U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned Hunter Biden’s plea deal during Wednesday’s hearing, reportedly due to the ongoing investigation that could include Hunter Biden failing to register as a foreign agent.
According to the prosecutors and the defense, Hunter Biden’s plea deal with U.S. Prosecutor David Weiss fell apart during Wednesday’s much-anticipated hearing after last-minute shenanigans dominated the news cycle Tuesday evening.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers previously indicated the president’s son was expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors.
Reporters inside the courthouse recounted a U.S. prosecutor conveying to the judge that the probe into Hunter Biden was ongoing. The judge reportedly asked if the plea deal covered potential charges. The prosecution reportedly said the deal did not include any alleged Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations.
The judge reportedly asked, “Does this preclude you from bringing FARA charges in the future if I accept this plea agreement?”
“No, we could bring those charges,” the prosecutor reportedly said.
MSNBC reported the court took a ten-minute recess to determine if the two parties could quickly come to an agreement. CNN reported shortly afterward that the “two sides have agreed that this deal does not shield him from potential future charges.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Delaware, the criminal probe into Hunter Biden was not resolved with the plea agreement. The fifth paragraph of the plea deal statement from the attorney’s office said, “The investigation is ongoing.”
Moreover, Weiss admitted in July that the FBI informant form alleging the Biden family bribes is part of an ongoing investigation. IRS whistleblowers contend the FARA violations were a part of the Hunter Biden criminal probe, warranting a special counsel.
Last month, Chris Clark, Hunter Biden’s attorney, appeared to have a different understanding of the status of the case. He said the plea deal meant no further charges in the future could be brought outside of it.
“With the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved,” he said.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
