Hunter Biden was all set to come into court today and plead guilty to two misdemeanor income tax violations and one charge of lying on his gun application, but all of that went out the window when the Trump-appointed judge expressed "concerns" that the plea deal was too broad and would cause future charges to be covered under it.
Washington Post reports that the judge "asked a series of questions that revealed a disagreement between federal prosecutors and Biden’s lawyers over whether the agreement — in which he would plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and likely avoid jail time — would protect him from the possibility of additional criminal charges."
And there's more. The judge had some real concerns over the gun charge diversion agreement where if he failed to remain drug free and meet the other conditions of the agreement, the judge would make a decision about whether he had violated the terms and permit prosecutors to revive the charge against him. She didn't think that provision was constitutional and asked both sides to work on the issue before she approved the plea.
Because the terms couldn't be resolved, Hunter Biden entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
As to the possible future charges, it seems that DOJ -- Merrick Garland's DOJ -- is investigating potential NARA violations related to his lobbying work with Ukraine and China. This of course, is the same Attorney General that Republicans want to impeach because he isn't investigating Hunter Biden.
As an added twist, Marcy Wheeler thinks that the tax charges against Biden will blow up if he goes to trial, thanks to the whistleblowers' testimony in front of Jim Jordan's kangaroo committee.
I'm sure the right wingers and Fox Newsmaxers are orgasmic about today's developments, but I just have to say that Hunter Biden does not hold public office, is not seeking public office, and has no plans to seek public office in the future. The efforts to tie Hunter's problems to his father are just smoke and mirrors to cover for Trump's upcoming indictments.
