Hunter Biden plea: Foreign agent revelation helps unravel 'sweetheart' deal
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/hunter-biden-plea-foreign-agent-fara-revelation-collapse
Hunter Biden's plea bargain with U.S. Attorney David Weiss fell apart Wednesday after a federal judge pressed both parties during a hearing about the prospect of President Joe Biden's son facing future charges, including failing to register as a foreign agent.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika raised the hypothetical prospect of a Foreign Agents Registration Act violation as the Department of Justice faces scrutiny for declining to enforce the act for the younger Biden.
Wise's remark prompted an objection from Hunter Biden's attorney Chris Clark, who said if his client could face future charges, then the current agreement is "null and void."
Weiss, who was present at the hearing, also said, as he has in the past, that the investigation into the younger Biden remains ongoing.
The now-failed deal, which legal experts had widely anticipated the judge would accept, involved Hunter Biden pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and entering a pretrial diversion agreement that would allow him to avoid a felony gun charge.
Hunter Biden switched his plea to "not guilty" during the hearing, and the judge deferred the case, potentially for weeks, as both parties come up with new terms.
The terms of the diversion agreement, which involved Hunter Biden agreeing not to commit any crimes for a period of time, raised concerns for Noreika, as had the deal on the tax charges, which she worried would not give her the ability to reject or modify the overall deal.
Julianne Murray, a Delaware-based attorney for the Heritage Foundation who was present for the hearing, said, "The issue with the plea agreement is you can't have either unspoken or unagreed-to provisions, and [the judge] could tell that these two were pointing to each other."
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