Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in a federal courtroom in Delaware Wednesday after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika put a plea deal his lawyers had agreed with prosecutors on hold.
In June, Biden was charged with felony gun possession and two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018. The original deal included a recommendation of probation for the tax violations, while the gun charge for illegally owning a Colt Cobra .38 Special handgun would be dropped and potentially wiped from Biden’s record if he met certain conditions laid out in court.
This is the first time the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president.
Noreika described the deal struck with U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware as “unusual,” according to CNN. The judge said the deal contained some “non-standard terms,” such as “broad immunity” from other potential charges.
When she asked prosecutor Leo Wise if there was precedent for the kind of deal proposed, he replied, “No, your honor,” according to the New York Times.
Noreika asked prosecutors if Biden would be immune from prosecution for crimes such as violations related to representing foreign governments. When they responded “no,” Hunter Biden’s legal team said the agreement was “null and void.”
The judge called a recess during which the prosecution and the defense agreed to revise the scope of the plea deal. Under that revised agreement, the deal would only cover the period from 2014-2019 and will only include conduct related to tax offenses, drug use and gun possession, CNN’s Manu Raju reported.
However, the judge ultimately decided to delay a decision on whether to accept the revised deal, leading Biden to enter the pro-forma plea of not guilty.
The issue of whether there is an ongoing investigation into Biden was germane from the day the charges were announced. Biden’s lawyer, Christopher Clark, claimed the investigation was over, but Weiss’s office clearly stated in a June press release that the investigation was ongoing.
During the hearing, the prosecution confirmed once more to Noreika that the investigation is still open.
In an interview with CNN reacting to the earlier breakdown among the parties, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said the surprising turn of events signaled there’s potential for prosecution moving forward.
“It’s very telling that the judge intervened here and said basically, 'No, I’m not going to approve some sweeping blanket deal,'” said Hawley. "I mean, that tells you the court has serious concerns about other potential charges here, and also the scope of the deal, which has seemed outrageous from the beginning."
Republicans have decried the deal as too lenient since it was announced.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has also floated a possible impeachment inquiry over allegations President Joe Biden was connected to his son’s foreign-business dealings. The president has denied the allegations.
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