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Biden's son Hunter pleads not guilty to 2 tax crimes after agreement with prosecutors falls through
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].
moot [US-Eng.] 2014-2019 RICO int'l. tax evasion, sex and narcotic traffic, and FARA indictments;
TY 2017, 2018 state and federal misdemeanors [unregistered firearm and IRS 26 USC 7203, respectively] charges tabled [UK-Eng.].
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 If not, the [first plea] deal would be withdrawn.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].
[...]
oh, I think this crew can pull off a schedule amenable to the president's interests that won't coincide with Trump mania. After all, Marylin Mosby (D), former State Atty for Bal'more city, has delayed for 2 yearswith the cooperation of but one of Maryland's US District Court judge trial of charges that she defrauded the US.
by Cat on Wed Jul 26th, 2023 at 07:02:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Daddy will have to pardon him for any future crimes and just in case for any prior breach of the Espionage Act of 1917. Not because he may have been a whistleblower 😉

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Jul 26th, 2023 at 08:13:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
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.

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.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Jul 26th, 2023 at 09:02:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Anderson, Archer & Boxer Tribal Bonds, Archer, Galanis & Cooney Tribal Bonds in Congress impeaches self, Senators expedite 2020 LNG for American Allies Act

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.
[...]

domestic abuse
Hunter Biden's Name Was Used as Selling Point in Fraudulent Bond Scheme, 24 Oct 2019
"A consultant's report aimed at potential investors listed Mr. Archer as chairman of the combined financial firm and Mr. [Hunter] Biden as its vice chairman, according to trial testimony."

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.'"

by Cat on Thu Jul 27th, 2023 at 04:57:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Judge Beliefs Plea Deal Hunter Biden Unconstitutional

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.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Thu Jul 27th, 2023 at 04:52:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
That's not what Politico.com reported.

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.
[...]
by Cat on Fri Jul 28th, 2023 at 07:09:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

h/t MofA Judge Rejects Hunter Biden's Dirty Plea Deal

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Jul 27th, 2023 at 08:13:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Release on Own Reconizance—yet another procedural novelty, since Biden's appearance was supposed to be for a pre-trial hearing, well passed date of his original arrest, arraignment, deferred prosecution ("diversion") agreement, and public notice of any amendment to bill of charges.

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.
Hunter's Plea Deal Falls Apart - What two Bizarre things unfolded in court?, 26 July A/V (EN), Defense atty imposture; US Atty Wise denies contacting Delaware US Ct. clerk plus US Constitution Art. 1, §9, C3.1 school for US Congress critters flourishing premature amicus curiae intervenor wtf briefs
by Cat on Thu Jul 27th, 2023 at 05:46:44 PM EST
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