First son Hunter Biden’s plea agreement was collapsing Wednesday as federal prosecutors declined to rule out charging the political scion with other crimes in the future.
The stunning turn of events came more than 90 minutes into the hearing at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Del., where Hunter had been expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay taxes and enter a diversion program on a felony federal weapons charge.
But prosecutors told US District Judge Maryellen Noreika there was still a possibility President Biden’s 53-year-old son would be charged with offenses, potentially including failing to register as a foreign agent for lucrative dealings in countries such as China and Ukraine that allegedly involved his father.
Defense attorney Chris Clark refused to move forward with the deal after it became clear that the federal investigation into the first son was ongoing.
“As far as I’m concerned, the plea agreement is null and void,” Clark reportedly told the court a little before noon.
Hunter Biden introduced his dad to many of his foreign associates and in some instances served as a liaison to US officials.
Legal experts assess that he likely violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
One of Hunter’s closest business partners, Devon Archer, is expected to testify to Congress next week that the then-second son often put his then-vice president father on speakerphone while meeting with overseas partners.
FARA can carry stiff penalties, and a five-year statute of limitations means that charges likely would have to come soon for Hunter — who left the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma in 2019 and whose most lucrative Chinese government-linked partnership spanned 2017 and 2018.
Violations of the law can send perpetrators to prison. Former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced in 2018 to 60 months behind bars specifically for FARA violations related to his work in Ukraine, plus another 30 months for tax and bank fraud and witness tampering.
Before the stunning collapse of the pleas deal, Hunter Biden had appeared confident ahead of his hearing Wednesday, showing up alongside his “sugar brother,” attorney Kevin Morris.
Morris, a Hollywood-based lawyer and Democratic donor, was spotted last week outside his Los Angeles home while Hunter, a recovering drug addict, paid a visit.
Hunter Biden agreed last month to plead guilty to failing to pay at least $100,000 on more than $1.5 million in earned income in both 2017 and 2018.
He also agreed to admit to lying about his crack cocaine use on a federal firearm purchase form in 2018.
He faced a maximum sentence of two years’ probation for the tax crimes and 10 years in a federal prison for lying on the gun purchase form.
Under the diversion agreement for the gun charge, Hunter would have to remain sober, submit to drug testing, avoid committing other crimes for two years and agree not to own a firearm again.
Hunter’s legal team said it believes his criminal liability is resolved by the plea deal, but Delaware US Attorney David Weiss says his office is still conducting an investigation and his team confirmed the ongoing nature of the probe Wednesday.
The first son thus far has avoided charges for allegedly working as an unregistered foreign agent, and congressional Republicans are demanding to know what if anything Weiss’ team did to investigate an FBI informant’s June 2020 tip that a Ukrainian oligarch said he paid $10 million in bribes to Hunter and then-Vice President Joe Biden to influence US government policy.
Morris, who accompanied Hunter to court, has been a central — and mysterious — figure in Hunter’s orbit since they met at a December 2019 Biden fundraiser.
He reportedly loaned Hunter about $2 million last year to pay off back taxes in a bid to reduce the likelihood or severity of charges for allegedly evading about $2.2 million in tax payments on $8.3 million in foreign income from 2014 to 2019.
As Hunter cried poverty to reduce child support payments to his 4-year-old daughter Navy Joan Roberts, he used Morris’ private jet in May to travel to a court appearance in Arkansas.
Morris is also among the buyers of Hunter’s novice artworks, according to a Monday report by Business Insider.
And a purportedly leaked business record says he assumed control of Hunter’s 10% stake in Chinese state-backed investment fund BHR Partners, which drew negative headlines and questions about conflicts of interest for Hunter and his dad.
IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley, who led the tax fraud investigation of Hunter for more than three years, suggested in a recent Fox News interview that he was skeptical about the relationship between the men.
“Well, to say [Hunter Biden] paid [back taxes] is a misnomer, right? Because it was an individual, Morris, that he met at a campaign finance event and then he immediately starts giving Hunter Biden money to pay off tax debts, to pay living expenses,” Shapley said.
“The money that was given to Hunter Biden by Morris showed up on his tax returns as a loan to him. So, when you have a person that you meet at a campaign finance event, then he’s, all of a sudden, giving you millions of dollars and … it’s a loan to you, I wouldn’t necessarily say that the subject paid those taxes.”
Hunter Biden’s plea deal has been derided by Shapley, primary IRS case agent Joseph Ziegler, and Republicans in Congress as a “sweetheart” deal.
President Biden’s Justice Department appointees allegedly blocked more serious charges while prosecutors allegedly impeded standard investigative steps and barred agents from asking about the president’s role in foreign dealings in countries such as China and Ukraine, despite communications that implicate him.
SOURCE: New york post
