Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to 2 tax crimes after plea deal falls through | CBC News

U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two tax crimes after a plea deal with federal prosecutors unravelled during a court hearing following the judge’s concerns over the agreement. 

Hunter Biden was charged last month with two misdemeanor tax crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 US in taxes from over $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, and he had made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation. That deal is now on hold. 

During the hearing Wednesday, there was a dispute in court over whether the initial agreement gave him protection against any future charges. U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, raised concerns about the language of the deal. 

That collapsed the proceedings, a surprising development because the plea had been carefully negotiated over weeks and included a lengthy back and forth between Justice Department prosecutors and Biden’s attorneys. 

The plea deal was meant to avert a trial that would have generated weeks or months of distracting headlines about a case that has been politicized by both Republicans and Democrats. But the politics remain as messy as ever, with Republicans insisting Biden got a sweetheart deal and the Justice Department pressing ahead on investigations into Trump, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential primary front-runner.

Prosecutors said in court Wednesday that Biden remained under federal investigation.

This is a breaking news update. An earlier version of the story is below.

The investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings appeared in jeopardy for a time on Wednesday after the federal judge hearing his case expressed concern over a related agreement on a more serious gun possession charge.

The son of U.S. President Joe Biden had been charged with two misdemeanour tax crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes from more than $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018, and he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation.

Last month, Hunter Biden was charged with possession of a firearm by a person who is a known drug user, a felony. He had a Colt Cobra .38 Special for 11 days in October 2018.

Biden agreed to enter into a diversion agreement, which means that he would not technically plead guilty to the crime. As long as he adhered to the terms of his agreement, the case would be wiped from his record. If not, the deal would be withdrawn. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, said she was concerned about the language in the diversion agreement, which contained details about not prosecuting Biden for tax crimes in the future. She suggested the lawyers get back together and discuss it.

“I think having you guys talk more makes sense,” she said to the attorneys.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the lawyers could resolve the case Wednesday or whether they would have to go back into more discussions.

Sentencing was not expected Wednesday in any event.

Republicans level accusations, denials follow

The deal was meant to clear the air for Hunter Biden and avert a trial that would have generated weeks or months of distracting headlines for the president. While relatives of past presidents, including Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Trump, had accusations of influence peddling and other ethical breaches levelled at them, criminal charges did not ensue in those cases. 

Republicans have for years accused Hunter Biden of leveraging his father’s political power for personal gain in his dealings in Ukraine and China. But the probe by U.S. attorney David Weiss of Delaware, a Trump appointee, has not turned up any evidence of criminal wrongdoing up until this point.

Weiss, in a departure from typical practice, was allowed to remain in office to continue the probe after Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has denied allegations of special treatment and said Weiss was given full autonomy to investigate the president’s son.

Weiss, a Trump appointee, denied that in a letter to Congress, saying he had “full authority” over the probe and never requested special counsel status, allegations some Republicans made.

Despite the apparent lack of evidence connecting Hunter Biden’s misdeeds and potential crimes to his father, three committees in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives are investigating those links, which the White House has dismissed as “insane conspiracy theories.”

“What is happening right now are the committees of jurisdiction are continuing to investigate,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters in Washington, D.C., this week. “If the departments in government … deny us the ability to get the information we’re asking, that would rise to an impeachment inquiry.”

Hunter Biden has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, consultant, investment banker and artist. He has publicly discussed his struggles with addiction, including alcoholism and crack cocaine use.

Trump has criticized Hunter Biden’s deal with prosecutors as a mere “traffic ticket.”

But Trump, who unlike Hunter Biden is a candidate for president, has his own mounting legal woes. He has been indicted in New York for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult film performer and faces federal criminal charges in Florida for his handling of classified documents upon leaving office in 2021.

He is also a defendant in civil trials in October and in January 2024, the first involving allegations the Trump Organization manipulated valuations for real estate and insurance purposes, and the second a class action lawsuit in which he is accused of promoting a pyramid scheme on behalf of the company ACN Opportunity before he became president in 2017.