The European Tribune is a forum for thoughtful dialogue of European and international issues. You are invited to post comments and your own articles.
Please REGISTER to post.
there was a dispute in court over whether the initial agreement gave him protection against any future charges. U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, raised concerns about the language of the deal. The judge gave defense lawyers and prosecutors 30 days to explain why she should accept the initial deal. [...] The plea deal was meant to clear the air for Hunter Biden and avert a trial that would have generated weeks or months of distracting headlines [during another ELECTION primary season].
Last month, Biden was charged with possession of a firearm [venue shopping] by a person [wut] who is a known [but not convicted] drug user, a felony. He had a Colt Cobra .38 Special for 11 days in October 2018. He agreed to enter into a diversion agreement, which means that he would not technically plead guilty to the crime. As long as he adhered to the terms of his [deferred "18 USC § 922" prosecution], the case would be wiped from his record. If not, the [first plea] deal would be withdrawn. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison [if convicted]. [...]
Biden's trip to China with son Hunter in 2013 comes under new scrutiny |NBC News - Oct. 2, 2019 | What wasn't known then was that as he accompanied his father to China, Hunter Biden was forming a Chinese private equity fund that associates said at the time was planning to raise big money, including from China. Hunter Biden has acknowledged meeting with Jonathan Li, a Chinese banker and his partner in the fund during the trip, although his spokesman says it was a social visit. Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund (Name change per 31 May, 2023 to "BHR Partners") Management Co., Ltd Founded 2013 Founders: Hunter Biden Devon Archer Jonathan Li Headquarters: Beijing, China Key people: Jonathan Li (CEO) AUM ¥12 billion RMB (April 2017) Owners: Bohai Industrial Investment Fund Harvest Fund Management Rosemont Seneca Bohai Thornton Group LLC The Chinese business license that brought the new fund into existence was issued by Shanghai authorities 10 days after the trip, with Hunter Biden a member of the board. [...] In fact, the biggest tension point between the vice president's office and journalists accompanying Biden on the trip was over the media's coverage of his five and a half hours of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Reporters had described Biden as "somber" or "subdued" during a photo-op, suggesting the meeting may not have gone well. "Candor generates trust," Biden told Xi during the photo-op. "Trust is the basis on which real change -- constructive change -- is made." It was about midnight by the time Biden's marathon meetings with Xi wrapped up, and Hunter Biden wasn't present for the meeting. But by the next afternoon, he and his daughter had linked back up with the vice president, joining him for some family time in Beijing's Dongcheng District, a bustling shopping district not far from Tiananmen Square. Trailed by a throng of photographers and curious locals, the Bidens spent roughly an hour perusing gift shops, buying Magnum ice cream bars from a street vendor and discussed holiday presents for relatives loudly enough that the journalists with them could hear. Hunter Biden, in an apple-red sweater and white collared shirt, also joined his daughter and father for an elaborate traditional tea ceremony involving "white tea" leaves dried in sunlight and "blue tea" leaves dried in moonlight. Several former White House officials who traveled with Biden on the trip told NBC News that they didn't know at the time that Hunter Biden had any business interests in China and were unaware of his private schedule while in Beijing. They said there were no indications the younger Biden had connected his work to his father's government position. "It just wasn't something that was on any of our radar screens," said Jake Sullivan, who was Biden's national security adviser at the time. "Hunter's presence didn't really factor into anything the vice president and the team were thinking about from a policy or diplomacy perspective."
What wasn't known then was that as he accompanied his father to China, Hunter Biden was forming a Chinese private equity fund that associates said at the time was planning to raise big money, including from China. Hunter Biden has acknowledged meeting with Jonathan Li, a Chinese banker and his partner in the fund during the trip, although his spokesman says it was a social visit.
Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund (Name change per 31 May, 2023 to "BHR Partners") Management Co., Ltd Founded 2013 Founders: Hunter Biden Devon Archer Jonathan Li Headquarters: Beijing, China Key people: Jonathan Li (CEO) AUM ¥12 billion RMB (April 2017) Owners: Bohai Industrial Investment Fund Harvest Fund Management Rosemont Seneca Bohai Thornton Group LLC
Founded 2013
Founders: Hunter Biden Devon Archer Jonathan Li
Headquarters: Beijing, China
Key people: Jonathan Li (CEO) AUM ¥12 billion RMB (April 2017)
Owners: Bohai Industrial Investment Fund Harvest Fund Management Rosemont Seneca Bohai Thornton Group LLC
The Chinese business license that brought the new fund into existence was issued by Shanghai authorities 10 days after the trip, with Hunter Biden a member of the board.
