Aug. 15 (UPI) — Hunter Biden’s lawyer asked to withdraw from the criminal case against his client, the son of President Joe Biden, over the possibility he might be called as a witness.
Christopher J. Clark, Hunter Biden’s lawyer who has defended other big names such as Elon Musk, filed the brief motion on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
“Mr. Biden will continue to be represented by other firms that have entered an appearance on behalf of Mr. Biden, and therefore has ample counsel,” reads the motion, obtained by UPI. “Mr. Clark’s withdrawal is necessitated by recent developments in the matter.”
Clark noted that Delaware’s rules of professional conduct state a lawyer cannot act as an advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a witness.
“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,” Clark wrote in the motion.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, approved the motion, the court documents show.
Clark’s brief remarks allude to a plea deal that fell through last month. Hunter Biden ultimately pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges amid a dispute over questions of immunity from future charges.
At the time, Noreika questioned whether the younger Biden would still agree to the terms of the plea deal if there was a potential for additional charges.
Hunter Biden said he would not and Noreika ordered the proceedings to stop while calling for a “meeting of the minds” to help settle the issue.
Clark said then the deal was “null and void,” increasing the probability the case will go to trial.
Last week, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland named Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the investigation. Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump and began investigating Hunter Biden in 2019.
Garland said Weiss requested he be named special counsel to continue the probe because the investigation had reached a stage where it could not continue without the powers of a special counsel.
