Federal prosecutors said Friday that a trial is likely in the Hunter Biden tax evasion case.
In a Friday motion, prosecutors said plea negotiations that continued after Hunter Biden’s deal fell apart during his July 26 hearing “are at an impasse.” Biden’s team had sought immunity for charges unrelated to allegations of tax evasion in a pretrial diversion agreement, prompting Judge Maryellen Noreika to intervene in the deal.
“The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial,” the court filing states.
Prosecutors filed the motion Friday to dismiss charges filed in Delaware so the government could bring charges in a different district. The filing notes the venue for the charges “does not lie in Delaware” and would be either in the Central District of California or Washington, D.C. (RELATED: Merrick Garland Appoints David Weiss As Special Counsel In Hunter Biden Investigation)
“The information was filed in this District because the parties had previously agreed that the Defendant would waive any challenge to venue and plead guilty in this District,” the motion says.
Biden’s initial plea deal, which would have had him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion agreement allowing him to avoid jail time for a felony gun charge, included a promise of broad immunity for future charges that Noreika uncovered during the hearing through careful questioning.
The diversion agreement that contained the immunity provision outlined payments Biden received from his business dealings in China, Ukraine and Romania, which legal experts said could have shielded him from potential future charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
If the government files charges in another district, it would bring Hunter Biden’s case before a different judge than Noreika.
Noreika, an appointee of former President Donald Trump who had support from Delaware’s Democratic senators, was confirmed in 2018. Campaign donation records from her time working at a law firm in the private sector reveal she donated to both Democrats and Republicans.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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