[...]
In fact, the biggest tension point between the vice president's office and journalists accompanying Biden on the trip was over the media's coverage of his five and a half hours of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Reporters had described Biden as "somber" or "subdued" during a photo-op, suggesting the meeting may not have gone well.
"Candor generates trust," Biden told Xi during the photo-op. "Trust is the basis on which real change -- constructive change -- is made."
It was about midnight by the time Biden's marathon meetings with Xi wrapped up, and Hunter Biden wasn't present for the meeting. But by the next afternoon, he and his daughter had linked back up with the vice president, joining him for some family time in Beijing's Dongcheng District, a bustling shopping district not far from Tiananmen Square.
Trailed by a throng of photographers and curious locals, the Bidens spent roughly an hour perusing gift shops, buying Magnum ice cream bars from a street vendor and discussed holiday presents for relatives loudly enough that the journalists with them could hear. Hunter Biden, in an apple-red sweater and white collared shirt, also joined his daughter and father for an elaborate traditional tea ceremony involving "white tea" leaves dried in sunlight and "blue tea" leaves dried in moonlight.
Several former White House officials who traveled with Biden on the trip told NBC News that they didn't know at the time that Hunter Biden had any business interests in China and were unaware of his private schedule while in Beijing.
They said there were no indications the younger Biden had connected his work to his father's government position. "It just wasn't something that was on any of our radar screens," said Jake Sullivan, who was Biden's national security adviser at the time. "Hunter's presence didn't really factor into anything the vice president and the team were thinking about from a policy or diplomacy perspective."
Hunter Biden and Christopher Heinz founded Rosemont Seneca Partners in 2009 In 2009, Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden and John Kerry's stepson Christopher Heinz, founded Rosemont Seneca Partners, a private equity business, with a friend Devon Archer. The three formed a group of related limited liability companies (LLCs). It was linked to the Heinz family's alternative investment firm.
In 2009, Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden and John Kerry's stepson Christopher Heinz, founded Rosemont Seneca Partners, a private equity business, with a friend Devon Archer. The three formed a group of related limited liability companies (LLCs). It was linked to the Heinz family's alternative investment firm.
In the Oversight hearing, Jordan does mention Archer's appointment with destiny. Former Burisma board member to sit for transcribed interview next week, 24 July
Devon Archer, a former Burisma board member and business partner of Hunter Biden, will sit for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday, July 31, a committee spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) issued a subpoena in June for Archer to appear for a deposition as part of the committee's investigation into the Biden family's finances, with an original deadline of June 16. Archer missed that deadline and canceled a scheduled deposition before the committee a total of three times. [...] Prior to both men joining the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014, Archer and Hunter Biden worked alongside each other at the Rosemont Seneca Partners investment firm. Archer was convicted in connection to a fraudulent bond scheme involving a Native American tribe in 2018 and was later sentenced to over a year in prison in 2022. [...]
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) issued a subpoena in June for Archer to appear for a deposition as part of the committee's investigation into the Biden family's finances, with an original deadline of June 16. Archer missed that deadline and canceled a scheduled deposition before the committee a total of three times. [...] Prior to both men joining the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014, Archer and Hunter Biden worked alongside each other at the Rosemont Seneca Partners investment firm.
Archer was convicted in connection to a fraudulent bond scheme involving a Native American tribe in 2018 and was later sentenced to over a year in prison in 2022. [...]
Devon Archer's Fraud Conviction...and Hunter Biden's Connection to It, 24 July 2023 "In his defense at the 2018 criminal trial, Archer's lawyer argued that Hunter Biden 'was part of this deal.'"
Theatrics of defense counsel and prosecutors fall flat in a court of law where the judge is the only party doing her job responsibly.
