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A lawyer defending U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter in a federal criminal case is seeking to resign as a potential witness, marking the latest episode in contentious legal proceedings.
Christopher Clark filed a motion Tuesday in a Delaware court seeking expungement from a case involving tax and gun charges, in which Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty.
The case against Hunter Biden appeared to be drawing to a close last month after he agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to pay federal income taxes. He also agreed to a “pretrial diversion agreement” over another charge accusing him of possessing a firearm for illegal or addictive use of a controlled substance.
But surprisingly, a Delaware judge challenged the terms of the deal after asking questions about gun crimes.
Federal prosecutors said in a court filing last week that further plea negotiations with Hunter Biden are currently “at an impasse” and they believe “the case will not be resolved without a trial.”
Hunter Biden’s lawyers said in Tuesday’s court filing that the negotiations and drafting of the broken-up agreement appear to have been “controversial.” If this becomes the focus of a future fight, Clark could violate the “witness advocate rule,” which prohibits attorneys from serving as counsel in cases where they may be called to testify, the documents said.
Clarke was a “keen witness to these issues,” the document said. Hunter Biden’s legal team emphasized that he still has ample representation. That included another lawyer, Abbe Lowell, who said over the weekend that a trial was “not inevitable.”
U.S. prosecutors said in a court filing on Tuesday that they did not “renege” on the plea deal, detailing back-and-forth exchanges with Hunter Biden over different proposals in recent weeks until “the parties reached an impasse.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland last week named special counsel David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware who has so far led the criminal investigation against Hunter Biden. investigation, which raises the stakes in a politically sensitive case and gives Weiss greater independence. Continue his investigation.
Garland said at the time that he made the appointment at the request of Weiss, given the “exceptional circumstances surrounding this matter.” He added that the investigation was still ongoing.
Clarke said in the motion that his withdrawal would not “create material difficulties for Mr. Biden, as attorneys for other companies that have appeared will continue to represent Mr. Biden in this matter.”
Representatives for Hunter Biden declined to comment.
The case has become politically difficult for Joe Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024. Republicans seized on Hunter Biden’s allegations of corruption within the president’s family and launched a separate investigation in Congress.
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