|
Updated Jul 26, 2023, 12:59pm EDT
Topline
Hunter Biden agreed to a revised plea deal with federal prosecutors after a disagreement unfolded in the courtroom about whether he could face additional charges in the case during a hearing Wednesday that was widely expected to mark the conclusion of the Justice Department’s years-long investigation into the president’s son.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on … [+] July 26, 2023 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden is in court to review a plea deal reached with federal prosecutors on misdemeanor tax charges. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Biden’s attorneys and prosecutors revised the deal—which involved him pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and entering a diversion program for a gun charge—to specify that the agreement only includes his conduct related to those three charges and covers the years 2014 to 2019.
The revised agreement was reached after Biden’s attorneys and prosecutors said the plea deal could be called off when federal prosecutors indicated the investigation was ongoing and Biden could face additional charges, including a potential violation of the foreign agents registration act, CNN reported.
The agreement appeared to unravel when Judge Maryellen Noreika reportedly expressed concerns about tying the plea deal regarding the tax violations to the gun charge, prompting the judge to call a brief recess to give the two sides an opportunity to negotiate.
Biden was expected to plead guilty Wednesday to two misdemeanor charges of failing to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018 and agree to enter a diversion program to avoid an additional charge of purchasing a gun in 2018 despite being a drug user at the time.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip.
