Special counsel David Weiss is preparing to bring an indictment against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, by the end of this month, as revealed in court documents filed on Wednesday.
This development comes a month after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden. This decision followed the collapse of a plea deal between Hunter Biden and federal prosecutors, setting the stage for a potential trial.
Originally, Hunter Biden had agreed to admit to failing to pay taxes on his 2017 and 2018 income as part of the plea deal. In return, prosecutors would have recommended probation, likely sparing him from prison time. The plea deal also included a pretrial diversion for a separate gun charge, with the charge being dropped if certain conditions were met.
The intended indictment by the special counsel pertains to the felony gun charge that was initially brought up within the pretrial diversion agreement. Since this agreement unraveled under scrutiny from a federal district judge, there has been a legal dispute regarding whether the diversion agreement was in effect.
Prosecutors stated on Wednesday, “The Speedy Trial Act requires that the Government obtain the return of an indictment by a grand jury by Friday, September 29, 2023, at the earliest. The Government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before that date.”
Hunter Biden’s legal team, however, contends that the diversion agreement was valid as of July 26 when prosecutors signed it. They assert that Hunter Biden has been complying with the conditions outlined in the agreement, including regular visits from the probation office.
The special counsel’s team argues that the document needed a probation officer’s signature to be fully ratified, which they claim did not occur.
Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, released a statement saying, “We believe the signed and filed diversion agreement remains valid and prevents any additional charges from being filed against Mr. Biden, who has been abiding by the conditions of release under that agreement for the last several weeks, including regular visits by the probation office.”
While the special counsel has previously indicated an intention to bring separate tax charges in California or Washington, D.C., the timing of those charges remains undisclosed.
