Federal Prosecutors to Pursue New Indictment of Hunter Biden by September 29

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have announced their intention to seek a fresh indictment of Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, by September 29. This decision comes after a previous plea deal concerning tax and gun-related charges fell apart.

In July, Hunter Biden was prepared to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges for failing to file taxes in 2017 and 2018, for which he subsequently paid the owed taxes. Additionally, he was set to enter a pretrial program for a gun charge, with the understanding that the charge would be dropped if he complied with the program’s requirements.

However, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika declined to accept the plea agreement due to disputes between Hunter Biden’s legal team and federal prosecutors regarding the terms of the deal. The agreement had faced criticism from Congressional Republicans, who labeled it a “sweetheart deal.” They called for an independent prosecutor to replace David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, who had conducted a five-year investigation into Hunter Biden and negotiated the plea deal.

Instead, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as a special counsel with expanded authority to continue his investigation.

The current indictment deadline is a result of the collapsed plea deal. According to the federal Speedy Trial Act, the prosecution’s timeline continues to run once charges are filed, necessitating prompt action by prosecutors or the potential dismissal of the case.

In a filing on Wednesday, federal prosecutors stated their intention to seek a new indictment in the case before September 29, with the filing being related to the gun charge rather than the tax charges.

Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, also submitted an update, confirming his client’s compliance with the conditions for pretrial release.

On the same day, three House Republican chairmen—Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky, and Jason Smith of Missouri—sent a letter to Hunter Biden’s lawyers, Christopher Clark and Abbe Lowell, requesting documents related to the failed plea deal. The lawmakers specifically sought documents mentioned in reports by The New York Times and Politico regarding the breakdown of the agreement. They alleged that these documents likely originated from Hunter Biden’s defense team and requested items such as a 32-page letter from Clark to Weiss concerning the potential gun charge, a 100-slide PowerPoint presentation regarding tax charges, and other related emails.

Abbe Lowell characterized this request as further evidence of interference with the ongoing investigation, stating, “These Republican chairmen continue to abuse their power to push a purely partisan attack on the Biden administration and family.”

Background: Charges Against Hunter Biden

The charges against Hunter Biden involve allegations that he earned $2.4 million in income in 2017 and $2.1 million in 2018 from various sources, including the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, a Chinese development firm, domestic business interests, and legal services. Prosecutors contended that although an accountant prepared Biden’s taxes for those years, both his corporate and personal taxes remained unpaid. During this period, Hunter Biden reportedly made substantial cash withdrawals and covered expenses such as car payments for a Porsche. He later claimed that a “third party” had paid the overdue taxes, along with interest and fees, through a personal loan that he had not yet begun to repay.

Another charge in Weiss’s investigation accuses Hunter Biden of making a false statement on a federal form when purchasing a gun in 2018. The Gun Control Act prohibits drug users from possessing firearms, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has ruled that this ban applies to individuals with “a conviction for use or possession of a controlled substance within the past year.” Hunter Biden had completed a federal form during the purchase of a handgun in October 2018, answering “no” to a question about being “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.” However, according to his own account in his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” Hunter Biden battled drug addiction in 2018 and, at times, smoked crack “every 15 minutes.”