A federal judge in Delaware dismissed Hunter Biden’s misdemeanor tax charges Thursday following a filing by the Justice Department last week to dismiss the case.
According to CNBC, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika’s decision to dismiss Hunter Biden’s misdemeanor tax charges was anticipated after the plea agreement broke down last month between President Joe Biden’s son and federal prosecutors.
The move comes in expectation of a possible trial in another district regarding Hunter Biden’s felony gun charge.
Hunter Biden was expected to plead “guilty” last month to two counts of willfully failing to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal that would have helped him avoid any potential jail time relating to his felony gun charge. However, a federal court rejected the president’s son’s plea deal over a provision that would have shielded Hunter Biden from future prosecutions.
In the aftermath of the failed plea deal, Hunter Biden pleaded “not guilty.” Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have indicated that he remains under federal investigation, according to Fox News.
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Fox News reported that Hunter Biden’s attorneys and Special Counsel David Weiss have clashed over an agreement pertaining to the felony gun charge that would prevent Hunter Biden from being sentenced to any time in jail. Meanwhile, Weiss has suggested that he might engage in a trial against Hunter Biden in California or in Washington, D.C.
Following claims by Biden’s attorneys that Weiss “reneged” on the plea deal concerning the misdemeanor federal tax charges and the felony gun charge, Weiss emphasized that the agreement was “not in effect.”
In a court filing, Weiss claimed that Hunter Biden “rejected” the “counterproposals” that were presented on Aug. 7 and that he “chose to plead not guilty at the hearing on July 26, 2023, and U.S. Probation declined to approve the proposed diversion agreement at that hearing. Thus, neither proposed agreement entered into effect.”
“Seeing that the parties were at an impasse, the Government informed the Defendant, in writing on August 9, 2023, that it was withdrawing the most recent version of its proposed plea and diversion agreements,” Weiss explained. “That is why the Government has asked the Court to vacate its briefing order and has moved to dismiss the criminal tax information.”
