In October 2022, Hunter Biden’s lawyer revealed that if the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought charges against his client for possession of a firearm while a drug user, President Biden would have to testify in the case. “President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial,” the legal representative wrote in a 32-page letter obtained by Politico.
POLITICO reports:
That letter, along with more than 300 pages of previously unreported emails and documents exchanged between Hunter Biden’s legal team and prosecutors, sheds new light on the fraught negotiations that nearly produced a broad plea deal. That deal would have resolved Biden’s most pressing legal issues — the gun purchase and his failure to pay taxes for several years — and it also could have helped insulate Biden from future prosecution by a Republican-led Justice Department.
The documents show how the deal collapsed — a sudden turnabout that occurred after Republicans bashed it and a judge raised questions about it. The collapse renewed the prospect that Biden will head to trial as his father ramps up his 2024 reelection bid.
The deal fell apart in court when U.S. District Court judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the unprecedently broad immunity provided under the agreement.
National Review writes that “Under the initial agreement brokered by Clark with U.S. Attorney David Weiss, Hunter would plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges and participate in a pre-trial diversion program to wipe the felony gun possession charge. Subsequently, Hunter was to receive broad immunity from future charges, including potential charges related to foreign influence peddling that congressional Republicans have alleged.”
Clark has asked to withdraw from Hunter Biden’s case because he could be called as a witness at some point involving the collapsed plea deal he had brokered with prosecutors.
Clark filed a motion with the Delaware judge who has presided over the case since the plea deal was announced. “Based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea agreement and diversion agreement will be contested, and Mr. Clark is a percipient witness to those issues,” Hunter Biden’s lawyers said in the filing, obtained by CBS News. “Under the ‘witness-advocate’ rule, it is inadvisable for Mr. Clark to continue as counsel in this case.”