investigation into Hunter Biden. The case remains a flashpoint for Republican investigations into Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden.
Republicans have questioned the sources of Hunter Biden’s income and accused him of peddling influence with his father for foreign companies. The White House has dismissed the allegations as baseless innuendo.
Here is what we know:
White House responds
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to questions shortly after the decision.
"Hunter Biden is a private citizen, and this was a personal matter for him," she said Wednesday afternoon. "As we have said, the president, the first lady, they love their son, and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life."
She said the case was handled independently and by a prosecutor appointed by former President Donald Trump, referring other questions to the Department of Justice and Hunter Biden's legal team.
'An absolute disgrace'
As Hunter Biden's plea deal fell apart ? at least temporarily ? Republicans on Capitol Hill ran a victory lap.
“He thought he was pleading to get rid of everything and they said, ‘No, it’s only the tax evasions, not the Foreign Agent Registration Act, money laundering, and the other stuff,’” said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee investigating the Biden family.“The only thing is I'm glad that people see that what I've said for weeks is true, that there is an ongoing investigation of the entire family,” Comer added.
There hasn't been any evidence yet to substantiate GOP claims linking President Biden to his son's legal challenges.
Other Republicans continued their criticism of the plea deal that dissolved in court Wednesday afternoon, when it was put on hold by a federal judge.
“The plea deal is an absolute disgrace,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said.“It is a sweetheart deal designed by the Biden Justice Department to give Hunter Biden a slap on the wrist and its principal objective is protecting Joe Biden and insulating him from his own involvement and corruption selling access to foreign nationals,” Cruz added.
“I don’t think that it was a good deal for the American public. I think it was clear he was getting favored treatment because he’s the president’s son and they’re trying to close down and shut down the investigations into the Biden (family),” Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told USA TODAY Wednesday.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., pointed to last week’s high-profile hearings in the House with two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service who alleged the Department of Justice interfered with the federal investigation into Hunter Biden. Lawler said Congress is yet to be done investigating Hunter Biden’s case.
“You have numerous whistleblowers right now coming forward and saying (interference) occurred. These are not Republican whistleblowers by the way, these are Democrats. These are registered Democrats coming forward and saying this is a problem,” Lawler told reporters Wednesday.
How to watch Hunter Biden press conference
Hunter Biden will hold a press conference Wednesday after his court appearance in Delaware, marking his first public reaction to federal tax charges and an anticipated plea deal.
The president's son is expected to avoid jail time, but is facing mounting pressure from President Joe Biden's political enemies in the House GOP, which tried to intervene in the case and asked the judge to reject the plea deal.
You can watch the press conference here when it begins:
What is Hunter Biden accused of?
Biden is set to plead guilty to receiving $1.5 million in taxable income each year in 2017 and 2018 and failing to pay more than $100,000 in taxes each of those years, according to a prosecution letter that announced the charges.
Each charge carries a maximum 12 months in prison, but prosecutors are expected to recommend probation, according to The Associated Press.
The judge, Noreika, will determine the sentence.
Gun charge still pending
The gun charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, alleges Biden made a false statement on a federal form when he bought a gun in 2018.
The Gun Control Act prohibits drug users from possessing firearms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled the ban applies to "a conviction for use or possession of a controlled substance within the past year."
Biden filled out a federal form when he bought a handgun in October 2018 in which he replied “no” to a question of whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance," according to the Washington Post.
Hunter Biden drug addiction
By his own account in his memoir “Beautiful Things,” Biden battled drug addiction and for periods during 2018 smoked crack “every 15 minutes.”
"I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life,” said Clark, Biden’s lawyer. “He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward."
What is a plea deal?
A plea deal is a negotiation between a defendant and a prosecutor in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty to one or several offenses in exchange for a lenient punishment from the prosecutor, according to the Cornell Legal Information Institute.
The prosecutor can agree to reduce the number or severity of a charge, thus allowing them to “to focus their time and resources on other cases,” according to the institute. But ultimately it is the judge’s decision on how to punish a defendant.
Scholars estimate that about 90% to 95% of federal and state court cases are resolved through plea deals, according to the Department of Justice.
Who is Maryellen, Noreika, the judge overseeing the Hunter Biden case?
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who is overseeing Hunter Biden’s tax and gun cases, was appointed by former President Donald Trump and confirmed with bipartisan support in the Senate.
The Senate confirmed her appointment in August 2018 by voice vote, suggesting her nomination wasn’t controversial. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., has cited her appointment as an example of bipartisanship and how the system should work.
Noreika has a bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University, her master’s is from Columbia University and her law degree is from the University of Pittsburgh. She was a lawyer in private practice in Wilmington for 25 years before Trump appointed her to the bench.
Hunter Biden's artwork
Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are investigating who bought Hunter Biden’s paintings and how much they paid as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into Biden’s business dealings and bank records.
The art was initially listed as $500,000 a piece and now range from $50,000 to $25,000. Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the committee, called the figures “exorbitant” and questioned whether Biden was using the art to influence foreign adversaries.
The questions about the art sales grew in 2021 and the White House announced then that all sales would be handled through a dealer without the president or his son knowing.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers: Latham and Watkins, and more
Jessica Bengels is the lawyer at Latham and Watkins in New York City who contacted the U.S. District Court clerk’s office to ask about how to seal filings in Hunter Biden’s tax case, according to a court filing.
Bengels, a lawyer who worked 18 years at the firm, provided a statement saying she hadn’t worked on the case other than to research on the docket how to file electronically. She said she called the clerk’s office Tuesday to ask how to restrict confidential material from the court file and that there may have been some confusion in dealing with two clerks.
“I am completely confident that I never indicated I was calling from Mr. Kittila’s firm or that I worked with him in any way,” Bengels said.
