By Chris Strohm, Bloomberg News (TNS)
Hunter Biden is immune from both federal tax and gun charges because of a failed plea deal he reached with federal prosecutors in July that remains binding, his lawyers argued in court filings.
Lawyers for Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, filed a challenge Monday to an indictment that special counsel David Weiss brought against him in September on three firearm-related offenses. But a footnote in the 29-page legal filing said new tax-related charges brought against Biden last week should also be considered invalid.
Biden’s lawyers argue that all the charges should be dropped because their client has immunity under a deal he struck with Weiss in July, that called for him to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion program related to the firearm offenses.
The legal filing attempts to blame the withdrawn plea deal on former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, claiming they are trying to use Hunter Biden’s legal problems to damage his father heading into next year’s presidential election. Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination.
“This sweeping immunity may make it difficult for the prosecutors to appease Mr. Trump and the Republican congressmen who have criticized them, but this is the deal that the prosecutors made and it reflects their choice to place the immunity provision in the Diversion Agreement,” according to the filing.
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©2023 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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