Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Are Not Happy – One of Hunter Biden’s attorneys criticized federal prosecutors for “changing their decision on the fly” in relation to a plea agreement involving his client on Sunday.
Abbe Lowell, who represents Biden, said there were multiple possibilities as to why a plea agreement was not reached when the original deal was thrown out by Delaware District Judge Maryellen Noreika.
The Trump-appointed judge urged both sides to negotiate a more suitable deal last month, although subsequent discussions have been unsuccessful with federal prosecutors filing that they had reached an impasse on Friday.
The deal had been slammed by Republicans as a “sweetheart” arrangement over its leniency, in which Biden would have pleaded guilty two tax-related charges. In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed to drop a separate charge for unlawful possession of a handgun.
The Significance Of The Hunter Biden Plea Deal
Hunter Biden is charged with two counts of failing to pay tax in 2017 and 2018. In addition, he also falsely declared himself to be sober despite a crack cocaine addiction when he purchased a handgun in October 2018.
Under the plea agreement, Biden would be spared jail time by pleading guilty to the tax charges.
Despite the gun charge being a separate issue, Biden would not have faced further prosecution under the deal through what is known as a diversion agreement.
However, Judge Noreika expressed concerns over the deal, expressing doubt over its constitutionality and whether it was an airtight deal. “Mr Biden, I know you want to get this over with, and I’m sorry,” she told the court on July 26. “But I do want to make sure that I am careful in my view of this, so I do need some more information. And part of that is making sure that your plea gets you what you think it gets and part of it is making sure that I do justice as I’m required to do in this court.”
Since then, discussions have been unfruitful.
With negotiations at an impasse on Friday, federal prosecutors filed their latest documentation, indicating a possible trial for the first son in the not-too-distant future.
Biden’s Attorney’s Response
The future of the case remains uncertain; with chief prosecutor David Weiss now a special counsel, further evidence could be unearthed in the coming weeks and months, potentially impacting any subsequent trial.
Speaking after the prosecution’s Friday filings, his attorney Lowell somewhat defeatedly told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there were several reasons as to why both sides failed to reach an agreement.
“One, they wrote something and weren’t clear what they meant. Two, they knew what they meant and misstated it to counsel. Or third, they change their view as they were standing in court in Delaware,” Lowell said, speaking of the Department of Justice prosecutors. He avoided labelling them as “incompetent,” but believed they had “changed their decision on the fly standing up in court.”
Lowell added that he did not believe a trial was “inevitable,” and expressed confidence in a successful outcome for his client after a five-year investigation.
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist based in Canada. He has written for the Western Standard, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo, and has covered notable events including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
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