The collapse of Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal left many questions unanswered. Here’s what you need to know to understand what happened, what may come next, and what to watch for.
The Sweetheart Plea Deal
In late July 2023, Hunter Biden appeared before federal Judge Maryellen Noreika planning to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts and to resolve a gun charge with a pretrial diversion agreement. Things did not go according to plan, however, with Noreika — instead of rubber stamping the plea agreement — questioning both the government and Biden’s attorney on the specifics of the deal.
As the in-court colloquy with Noreika revealed, the language proved confusing — more on that shortly — leaving Hunter Biden to plead not guilty and the hearing to continue later.
In formulating the deal for Hunter Biden, Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss separated the charges into two separate criminal dockets and two separate “informations.” An information is a charging document, like an indictment, but while an indictment is issued by a grand jury, a prosecutor states the charges in an information. Generally, federal prosecutors use an information in cases charging misdemeanors or in felony cases where the defendant has waived his constitutional right to a grand jury indictment, typically as part of a plea agreement.
Gun Charge: Docket 23-CR-00061
The first information issued by the Delaware U.S. attorney’s office charged Hunter Biden with knowingly possessing a firearm while knowing he “was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance,” in violation
