Having charges dismissed is something that most criminal defendants hope for. Yet it can’t remotely be seen as good news for Hunter Biden, the troubled son of President Joe Biden. He isn’t in the clear, and new charges should almost certainly be expected.
The younger Biden’s misdemeanor tax charges were dismissed by a federal judge in Delaware on Thursday. It was an expected move after a plea deal fell through last month during Biden’s first court appearance in the case.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika dismissed the charges after Special Counsel David Weiss, who has been leading the case against Biden, moved to dismiss them recently to bring similar charges in Washington, D.C. or California. Weiss, who was appointed federal prosecutor during the Trump administration, was appointed as special counsel last Friday by Attorney General Merrick Garland after he asked for the role.
“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed,” Garland said in a statement on the appointment.
No Plea Deal for Hunter Biden
The dismissal of the charges comes days after Weiss had strongly rejected claims by Hunter Biden’s legal team that his office had “reneged” on the plea deal with the president’s son to resolve federal tax and gun charges.
After the plea deal fell apart, Hunter Biden pleaded “not guilty.” He had been expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of the plea deal, as well as to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge.
Without a plea deal, the president’s son could face more serious charges, and IRS whistleblowers who worked on the case told Congress they had recommended charging the president’s son with six federal felonies, including tax evasion and filing false tax returns, CNN reported.
In addition, the fate of the separate but related deal to resolve a felony gun possession charge is now in legal limbo.
Prosecutors said the deal never went into effect, while Hunter Biden’s lawyers have argued it is still valid and binding. The dismissals make the plea deal moot.
Hunter Biden Was Living at the White House
It has certainly been an interesting week for the president’s son. In addition to having the charges dropped, his lead attorney has stopped representing him. Christopher Clark, a high-profile litigator who has also defended big-name business people and celebrities like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, was forced to step down, as he could be called as a witness in the case as plea negotiations broke down.
“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,” Biden’s team wrote in a court filing, per Politico.com. “It is inadvisable for Mr. Clark to continue as counsel in this case.”
While President Joe Biden has maintained that he never discussed business dealings with his son – a point that remains disputed as a GOP-led investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business activities continues – it is likely the father and son still had some time to discuss the legal woes.
The younger Biden, along with his wife and son, had been essentially living at the White House after the plea deal had been reached. Hunter Biden has often been at his father’s side, and as previously reported, several people close to the president portrayed him as having been deeply anxious for months about his son’s legal fortunes and frustrated at the slow pace of the investigation.
Staffers reportedly had to clear President Biden’s schedule on the day his son’s plea deal fell apart. It now appears that Hunter Biden could be facing a criminal trial that could occur in the middle of President Biden’s re-election campaign.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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