Hunter Biden Plea Deal in Limbo After Judge Questions Terms | Bloomberg | Throughout the hearing, diverging views emerged between Biden's lawyers and prosecutors regarding the scope of the immunity that would be granted to Biden under the agreement. Under the original deal, Biden had intended to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes committed in 2017 and 2018. Additionally, he was poised to enter into an agreement with federal prosecutors to avoid prison on a charge for possessing a gun while addicted to an illegal drug. The lack of resolution means that Hunter Biden's case will continue to hang over President Biden as he runs for a second term. It will also fuel politically charged investigations into Biden family business dealings. Biden's lawyers and federal prosecutors come to a revised agreement for the deal to apply only to misdemeanor tax crimes and a firearm violation between the years 2014 to 2019. Meanwhile, prosecutors said they are still investigating Biden and could charge him with other crimes not covered by the plea deal. But the hearing was temporarily halted when Noreika said she didn't understand what Hunter Biden could still be charged with. She asked questions that exposed a misunderstanding between Justice Department prosecutors and Biden's lawyer, Chris Clark. "I don't really understand the scope" of the agreement's immunity provisions, Noreika said. She noted that Biden has had numerous foreign business dealings. At one point, she raised a hypothetical as to whether Biden could be charged as acting as an unregistered foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Leo Wise, an assistant US attorney representing the government at the hearing, said that Biden could still be charged with a FARA violation. His statement prompted an objection from Clark. Noreika asked the prosecutors and defense lawyers to resolve their differences about the plea agreement and temporarily adjourned the hearing. The two sides were asked to submit briefs within 30 days.
Throughout the hearing, diverging views emerged between Biden's lawyers and prosecutors regarding the scope of the immunity that would be granted to Biden under the agreement.
Under the original deal, Biden had intended to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes committed in 2017 and 2018. Additionally, he was poised to enter into an agreement with federal prosecutors to avoid prison on a charge for possessing a gun while addicted to an illegal drug.
The lack of resolution means that Hunter Biden's case will continue to hang over President Biden as he runs for a second term. It will also fuel politically charged investigations into Biden family business dealings.
Biden's lawyers and federal prosecutors come to a revised agreement for the deal to apply only to misdemeanor tax crimes and a firearm violation between the years 2014 to 2019. Meanwhile, prosecutors said they are still investigating Biden and could charge him with other crimes not covered by the plea deal.
But the hearing was temporarily halted when Noreika said she didn't understand what Hunter Biden could still be charged with. She asked questions that exposed a misunderstanding between Justice Department prosecutors and Biden's lawyer, Chris Clark.
"I don't really understand the scope" of the agreement's immunity provisions, Noreika said. She noted that Biden has had numerous foreign business dealings. At one point, she raised a hypothetical as to whether Biden could be charged as acting as an unregistered foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Leo Wise, an assistant US attorney representing the government at the hearing, said that Biden could still be charged with a FARA violation. His statement prompted an objection from Clark.
Noreika asked the prosecutors and defense lawyers to resolve their differences about the plea agreement and temporarily adjourned the hearing. The two sides were asked to submit briefs within 30 days.
Wise said in court that the Hunter Biden investigation is still underway, and he said the diversion agreement wouldn't block the Justice Department from hypothetically charging Biden with illegally lobbying for a foreign government. [...] Weiss, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who oversaw the probe, has defended the independence of the investigation. [...]
Based on conversations with people who were in the courtroom today, and my experience as a former federal prosecutor, I think I know the full story of what happened with the Hunter Biden plea agreement blow-up this morning. Bear with me, because this is a little complicated:...— Will Scharf (@willscharf) July 26, 2023
Based on conversations with people who were in the courtroom today, and my experience as a former federal prosecutor, I think I know the full story of what happened with the Hunter Biden plea agreement blow-up this morning. Bear with me, because this is a little complicated:...
h/t MofA Judge Rejects Hunter Biden's Dirty Plea Deal 'Sapere aude'
voiceofeurope | The judge has set "release conditions" for Hunter Biden: to find employment and undergo drug testing, 27 July document image
The prosecution [FALSE] attempted to sneak in immunity into Hunter's plea deal, causing it to fall apart on Wednesday. As Hunter did not plead guilty to the charges, the case continues.
by Frank Schnittger - Sep 1 6 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Sep 3 19 comments
by Oui - Sep 6 3 comments
by gmoke - Aug 25 1 comment
by Frank Schnittger - Aug 21 1 comment
by Frank Schnittger - Aug 22 56 comments
by Oui - Aug 18 8 comments
by Oui - Sep 9
by Oui - Sep 8
by Oui - Sep 81 comment
by Oui - Sep 7
by Oui - Sep 63 comments
by Oui - Sep 54 comments
by gmoke - Sep 5
by Oui - Sep 41 comment
by Oui - Sep 47 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Sep 319 comments
by Oui - Sep 211 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Sep 16 comments
by Oui - Sep 114 comments
by Oui - Sep 189 comments
by Oui - Sep 11 comment
by gmoke - Aug 29
by Oui - Aug 2818 comments
by Oui - Aug 271 comment
by Oui - Aug 262 comments