The lead criminal defense attorney for President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has asked to step down from the case because he might be called as a witness.
The lawyer, Christopher Clark, filed a motion for leave to withdraw as counsel for Mr. Biden on Aug. 15 in a Delaware court, where the president’s son faces tax fraud and felony gun possession charges.
Plea Deal Collapse
Under a plea agreement announced in June by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the president’s son would plead guilty to the two tax fraud misdemeanors and enter a separate diversion agreement that would clear him of the felony gun charge, which normally carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.But the overall plea and diversion scheme, which Republicans panned as a sweetheart deal, owing to the defendant’s close ties to the president, raised the ire of the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika.
The judge said at a July 26 hearing that she was concerned about the structure of the plan, including her role in it and the way it linked tax crimes to resolving felony gun charges. One of the objections she raised was that the diversion agreement seemed too broad in scope and left her largely out of the process. She also called the overall deal “confusing,” “atypical,” and “unprecedented.”
“It seems to me like you are saying ‘just rubber stamp the agreement, Your Honor.’ ... This seems to me to be form over substance,” she said during the hearing, during which it was revealed that the deal would grant the president’s son extensive immunity.
One of the deal’s objectionable aspects was that it appeared to be so broad as to include an agreement to not prosecute Mr. Biden for crimes in unrelated cases.
“Have you ever seen a diversion agreement where the agreement not to prosecute is so broad that it encompasses crimes in a different case?” the judge asked prosecutors.
Leo Wise, one of the prosecutors, responded, “No.”
Special Counsel Appointed
Attorney General Merrick Garland later announced that Mr. Weiss had been elevated to the role of special counsel in the case.Mr. Weiss was asked in February 2021 to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Mr. Biden, which ultimately led to the filing of tax and gun charges.
In April, Mr. Garland told Congress that Mr. Weiss was in charge of the investigation into the president’s son and pledged that there wouldn’t be any political interference in the probe.
DOJ officials didn’t respond to a request for comment on allegations of obstruction.
One of the whistleblowers, IRS special agent Joseph Ziegler, alleged “deficient investigative steps and improper decisions” in the investigation and called for the appointment of a special counsel.
In announcing the appointment of Mr. Weiss as special counsel in the case, Mr. Garland said it came at Mr. Weiss’s request while also citing the “extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter.”
Mr. Garland said the appointment confirmed his commitment to providing Mr. Weiss with the necessary resources for his investigation, and “also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently based only on the facts and the law.”
Mr. Weiss will retain his position as U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware in addition to his role as special counsel.
House Republicans reacted to the appointment with skepticism, with Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) calling it another “coverup” attempt by the DOJ to protect the Biden family.
“Let’s be clear what today’s move is really about,“ Mr. Comer said in a statement. ”The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden family’s corruption.”
