Under Hunter Biden's proposed plea agreement and diversion agreement, the first son would plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and would be able to avoid punishment on a felony gun charge if he stayed out of trouble for two years.
But, after at a tense court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the constitutionality of the diversion agreement and refused to sign off on the deal after raising several pointed questions.
Lawyers are due back in court in several weeks to revisit the plea agreement.
According to The New York Times, Noreika had asked prosecutor Leo Wise if the plea deal meant Hunter Biden would be immune from prosecution for other possible crimes, specifically including crimes related to the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).
When Wise said no, Biden’s lead lawyer, Chris Clark, reportedly then said the agreement was “null and void.”
Trump White House adviser Kash Patel, a former public defender and former national security prosecutor, said the judge specifically mentioning FARA indicates that the issue had come up during the discovery process of the case.
“If that issue is going to be legally precluded from being prosecuted in the future, she has the responsibility to demand that answer from the DOJ,” Patel said.
Patel added that it appeared that Hunter Biden’s lawyers thought that they had negotiated their way out of future charges related to violating FARA, which would be a felony with prison time: “It looks as if they just canned the plea agreement because — having been over there on the defense side, you quietly know when you’ve lost, and they lost on the FARA point is my first reaction, which to me tells me the DOJ tried to bury the FARA conviction.”
Mounting evidence suggests that Hunter Biden used Joe Biden's political clout to help secure millions of dollars worth of deals with China, Ukraine, Russia and perhaps other countries that wanted to influence U.S. policy.
FARA prosecutions were rarely used before 2016. Federal authorities used the once-obscure law to charge several associates of President Donald Trump, including his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, campaign manager Paul Manafort, and inaugural committee chairman Tom Barrack.
The transcript of Wednesday's hearing was obtained by Trump White House adviser Garrett Ziegler's Marco Polo investigative group.
Excerpts from the transcript:
Regarding the loan ("it's a normal typical loan with terms and a time frame."), Zielger commented: "$2+ million loan for a guy who's businesses all collapsed and is hoping to sell art. Living in Malibu.
"And hasn't paid a penny back so far. "Okey doke. That happens to everybody."
Ziegler also discussed the hearing on Newsmax TV:
The founder of @MarcoPolo501c3 discussed the no-deal plea hearing tonight with @gregkellyusa on @NEWSMAX.
The "atypical provisions" quote is on page 104: https://t.co/uwg8tmi4cA pic.twitter.com/p05pkQuSBj — Marco Polo (@MarcoPolo501c3) July 27, 2023
Kash Patel's take:
BREAKING: Kash Patel breaks down the collapse of Hunter Biden's plea deal after Federal Judge strikes it down:
"They just canned the plea agreement...which to me tells me the DOJ tried to bury the FARA conviction." pic.twitter.com/9Beyn3zlgT — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 26, 2023
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