Hunter Biden has a number of lawyers representing him in criminal cases, congressional investigations and a recently settled child-support case.
Lawyers representing Biden in the tax case are Christopher Clark of Clark Smith Villazor in New York, Richard Jones of Berger Harris in Wilmington and Matthew Salerno of Latham and Watkins in New York. Bengels was helping Salerno with her calls.
Other lawyers working on the gun case are Brian McManus and Timothy McCarten of Latham and Watkins in Boston and Washington, respectively.
Hunter Biden's education
Hunter Biden graduated high school in 1988 from Archmere Academy, a private Catholic prep school in Delaware and the alma mater of his father.
He graduated from Georgetown University in 1992 with a bachelors of arts degree in history.
He spent a year as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, where he met his first wife, and later received his law degree from Yale University in 1996.
Hunter Biden's age, wife and 5 kids
Hunter Biden, 53, is the youngest and only living son of President Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter, who died in a car crash in 1972.
He married Melissa Cohen, a 37-year-old South African filmmaker, in 2019 after a 24-year-long marriage with Kathleen Buhle, whom he divorced in 2017.
Biden has five children, ranging in age from 29 to 3. He has three daughters with Buhle: Naomi Biden, 29; Finnegan Biden, 23; and Maisy Biden, 21. He has a 4-year-old daughter with Lunden Roberts and a 3-year-old son with Cohen.
IRS whistleblowers: DOJ 'hamstrung' investigation
Two Internal Revenue Service investigators – Greg Shapley and Joseph Ziegler – told Congress last week that Justice Department officials hamstrung the inquiry.
"It appeared to me, based on what I experienced, that the U.S. attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited and marginalized by (Justice Department) officials as well as other U.S. attorneys," Ziegler told three committees that held a joint hearing.
Shapley said he was prevented from following certain leads that could have potentially led investigators to the president.
House GOP: Biden 'appears to have benefited from political interference'
The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the panel that oversees the IRS and participated in the hearing, argued Tuesday the judge should reject the plea deal because of political interference in the investigation.
The filing from Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., said Biden “appears to have benefited from political interference which calls into question the propriety of the investigation of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.” Smith’s lawyer, Theodore Kittila, asked the judge to consider witness testimony and other exhibits he submitted.
Biden’s lawyers argued the exhibits posted with excerpts of the IRS testimony contained personal information about Biden that should be refiled and remain confidential. But Kittila said the information was already publicly available through records at the congressional committee.
Judge considers sanctions for lawyer at Biden firm for 'misrepresentations to the court'
At some point Tuesday, a lawyer at the firm representing Biden called the court, allegedly identified herself as working with Kittila and asked to seal the records, according to a narrative of events the judge outlined in the court docket.
The contested documents were taken down from public view while the judge considers the arguments.
"It appears that the caller misrepresented her identity and who she worked for in an attempt to improperly convince the Clerk's Office to remove the amicus materials from the docket," the order stated, commanding Biden's attorneys explain why the court shouldn't consider sanctions for "misrepresentations to the court."
In another filing, a lawyer from Biden’s legal team, Matthew Salerno, wrote that another attorney from his office was responsible for the phone call, that the attorney in question properly identified herself and the situation "stems from an unfortunate and unintentional miscommunication between a staff member at our firm and employees of the court."
Republicans contend Biden treated preferentially with 'slap on the wrist'
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called the plea agreement a "sweetheart deal" and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., called it a "slap on the wrist." Both men have said the charges will continue to fuel congressional investigations of the Biden family alleged foreign influence peddling before the 2024 election.
“Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery,” Comer, chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, said in a tweet.
Donald Trump, who has been indicted on federal charges alleging he mishandled classified documents and New York state charges alleging his falsified business records, argued the judicial system is broken.
"Wow!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere 'traffic ticket.'"
The White House has dismissed the inquiries as "made up stunt 'investigations.'" Biden's lawyer, Christopher Clark, has said his understanding is that the agreements resolve the government's five-year investigation of Hunter Biden.
Biden's lawyers target Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene
Hunter Biden's legal team clashed with prominent Republican political leaders over the past several weeks in response to Republican attacks on the character of the president's son.
Hunter Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell sent former President Donald Trump, the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, a cease and desist letter after Trump criticized Biden's plea deal in a post on Truth Social.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was also targeted by Biden's lawyers last week after she displayed sexually explicit photos of Biden during a congressional hearing. Lowell requested that a congressional ethics panel take action against Greene in a letter sent to the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Biden's lawyer sent a similar letter about Greene to the Office of Congressional Ethics in April, accusing Greene of spreading "unhinged rhetoric" about Biden.
Prosecutor denies favoritism
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware who was appointed by Trump, denied the Justice Department retaliated against IRS investigators on the case. Weiss also said he was allowed to pursue the investigation unhindered.
“I have been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of the prosecution, consistent with federal law, the Principles of Federal Prosecution, and Departmental regulations,” Weiss wrote to lawmakers.
The Justice Department offered to make Weiss available for a House Judiciary Committee hearing after Congress' August break, to answer questions about how the investigation was handled.
“The Department believes it is strongly in the public interest for the American people and for Congress to hear directly from U.S. Attorney Weiss on these assertions and questions about his authority at a public hearing,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote to the chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Criminal cases follow Biden settling child-support case
The criminal cases come after Hunter Biden settled a child support case in Arkansas last month with the mother of one of his daughters.
Biden had sought to reduce the $20,000 per month in child support he was paying for the girl born Aug. 28, 2018, to Lunden Roberts. The amount of child support agreed upon was redacted from the court filing.
Biden will continue reimbursing Roberts for the cost of the girl’s health insurance and the girl multiple paintings. His paintings have been listed with sale prices as high as $500,000.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden plea deal on hold: What you missed
