Hunter Biden’s legal team claimed in a Sunday court filing that the Justice Department reneged on a major plank of their initial plea deal that would have allowed their client to avoid prosecution on a felony gun charge.
On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel to continue to oversee the “ongoing investigation” of Hunter Biden as well as “any other matters that arose or may arise from that investigation,” Garland said.
After Weiss took the role, prosecutors said that negotiations surrounding the plea deal had stalled and that they expected to go trial. Hunter Biden replied in a filing late Sunday, however, that he intends to observe the original agreement he signed in court and he expects prosectors to do so as well.
“Throughout the settlement process the Defendant and his counsel negotiated fairly and in good faith with the prosecutors,” the filing read. “…consistent with their terms, the Defendant signed both agreements, was willing to waive certain rights, and to accept responsibility for his past mistakes.”
As part of the original plea deal, brokered between Hunter Biden’s legal team and federal prosecutors, Hunter was to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges and submit to a diversion agreement related to a felony gun charge in exchange for broad immunity from future charges related to foreign influence peddling. Specifically, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to not paying taxes on $1.5 million in income between 2017 and 2018 and entered into a separate deferred prosecution agreement for illegally possessing a gun while under the influence of drugs, which is a felony.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers said Sunday that the diversion agreement between the parties is “valid and binding.”
“The Defendant’s understanding of the scope of immunity agreed to by the United States was and is based on the express written terms of the Diversion Agreement,” the filing added. “His understanding of the scope of immunity agreed to by the United States is also corroborated by prosecutors’ contemporaneous written and oral communications during the plea negotiations.”
Judge Maryellen Noreika challenged the terms of the initial deal in court on constitutionality grounds. She argued that the broad immunity provision was unprecedented, prompting prosecutors to retract it and propose a more limited agreement.
Many Republican lawmakers have criticized Weiss’s appointment, pointing out that he helped assemble the accommodative plea deal in the first place. However, Weiss suggested in court papers Friday that he would consider taking Hunter Biden to trial on the tax charges. Critics have also pointed out that Weiss’s appointment is unusual given that special counsels are typically drawn from outside the government to ensure independence and impartiality.
Weiss has confirmed publicly that he was authorized to bring charges against Hunter in whatever jurisdiction he deemed suitable. However, FBI and IRS whistleblowers revealed to Congress months ago that Weiss privately told them he had been prevented from bringing charges in Washington, D.C.