Hunter Biden Judge Trying To Protect Him From Donald Trump—Attorney

The judge presiding over the Hunter Biden case in Delaware “seemed to acknowledge” that the president’s son could be the target of politically motivated prosecution if Donald Trump returns to office, and thus wants additional legal protection, according to a former attorney.

On Wednesday, a plea agreement collapsed after Hunter Biden’s legal team found out it wouldn’t protect their client from further prosecution resulting from the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s investigation into his actions, which is ongoing. Presiding District Judge Maryellen Noreika also raised concerns about the deal linking Hunter Biden’s tax issues with a felony firearms charge.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has repeatedly hit out at what he terms the “Biden crime family” on the campaign trail, and has vowed to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate them if he returned to the White House. House Republicans launched an investigation into the Biden family’s finances after seizing control of the chamber in the November 2022 midterm elections. Joe Biden remains the Democratic frontrunner for 2024.

File photo of Hunter Biden in Washington, DC on April 18, 2022. The president’s son faces “risks of further prosecutions if Trump returns to office,” according to a former attorney. GETTY/MANDEL NGAN/AFP

Under the initial deal, Hunter Biden was to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges, in exchange for which he would avoid prosecution for allegedly illegally possessing a firearm whilst a drug user. However, this arrangement fell apart when it became clear the agreement wouldn’t stop Hunter from potentially facing other charges related to the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s investigation.

Writing on the blogging platform Substack, Joyce Vance, formerly the attorney for the Northern District of Alabama between 2009 and 2017, argued Hunter Biden’s legal team is right to fear additional prosecutions, particularly if Trump returns to the White House in January 2025.

She wrote: “Hunter Biden, who seems to have become Donald Trump’s favorite whipping boy, faces ongoing risks of further prosecutions if Trump returns to office. Trump is focused on revenge and retribution, and Hunter Biden seems to be at the center of his focus. Trump has made it clear he won’t make the same ‘mistakes’ if he’s re-elected that he did the first go round—permitting the Justice Department to conduct prosecutions free of interference from the Oval Office.

“Given Trump’s public pronouncements about the ‘Biden crime family,’ there are good reasons for concern if you’re Hunter Biden or his lawyers. So inserting a provision requiring sign off from the court as a guarantee against vindictive future prosecutions, makes sense.

“It may not make Constitutional sense, but with Trump’s willingness to pervert the criminal justice system into a tool of politics, not justice, it’s clear that Hunter Biden needs some guarantee he won’t be scapegoated by the next administration if Trump wins. The Judge seemed to acknowledge that.”

Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump via the press contact form on his official website.

Vance expressed confidence that Hunter Biden’s legal team and prosecutors will be able to reach a new plea deal, which will then be put before Judge Noreika for approval.

Referring to the prosecutors and Hunter Biden’s legal representatives, she said: “So the Judge declined to approve the deal, until the parties could get back together and reach agreement. It seems likely they’ll do that and find a way to work this out before they are due back in court.”

Newsweek has approached Hunter Biden’s legal team by email.