President Biden’s son Hunter was indicted Thursday for allegedly making false statements and illegal gun possession — setting the stage for a possible criminal trial for the younger Biden in 2024 while his father campaigns for re-election.
Sign up for Fact Checker, our weekly review of what's true, false or in-between in politics.
The charges follow the collapse in July of a plea deal that lawyers for Hunter Biden had negotiated with U.S. Attorney and special counsel David Weiss, in which Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax violations while admitting to illegal possession of a gun but not actually pleading guilty to that felony offense.
Weiss, who launched the investigation into Hunter Biden as the Delaware U.S. Attorney during the Trump administration, had signaled earlier this month that he planned to seek an indictment. Hunter Biden’s lawyers have argued that their client should not be charged because — in their view — the portion of the failed deal that related to the weapons charge remains in effect.
ADVERTISING
That part of the deal required Biden to enter a pretrial diversion program, an option typically applied to nonviolent offenders with substance abuse problems. In all, he would have spent about two years on probation but avoided jail time if he kept to the terms of the deal, which included not owning a gun or engaging in criminal conduct.
The plea deal fell apart at a court hearing in Wilmington, Del., under basic questioning by a federal judge who found the two sides had very different understandings of whether the agreement meant Biden could still be charged for possible financial or lobbying registration crimes.
How the Hunter Biden plea deal fell apart
Since the collapse of that deal, prosecutors have signaled that the proper place to file any tax charges against the younger Biden would not be in Delaware, but in D.C. and California.
The investigation into Hunter Biden has become a central focus of Republicans, including Donald Trump, who have sought to connect President Biden to alleged wrongdoing by his son.
When Biden was elected, the attorney general he appointed, Merrick Garland, chose to keep Weiss, a Trump nominee, as the U.S. attorney in Delaware to continue the investigation. Republicans have repeatedly attacked Weiss — who has deep roots in the Bidens’ home state — as being unable or unwilling to pursue the politically sensitive case.
The saga of the investigation took another strange turn in the spring. Two IRS agents involved in the case became whistleblowers and told a congressional committee that Weiss and his office had stymied and slow-walked the investigation over many months, frustrating the agents, who said they had wanted to pursue tougher charges in the case.
Garland had long resisted calls by congressional conservatives to appoint a special counsel in the Hunter Biden case, saying Weiss was best suited to handle it. But after the plea deal fell apart, Weiss asked to be named special counsel, and Garland agreed.
As special counsel, Weiss can file criminal charges in any jurisdiction in the United States — something that he would have needed special permission to do as a U.S. attorney.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a written statement earlier this month that he believes the diversion agreement designed to settle the gun charge “remains valid and prevents any additional charges from being filed against Mr. Biden, who has been abiding by the conditions of release under that agreement for the last several weeks, including regular visits by the probation office.”
Lowell said he expects “a fair resolution” of the case, “based on the evidence and the law, not outside political pressure, and we’ll do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.”
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
Sign up for Fact Checker, our weekly review of what's true, false or in-between in politics.
The charges follow the collapse in July of a plea deal that lawyers for Hunter Biden had negotiated with U.S. Attorney and special counsel David Weiss, in which Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax violations while admitting to illegal possession of a gun but not actually pleading guilty to that felony offense.
Weiss, who launched the investigation into Hunter Biden as the Delaware U.S. Attorney during the Trump administration, had signaled earlier this month that he planned to seek an indictment. Hunter Biden’s lawyers have argued that their client should not be charged because — in their view — the portion of the failed deal that related to the weapons charge remains in effect.
ADVERTISING
That part of the deal required Biden to enter a pretrial diversion program, an option typically applied to nonviolent offenders with substance abuse problems. In all, he would have spent about two years on probation but avoided jail time if he kept to the terms of the deal, which included not owning a gun or engaging in criminal conduct.
The plea deal fell apart at a court hearing in Wilmington, Del., under basic questioning by a federal judge who found the two sides had very different understandings of whether the agreement meant Biden could still be charged for possible financial or lobbying registration crimes.
How the Hunter Biden plea deal fell apart
Since the collapse of that deal, prosecutors have signaled that the proper place to file any tax charges against the younger Biden would not be in Delaware, but in D.C. and California.
The investigation into Hunter Biden has become a central focus of Republicans, including Donald Trump, who have sought to connect President Biden to alleged wrongdoing by his son.
When Biden was elected, the attorney general he appointed, Merrick Garland, chose to keep Weiss, a Trump nominee, as the U.S. attorney in Delaware to continue the investigation. Republicans have repeatedly attacked Weiss — who has deep roots in the Bidens’ home state — as being unable or unwilling to pursue the politically sensitive case.
The saga of the investigation took another strange turn in the spring. Two IRS agents involved in the case became whistleblowers and told a congressional committee that Weiss and his office had stymied and slow-walked the investigation over many months, frustrating the agents, who said they had wanted to pursue tougher charges in the case.
Garland had long resisted calls by congressional conservatives to appoint a special counsel in the Hunter Biden case, saying Weiss was best suited to handle it. But after the plea deal fell apart, Weiss asked to be named special counsel, and Garland agreed.
As special counsel, Weiss can file criminal charges in any jurisdiction in the United States — something that he would have needed special permission to do as a U.S. attorney.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a written statement earlier this month that he believes the diversion agreement designed to settle the gun charge “remains valid and prevents any additional charges from being filed against Mr. Biden, who has been abiding by the conditions of release under that agreement for the last several weeks, including regular visits by the probation office.”
Lowell said he expects “a fair resolution” of the case, “based on the evidence and the law, not outside political pressure, and we’ll do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.”
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
