President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden arrives for a court appearance, Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was ready to plead guilty on Wednesday to tax misdemeanor charges and a single federal gun charge but things went off the rails after the presiding federal judge in the matter raised an eyebrow over terms of the agreement and sent the parties back to the drawing board.
The president's son, donning a dark blue suit, appeared before U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware early Wednesday afternoon where he was on track to enter guilty pleas for two charges related to his failure to pay taxes on time in 2017 and 2018. Prosecutors say Biden owed the federal government between $1.1 million and $1.5 million in taxes. He has since paid them in full, including penalties and interest. Prosecutors recommended Biden be sentenced to probation for those charges.
But Noreika, a Donald Trump appointee, had pause on Wednesday, according to PBS, which reported that she was unsatisfied with the terms of Biden's "diversion agreement" for the felony gun charge specifically.
For Biden, 53, who has struggled with substance abuse and drug addiction for years, it was a felony for him to possess a Colt Cobra .38 Special for just under two weeks in October 2018 while he was using drugs. The "diversion agreement" essentially meant that the president's son would not plead guilty to the gun charge so long as he held to the agreement's provisions, including staying clean and subjecting himself to random drug tests by the court.
CNN reported Wednesday that the president's son told Noreika he is sober and has abstained from using drugs or alcohol since 2019.
Nonetheless, in reviewing the agreement for the gun charge, Noreika called it "unusual," noting the diversion agreement's use of "non-standard terms" like "broad immunity" from other possible charges Biden could face. Diversion agreements, she noted, were not usually made public.
For now, the judge said she was not prepared to accept the deal and asked both the prosecution and defense to file an additional brief that would explain how the agreements were reached.
Earlier in proceedings Wednesday, Biden indicated he was willing to plead guilty to the tax misdemeanor charges for 2017 and 2018 but with his conduct for three years prior to that period also included. At the outset, the parties agreed the deal would not shield Biden from possible charges in the future.
Asking aloud whether such an agreement might be "unconstitutional," Noreika stressed that she was "trying to exercise due deliverance and consideration to make sure we don't make a misstep."
Per reporting by NBC, Noreika raised concerns over potential overreach issues with the diversion agreement for the gun charge. As the presiding judge, she acknowledged that she has the final say in whether Biden will have kept up his side of bargain, but she questioned whether it would be the responsibility of the judiciary or the executive to bring charges if he did not.
As she described worries over a lack of case law to support the diversion agreement, Biden's attorney Chris Clark suggested it was necessary because of the political "sturm and drang," or turmoil, around his client. The agreement proposed would make it possible to keep Biden's case more apolitical should future administrations seek to target him, Clark said.
Noreika remarked that it seemed the attorneys were just asking her to "rubber stamp" the gun deal. But that wouldn't happen, she explained, noting language that wasn't "straightforward," CNN reported.
Since the judge asked both prosecutors and defense attorneys to revise the terms, the president's son entered a pro forma not guilty plea before leaving court late Wednesday. Should he enter his guilty pleas as expected in the weeks to come, Biden would be the first child of a U.S. president to do so.
His next hearing will likely hit the docket within the next month to month-and-a-half. The parties have 30 days to respond.
Hunter Biden first came under investigation five years ago while former President Trump was in office. The probe has been led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss who, like Noreika, was appointed by Trump. Weiss told the court Wednesday the investigation into Hunter Biden is still pending but he was mum on any further details.
The probe into Hunter Biden began as an examination of possible tax and money laundering violations tied to his foreign business dealings in China and elsewhere. IRS Agent Gary Shapley told congressional investigators in June that upon his review of the evidence, he believed the president's son should face more than two tax misdemeanor charges. Shapley also claimed that prosecutors were precluded from bringing charges in other venues and he said too that he was denied a request to appoint a special counsel to the probe.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland flatly denied ever receiving a request to appoint a special counsel to the Biden probe during a press conference that month.
"The only person who has the authority to make someone a special counsel, or refuse to make them a special counsel, is the attorney general. Mr. Weiss never made that request," Garland said.
House and Senate Republicans have pointed to these remarks by Weiss as proof that the president's son received a sweetheart deal from the U.S. Justice Department when it came to drawing up his plea agreements. Garland has vehemently rejected that premise time and again, saying in more recent weeks that those who claim the Justice Department fails to treat cases equally are unfairly attacking the department's integrity.
As for the White House, it is keeping its distance. At a press briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that the president's son was a private citizen.
"This was a personal matter for him. As we have said, the president, the first lady, they love their son and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life. This case was handled independently, as all of you know, by the Justice Department under the leadership of a prosecutor appointed by the former president, President Trump," Jean-Pierre said.
