Prosecutors in the Hunter Biden case deny defense push to keep gun charge agreement in place

WASHINGTON (AP) — A legal showdown over the derailed plea deal for Hunter Biden continued Tuesday as prosecutors asserted that an agreement on a gun charge is dead along with the rest of the deal as the case makes a major shift into a special counsel investigation.

While the agreement that was supposed to have wrapped up the long-running investigation of President Joe Biden’s son largely unraveled during a contentious court hearing last month, prosecutors said the two sides had continued to negotiate until the defense rejected their final counterproposal the day before U.S. Attorney David Weiss asked to be named special counsel.

Lawyers for Hunter Biden have argued that prosecutors reneged on an agreement on tax charges but said a separate agreement sparing him prosecution on a gun charge remains valid. The agreement on the gun charge also contains an immunity clause against federal prosecutions for some other potential crimes.

Prosecutors denied reneging on any deal. While the agreement on the gun charge was signed by a prosecutor, probation agents didn’t sign it and so it never became valid, they argued.

The conflict is now in front of U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who is weighing the prosecution’s motion to pull the tax misdemeanor charges they filed and potentially file them in another court like California or Washington.

Biden’s defense attorney on the case, Christopher Clark, also filed to withdraw from the case Tuesday, saying that he could be called as a witness over the negotiation and drafting of the deal and cannot also act as his lawyer.