Republicans are accusing Hunter Biden’s lawyers of leaking details of the collapsed “sweetie” plea deal to the media and are threatening to bring in the president’s son to testify.
Hunter appeared in federal court on July 26 willing to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and walk away with just a slap on the wrist and no jail time, what Republicans labeled a “sweetheart deal” that Biden’s Justice Department (DOJ) had put together to protect the president’s son.
However, the deal exploded spectacularly after a hidden clause giving Hunter full immunity from a wide variety of other possible charges, including illegal foreign lobbying, was discovered by the judge.
Details of how the deal came about have been leaked to the New York Times and Politico since the hearing, and the media ran their own stories about what happened between DOJ and Hunter’s legal team.
Three House Republicans say in a letter to Hunter’s lawyers obtained by DailyMail.com on Wednesday that these reports were based on “non-public information” and also included “previously undisclosed documents and communications” of which only a limited number of people would have been aware.
As a result, they have “serious concerns” about whether the DOJ’s handling of the Hunter case was truly impartial.
It was only after IRS whistleblowers accused DOJ of improper influence in the federal investigation of Hunter that U.S. Attorney David Weiss, Hunter’s lead prosecutor, decided to charge him with tax crimes, according to the New York Times report published Aug. 19.
The GOP investigators also explicitly accuse Hunter’s team of leaking the material to the two media outlets. They say that now that the information is public, all communications should be turned over to their committees.
And if they don’t hand them over, they’ll bring in Hunter himself for a witness statement.
Hunter Biden left U.S. Federal District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, where his plea deal was rejected on July 26
Attorney General Merrick Garland promoted U.S. Attorney David Weiss — Hunter’s chief prosecutor — to special counsel status last month
“Should you refuse to provide the committee with the requested information because of a perceived privilege, the committee may be required to request testimony from you and/or Hunter Biden regarding the disclosure of these documents and communications to the New York Times and Politico,” they say. . to conclude.
They require all requested documents and communications to be submitted by September 20.
In late July, the same three Republicans in the House of Representatives launched an investigation into how the terms of the plea deal were negotiated before they collapsed dramatically in court.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., wrote to Attorney General Garland to “better gain insight’ into the views of the Ministry of Justice. decision to sign such an “atypical” plea deal.
According to the letter obtained by DailyMail.com, Republicans state that the “unusual plea and pre-trial deals with Mr. Biden raise serious concerns” about the Department’s “preferential treatment to Mr. Biden in the course of his investigation and proposed resolution of the case’. his alleged criminal conduct.’
Republican lawmakers cited Judge Noreika’s concerns about the preliminary agreement in the letter to Garland, when she stated that it was “non-standard” and “different from what I normally see.”
They add that it is particularly concerning because of recent whistleblower allegations that Hunter received “special treatment” during the criminal investigation.
IRS agents Joe Ziegler and Gary Shapley testified under oath that their investigation “supported misdemeanor and felony tax charges,” which were ultimately not filed against the president’s son, Hunter, due to political pressure.
Weiss attempted to press felony charges against him in Washington DC, they said, but was blocked by the district’s top federal prosecutor, Matthew Graves, a Biden appointee.
The “special treatment” for Hunter became a pattern that happened over and over again, the whistleblowers said, who were told they would get into “hot water” if they tried to talk to President Joe Biden’s adult children and grandchildren during their investigation . .
The lawmakers also accused the DOJ of “favoring Mr. Biden by giving up his unilateral ability to press charges against him if it concludes that he violated the pre-trial diversion agreement.”
The Department “shifted a broad immunity provision, which benefits Mr. Biden, from the plea bargain to the preliminary diversion agreement, apparently to prevent the court from scrutinizing and overturning that immunity provision,” the Republicans say.
They continued, saying it was “remarkable” that Hunter’s attorneys stated at the hearing that they believed that “the immunity provision in the preliminary diversion agreement would prevent the Department from bringing charges against Mr Biden on grounds of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. ‘
While the Department disagreed with that position, it is difficult to understand how the parties could not agree on a clause of the agreement as fundamental as the scope of the immunity provision, and it raises questions about what discussions things have taken place between the Department and Mr. Biden’s counsel regarding the status of those investigations.”
The collapse of Hunter Biden’s original plea deal Also causes more problems for his father, Joe Biden. The president will now face more headlines and questions about his drug-addicted son’s case as he approaches the 2024 campaign path.
The unraveling of the similarity between the prosecutors and the defense team means Hunter could now face more charges. It also means Hunter is likely to face additional prosecutions in the future.
That may include any crimes related to his multimillion-dollar business deals with Ukraine, Romania and China.
And the Republicans say Joe was at the center of them.
At the plea hearing, Hunter admitted that he obtained more than $600,000 from a Chinese company and did business with one of their associates.
“My partner was associated with a Chinese energy company called CEFC,” Hunter told the federal judge.
When asked for his partner’s name, Hunter replied, “I don’t know how to spell his name, Yi Jianming is the chairman of that company.”
That was in direct contradiction to a statement President Biden made during his 2020 campaign that his son never “made money” from China.
In addition, some of the future indictments Hunter could face put the incumbent president in an awkward position.
“Today, District Judge Noreika did the right thing by refusing to approve Hunter Biden’s beloved plea deal,” said James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, R-Ky., who is leading the congressional investigation into the business dealings of the family Biden.
He added that the Justice Department has “revealed that Hunter Biden is under investigation for being a foreign agent.”
If it turns out that the DOJ is pressing charges against Hunter under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), as Comer alluded to, it would create an even bigger headache for the president.
Hunter walked into federal court in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, along with his “sugar brother” and lawyer Kevin Morris (left) — who was seen smoking a bong during a visit from the president’s son the previous week
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler testified before Congress in July
FARA violations carry heavy prison terms and stiff penalties.
In 2018, Paul Manafort, former aide to former President Donald Trump, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for FARA violations related to his business activities in Ukraine.
The Department has not directly confirmed that it is indicting Hunter for failing to register as a foreign agent during his foreign business dealings, but House Republicans have collected a mountain of evidence linking him and his father to deals in China, Romania and other countries. Ukraine.
The White House has maintained that the president never “did business” with his son, but the Republican Party has stepped up its investigation with whistleblower testimony and a slew of other evidence.
And Comer says Hunter can expect between six and 10 criminal references by the end of his investigation into the first son and his family.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy is even considering opening an impeachment inquiry against the president for “lying to the American public” about his son’s business dealings.
He waits to set a date or timeline until additional information is revealed.
(TagsToTranslate)dailymail