Special Counsel David Weiss revealed that prosecutors are planning to seek an indictment from a grand jury against Hunter Biden, possibly before Sept. 29.
What Happened: The call for indictment follows the failure of a probable plea deal between the government and Hunter Biden’s lawyers over tax and firearms charges. This initial deal could have potentially allowed Hunter Biden to evade jail time, however, it was challenged by a federal judge, CBS News reported.
“The Speedy Trial Act requires that the government obtain the return of an indictment by a grand jury by Friday, September 29, 2023, at the earliest,” Weiss wrote.
“The government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before that date.”
Hunter Biden’s lawyers maintained in a court filing on Wednesday that Biden has been adhering to the requirements of the firearms diversion agreement, which demanded him to refrain from unlawful substances and further criminal activities to get the gun charge dismissed.
“We believe the signed and filed diversion agreement remains valid and prevents any additional charges from being filed against Mr. Biden, who has been abiding by the conditions of release under that agreement for the last several weeks, including regular visits by the probation office,” said Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell.
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“We expect a fair resolution of the sprawling, 5-year investigation into Mr. Biden that was based on the evidence and the law, not outside political pressure, and we’ll do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.”
Why It Matters: Last month, Weiss, who was recently elevated to the role of Special Counsel, cited the Speedy Trial Act as the basis for the urgent timeline. He made these comments in response to a federal judge’s queries regarding the status of the firearms case following the collapse of the plea deal in July. The case related to President Joe Biden’s son is expected to proceed to trial either in California or Washington, D.C.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the three charges.
Hunter Biden’s legal team earlier reportedly warned the prosecutors that if charges were pressed against Hunter, they would call upon President Biden to testify in his son’s defense.
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