Will Hunter Biden Derail Father Joe's Re-Election Bid?
Five days ago, on July 26th, Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden appeared in court to plead guilty to federal tax crimes and it appeared that the controversial investigation against Hunter Biden would draw to a close. However, the hearing didn’t go as scheduled.
As per the plea bargain announced in June, Hunter was to be charged with two misdemeanour counts for failing to pay his taxes on time in 2017 and 2018.
Hunter was also to admit that he had illegally possessed a gun while being a drug user. In exchange, Hunter would be spared serious felony charges which could lead to imprisonment. Hunter also had to agree to take treatment for drug abuse and be subject to monitoring.
How did the deal fall through? I’m no lawyer and I’m not sure I’ve understood this fully, but let me take a crack at explaining.
In a plea bargain, the defendant broadly admits to his criminal conduct and prosecutors agree to only file charges for some of these crimes, as well as promise that they won’t bring charges for the other admitted crimes.
Currently, Hunter is also under investigation for possible violations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. These arise out of Hunter Biden’s board seat at “a Ukrainian energy company,” his ties to a “Chinese business conglomerate,” his involvement with “a Chinese private equity fund” and his legal work for a Hong Kong politician later convicted in a global bribery scheme.
Judge Noreika asked if the Justice Department could still bring FARA charges in the future, even with the plea deal in place. Prosecutor Leo Wise said yes but Biden’s attorney Chris Clark said, “I don’t agree.”
No, that’s not how the deal fell through. Hunter’s lawyers fell in line with the justice department. The deal fell through because Judge Noreika refused to take responsibility for Hunter Biden’s compliance with his part of the plea bargain. The parties wanted Noreika to oversee his compliance, and if prosecutors believed Hunter Biden broke the rules, both sides could present evidence, and she’d issue a ruling. But Judge Noreika said that that sort of stuff is an executive branch function and she did not want to referee that dispute.
Hunter Biden has now fully paid his federal tax bill, along with interest and penalties.
As per the plea bargain announced in June, Hunter was to be charged with two misdemeanour counts for failing to pay his taxes on time in 2017 and 2018.
Hunter was also to admit that he had illegally possessed a gun while being a drug user. In exchange, Hunter would be spared serious felony charges which could lead to imprisonment. Hunter also had to agree to take treatment for drug abuse and be subject to monitoring.
How did the deal fall through? I’m no lawyer and I’m not sure I’ve understood this fully, but let me take a crack at explaining.
In a plea bargain, the defendant broadly admits to his criminal conduct and prosecutors agree to only file charges for some of these crimes, as well as promise that they won’t bring charges for the other admitted crimes.
Currently, Hunter is also under investigation for possible violations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. These arise out of Hunter Biden’s board seat at “a Ukrainian energy company,” his ties to a “Chinese business conglomerate,” his involvement with “a Chinese private equity fund” and his legal work for a Hong Kong politician later convicted in a global bribery scheme.
Judge Noreika asked if the Justice Department could still bring FARA charges in the future, even with the plea deal in place. Prosecutor Leo Wise said yes but Biden’s attorney Chris Clark said, “I don’t agree.”
No, that’s not how the deal fell through. Hunter’s lawyers fell in line with the justice department. The deal fell through because Judge Noreika refused to take responsibility for Hunter Biden’s compliance with his part of the plea bargain. The parties wanted Noreika to oversee his compliance, and if prosecutors believed Hunter Biden broke the rules, both sides could present evidence, and she’d issue a ruling. But Judge Noreika said that that sort of stuff is an executive branch function and she did not want to referee that dispute.
Hunter Biden has now fully paid his federal tax bill, along with interest and penalties.
In the meantime, Republicans who have made bribery and corruption allegations against Hunter are pursuing their own investigations into Biden Jr. actions focussing on a laptop that Hunter apparently abandoned in a computer repair shop in Delaware. Republicans hope to connect Joe Biden to Hunter’s alleged illegal business dealings.
Comments
Post a Comment