Federal District Judge Maryellen Noreika has taken the unusual step of demanding information about U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s investigation into Hunter Biden and whether it will play a role in the upcoming trial.
“In view of the Speedy Trial Act, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, on or before Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the parties are directed to provide the Court with an update on the status of this case, including any steps that they believe the Court needs to take,” Noreika ruled in a court filing handed down on Thursday.
Noreika rejected the “sweetheart plea deal” that Weiss and Biden’s attorneys agreed to whereby he would plead guilty to misdemeanor charges for not filing his taxes in 2017 and 2018.
Reports indicate that Weiss had no intention of filing charges against Biden until IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler came forward to insist that the investigation had been politically tampered with.
“It appears that if it weren’t for the courageous actions of these whistleblowers, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, Hunter Biden would never have been charged at all,” a team of lawyers for one of the IRS agents said in a statement to The New York Times last month.
She dismissed all charges against Biden on August 18, paving the way for tax charges to be brought against him in California where he resides or in Washington, D.C. where the crimes took place. The prosecution stated that “the Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial.”
Weiss sought to have the charges dropped in Delaware to allow them to be refiled elsewhere after finding an “impasse” with Biden’s lawyers.
Controversy Regarding the Hunter Biden Plea Deal
Noreika questioned the propriety of having Biden enter into a pretrial “diversion agreement” whereby the charges in the unrelated gun-purchase case would be dropped in exchange for two years of clean behavior. She asked the prosecution if it was normal to enter into such an agreement with the accused in unrelated cases.
“The United States agrees not to criminally prosecute Biden, outside of the terms of this Agreement, for any federal crimes encompassed by the attached Statement of Facts (Attachment A) and the Statement of Facts (Exhibit 1) to the Memorandum of Plea Agreement filed this same day. This Agreement does not provide any protection against prosecution for any future conduct by Biden or by any of his affiliated businesses,” the Diversion agreement stated.
The plea deal began to break down after the prosecution admitted that Biden could be prosecuted for violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Republicans Look for Answers
Republicans have questioned Weiss’s appointment as special counsel noting his role in negotiating the “sweetheart plea deal.”
House Committees on Oversight, the Judiciary, and Ways and Means — Reps James Comer, Jim Jordan, and Jason Smith — sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding information about Weiss and his prosecution of Biden.
“On August 11, 2023, after the Department’s apparently unprecedented plea deal with Mr. Biden fell apart under scrutiny from a federal judge, you appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as Special Counsel over this matter,” the letter states. “Your appointment raises numerous concerns considering earlier statements from you and Mr. Weiss that Mr. Weiss already had ‘ultimate’ authority—free of any political pressure—to pursue the investigation where, when, and how he sought fit.”
“Now, recently reported information raises additional concerns about the Department’s unusual actions in this matter, and suggests that the Department under your leadership has been attempting to circumvent the rule of law in favor of Hunter Biden, President Biden, and the Biden family.”
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
From the Vault
Donald Trump May Have a New Problem: Melania Trump
Barack Obama Scolds Americans for Offering ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ During Maui Tragedy
Donald Trump Keeps Making ‘Chilling’ Threats That Could Land Him in Jail
