Prosecutors could use a possible indictment of Hunter Biden on weapons charges to “leverage” a new plea deal and resolve his other legal problems, including possible tax charges and an investigation into the scandal-scarred first son’s foreign business dealings, they said. experts to The Post.
The office of special counsel David Weiss said Wednesday that it intended to seek a grand jury indictment against the 53-year-old son of President Biden on a felony weapons offense for alleged possession of a weapon while addicted to crack, before before the statute of limitations expires. month.
Weiss is filing the indictment on weapons charges after a failed plea deal in July in which the younger Biden allegedly accepted two misdemeanor prosecution charges and entered a diversion program for lying about his drug use. when he bought a gun in the fall of 2018. 2018.
The weapons charge to which he reportedly pleaded guilty was a felony, but he was not indicted by a grand jury.
David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, told The Post that an indictment on that weapons charge “isn’t that important” and could simply be “a placeholder,” meaning Weiss could still make a case against Biden related to possible illegal transactions with foreigners. or felony tax charges.
“He is retaining the ability to use his influence – a felony gun possession charge – in negotiations with Hunter Biden to resolve his global criminal exposure,” Weinstein said.
An indictment against Hunter Biden on a gun possession charge could be used to reach a deal with him in all the open cases and investigations he faces, experts say.
Weiss may prefer to settle another deal with the first son, rather than let him go to trial, because the gun charge in particular, tied to drug use, is “rarely” prosecuted and an appeals court next month past vacated a conviction on that same charge in an unrelated case, Weinstein said.
Still, that appeals court, located in the South, is a different jurisdiction than the Delaware v. Biden case and is therefore “not binding,” Weinstein said.
Although the initial plea deal imploded in July, that doesn’t mean another deal can’t be reached between Hunter and Weiss, according to the former federal prosecutor.
Hunter Biden allegedly lied about the fact that he was addicted to crack when he bought a gun in 2018.
This time, however, Biden was able to “see [a plea offer] that’s a little more severe in terms of him having to spend a small amount of time in prison,” Weinstein said.
“But they could go back to the table and come up with something close to what was there,” he added.
The earlier deal fell through due to a “combination of factors,” including the fact that Biden’s camp thought he would receive “general immunity,” which Weinstein said Weiss did not have the authority to offer at the time.
But in August, Weiss was named special prosecutor, which would give him the ability to reach that kind of “global plea deal,” Weinstein said.
Hunter Biden also faces prosecution charges and an investigation into Hunter is still ongoing, the feds said.
Still, the legal expert said he doesn’t necessarily think Weiss is “going to end up playing hardball” in possible ongoing negotiations.
Cornell Law Professor Robert Hockett also told The Post that he agreed that an indictment on the weapons charge could be used to achieve a larger settlement.
But the professor said Weiss would be cautious to avoid the appearance of going soft on the president’s son, given the criticism Weiss received from the right over the previous plea deal.
Republicans accused the Delaware lawyer of offering the preferential treatment as payment to the Biden family for not demanding his resignation. Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
“My guess would be that the way Republicans continue to attack [Weiss] and suggesting that he has some sort of vested interest in going easy on Mr. Biden… I think it would be humane for Mr. Weiss to try to avoid anything that might sound or appear less than factual or overly favorable to the Biden family.” Hockett said.
Still, Weiss will follow the law “and the rules of the prosecutorial profession” and offer a deal if a plea deal seems more likely to succeed than a conviction at trial, Hockett said.
As for Weiss’s right-wing critics, the professor said, “He’s crafted this pretty well, he’s turned the whole thing into a gun control case.”
“That will put all the Republicans who hate Biden in a weird position because they are against gun control anyway,” he said.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn