Is Hunter Biden's new courtroom drama a speed bump or a total derailment?

Where do Hunter Biden, his father, and the Republicans out for blood go from here?

Hunter Biden.
(Image credit: Illustrated / Getty Images)

One month ago, Hunter Biden's long legal drama seemed poised to end, not with a bang, but with a whimper, as federal prosecutors prepared to accept a plea deal over federal tax evasion charges and allegations that the president's beleaguered son purchased a firearm while addicted to a controlled substance. In a statement at the time, Biden attorney Christopher Clark hailed the pending deal as a sign that "the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved," and that his client "looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward."

This week, that process of "moving forward" skidded to an unexpected halt, after U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika placed a hold on Biden's plea deal in a dramatic courtroom showdown that "revealed a disconnect between Biden's lawyers and prosecutors over the terms of the plea deal," Axios said. At issue was the scope of the tax evasion agreement; its relation to a separate "pretrial diversion agreement," which would see Biden avoid jail time for the gun charges under certain conditions; and disagreement over whether the deal would insulate the president's son against future charges. Noreika also questioned the constitutionality of the firearms diversion agreement, in which her participation may result in a separation-of-powers breach. At the close of Wednesday's hearing, Biden pled "not guilty" to the various charges against him, although he "will be able to withdraw the not guilty pleas he entered on Wednesday" if Noreika ultimately accepts a revised version of the deal, Politico wrote. "He would then replace them with guilty pleas on the tax charges, and DOJ would defer prosecution on the gun charge."

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.