Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, did not plead guilty to tax crimes as was expected in Wilmington’s federal courthouse Wednesday morning.
Presiding District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she can not make a decision Wednesday regarding the plea agreement, which prompted Hunter Biden to plead not guilty to the charges during the hearing.
The judge said that she had concerns about parts of the agreement, which turned what was expected to be a short hearing into an hours-long affair with multiple recesses for attorneys to sort out what would be included as part of the agreement.
“You all are telling me ‘just rubber stamp the agreement, Your Honor,'” Noreika said.
The president’s son pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanors claimed he willfully failed to pay taxes on more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, the result of a five-year investigation by federal authorities in Delaware and the subject of ongoing investigations and recriminations by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This outcome comes on the heels of a last-minute effort by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to derail the plea deal that they’ve derided as unfair and the result of a corrupt prosecution.
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Noreika was also expected to address a separate firearms felony against Hunter Biden during the hearing. In court documents, federal prosecutors said Biden has agreed to participate in a diversion program which would see that charge struck from his record if he agrees to the program’s terms.
That charge stems from federal prosecutors’ claim that Hunter Biden lied about his drug abuse on paperwork that went along with him purchasing a revolver somewhere in Delaware in 2018.
Ultimately, no decision was reached in how that charge would play into the expected plea agreement.
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The hearing occurred in a courtroom where media and the public are barred from possessing electronic devices.
Hunter Biden is expected to address the media following the hearing. Watch live below.
Come back to Delaware Online for more details as the story unfolds. Read this for additional background.
Also, check out some recent reporting on Hunter Biden’s more local, and controversial, business dealings:
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.
