This is a breaking story, so the 24-hour rule applies: All reports within the first 24 hours are suspect. But we will strive to give you the most accurate information.
So we told you this morning that Hunter Biden’s attorneys were facing possible sanctions for alleged misconduct (it’s a wild one—you should read the whole thing), and then we reported that the deal appeared to be dead and then it was alive.
But now, via our sister site Townhall, we get this report from CNN that it is dead, again, for now:
🚨BREAKING🚨
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 26, 2023
HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO ALL CHARGES AFTER PLEA DEAL IS JEOPARDIZED pic.twitter.com/HHpLbp9zWK
The official state television of Britian also lines up with that reporting:
Hunter Biden: Plea deal for president's son collapses in dramatic court hearing @Jim_Jordan https://t.co/Jz6PbIPeb8
— John Holywell (@holywell_john) July 26, 2023
Now, to be very blunt, legal reporting is typically terrible. Many of the people doing the reporting don’t know a thing about the law and the law can be almost like another language—even if you are not using legal latin. But examining both of those sources, it appears that the deal might have settled all possible charges, and the judge was not willing to do that because investigations were ongoing. There was a suggestion they could reform the deal to just address the charges before the court today, but somehow either they couldn’t come to an agreement, or the judge couldn’t agree to what they had come up with. We don’t feel 100% confident in every in and out that happened, but the bottom line appears to be is the judge ‘gave the two parties 14 days to hash out a new deal and brief her.’ That’s quoting from the BBC article.
But as we are writing this, several entries appeared on PACER, the official federal court database. One part says: "The Court deferred a decision on the plea and pretrial diversion agreement. The parties shall submit briefs as ordered within 30 days[.]" We are not sure how to reconcile the BBC account with the docket entry.
Either way, they could come back with a new deal or maybe the negotiations will fall apart. And there is a question of whether the judge would sign on to it.
Also, we have been wondering all day if the court did anything about sanctions. So far, we haven’t heard anything. To be blunt, that might require an entire hearing to sort out, which would be probably be set for a later date.
We gave the standard ‘breaking news’ warning at the beginning and urge you to keep it in mind. In some cases, federal courts frustrate the ability of the media to cover what is going on, and we are not sure if they see that as a bug and not a feature. We feel pretty confident in the notion that the judge is giving them the option to come back with a new deal and that Hunter Biden pled not guilty today as a placeholder.
Indeed, as we noted above, a few new items popped up on PACER. It does verify that Biden pled not guilty.
It also gave the conditions that Biden had to satisfy while on release. He will have to check in with the courts regularly, he will have to inform the court in writing any time he travels internationally, he can’t possess a firearm, he cannot use any drugs (including alcohol), he will have to submit to drug testing and drug addiction counseling. Technically he could violate his conditions of release if he takes traditional communion—assuming he would not actually be smote by God like the Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark if he set foot in a church.
(And no, George Lucas, we are not going to call it Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and you can't make us!)
More coverage of the Hunter Biden case:
Hunter Biden pleads not guilty after plea deal derailed - NBC News https://t.co/u0DvHc7Swd via @GoogleNews
— jackie callahan (@crutchfoot) July 26, 2023
That includes an interesting account that sounds credible to our ears:
Earlier in the hearing, Noreika asked if there were more serious charges that could still be brought and the prosecutors and Hunter Biden’s lawyer both said there were not.
Noreika later asked if the investigation was ongoing, to which Weiss responded that it was, but said he could not share any further details.
She raised a hypothetical, asking if Hunter Biden could face charges for failing to register as a foreign agent and whether the agreement block his prosecution for such a charge. The defense said they believed the agreement would prohibit him from being charged and the prosecution then disagreed.
Also from the article:
‘I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life,’ his lawyer Clark said last month. ‘He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.’
Um, no. If that was what he was doing, he’d plead guilty to all of it and throw himself on the mercy of the court. What he is trying to do is get off as lightly as possible, which is not really taking responsibility.
Additionally, one of our Twitter friends wants to thank some people who made today happen:
Seeing reports that the federal judge is balking at Hunter Biden's plea deal, I just want to thank Cocaine Mitch again for ramming through all of Trump's judicial appointments. pic.twitter.com/zmocQdbd9h
— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) July 26, 2023
In any case, the story is still developing and we will keep you updated as best as we can.
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