Hunter Biden’s legal team has pledged to put President Joe Biden on the stand to testify as a witness in his son’s defense if he faces criminal charges.
Christopher Clark, Hunter’s then-lead criminal defense attorney, made the claim in a 32-page letter to prosecutors in October 2022.
Shortly after the news leaked, the Justice Department had enough evidence to mount against its client to move forward with an indictment.
Clark warned that if the DOJ brings charges against Hunter relating to the alleged purchase of an illegal firearm while addicted to cocaine, it would not hesitate to put Biden on the stand.
“President Biden would now be an indisputable fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial,” Clark wrote in the letter obtained by Policy.
Hunter Biden’s legal team has pledged to put President Joe Biden on the stand to testify as a witness in his son’s defense if he faces criminal charges. Biden has so far shown a united front with his family amid legal woes
Hunter pleaded not guilty to federal tax and firearms charges in late July after a previous plea deal fell through. Republicans had widely criticized the previous deal as far too lenient.
In the letter to the prosecution, Clark appeared to steer the DOJ away by dangling the prospect of Biden’s testimony.
He argued that moving forward with a criminal trial would force Biden to testify in conflict with his own Justice Department, which he said would result in a “constitutional crisis.”
“This of all cases justifies neither the spectacle of a sitting president testifying at a criminal trial nor the potential for a consequent constitutional crisis,” Clark wrote.
Christopher Clark, Hunter’s then-lead criminal defense attorney, made the claim in a 32-page letter to prosecutors in October 2022.
The plea was withdrawn by Judge Maryellen Noreika due to concerns about ongoing investigations into other potential offenses committed by Hunter.
Clark and his team have often told prosecutors in previous months that they were concerned about the politics surrounding the case.
They raised concerns about Republican pressure and the potential to tarnish the DOJ’s reputation, should Biden come up against his own Justice Department.
The plea deal that was supposed to have concluded the lengthy first-son inquest largely unraveled in a contentious hearing last month.
The plea deal had been decried as a “soft deal” by Republicans who are pursuing their own congressional investigations into nearly every aspect of Hunter’s business dealings and the Justice Department’s handling of the case.
The deal originally called for Hunter to plead guilty to failing to pay taxes on more than $1.5 million in earnings in 2017 and 2018, and to get probation rather than jail time for the charges.
A separate deal was to spare him prosecution for the felony of being a drug addict in possession of a gun in 2018 if he stayed out of trouble for two years.
After the plea deal fell through earlier this month, prosecutors for Weiss asked Noreika to dismiss the charges in Delaware, so new charges could potentially be brought in California or Washington, D.C. .
Hunter Biden’s attorneys agreed the charges should be dismissed, as they were only brought in Delaware as part of the earlier plea deal. Noreika approved the procedural motion on Thursday.
Hunter’s legal counsel raised concerns about Republican pressure and the potential to tarnish the DOJ’s reputation – if Biden were to face his own Justice Department
The case comes amid Justice Department indictments against former President Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s main rival in next year’s election.
The fate of a separate but related deal to resolve a gun possession charge is still unclear.
Prosecutors said the agreement never came into effect, but Hunter’s legal counsel says it is still valid and binding.
Noreika will have to decide the status of the deal calling on prosecutors to drop gun charges in two years if Hunter didn’t get in trouble with the law and passed drug tests.
Clark this week also asked a federal judge for permission to withdraw from the case as he could now be called as a witness in future proceedings, it remains unclear whether the leaked document also played a role in the decision. .
“Based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the Plea Agreement and the Diversion Agreement will be challenged, and Mr. Clark is an insightful witness to these issues,” attorneys for Biden on file.
Since his motion to withdraw, Clark has been replaced by Father Lowell.
Attorney General Merrick Garland’s surprise announcement last week of Weiss as special counsel has raised new questions about the case ahead of the 2024 election.
Hunter’s history of drug use and financial dealings clouded his father’s political career.
The case comes amid Justice Department indictments against former President Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s main rival in next year’s election.
Trump has been charged and is awaiting trial in two separate cases brought by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith.
One concerns Trump’s refusal to hand over classified documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The other involves charges of fraud and conspiracy to nullify the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
In Hunter’s case, prosecutors brought no charges or charges against the president while investigating his son’s affairs.
Joe Biden has made closeness to his family a key tenet of his public brand – and has repeatedly said he tries to speak to all of his children and grandchildren every day – the family is seen on the day of the independence at the White House
Hunter should be tried in Washington DC or Southern California
House Republicans tried to link Hunter Biden’s work to his father, but were unable to produce evidence to show wrongdoing.
The Biden family presented a united front amid Hunter’s legal woes.
On July 26, the day Hunter was due to reach a plea deal, White House aides intentionally left room in the president’s schedule so he could keep up with the court appearance.
Some feared exposing Biden to the press as the hearing unfolded — he made no public appearances that day.
When the plea deal fell apart, aides grew concerned that the president’s main support system – his wife – was traveling out of the country that day.
The president has previously backed his son – even contradicting the terms of the original plea deal by claiming he did nothing wrong.
“My son did nothing wrong,” Biden said in May. ‘I trust him. I have faith in him. And that has an impact on my presidency by making me proud of him.
Joe Biden has made closeness to his family a key tenet of his public brand – and has repeatedly said he tries to speak to all of his children and grandchildren every day.
Hunter’s 29-year-old daughter Naomi and then-fiancé Peter Neal lived in the White House before their nuptials at the property last year. It is not clear if they still reside there.
People close to the Biden family said they fear the scrutiny of Hunter, a recovering drug addict, could lead him to make “harmful” decisions.
The first son has kept a relatively high profile even as the legal troubles pile up. He accompanied Biden on a trip to Ireland on Air Force 1 in April and attended state dinners at the White House.
Hunter should be tried in Washington DC or Southern California.
