Hunter Biden prosecutor who approved first son’s plea deal worked with ex-FBI chief Louis Freeh

A Delaware prosecutor who approved Hunter Biden’s guilty plea to two misdemeanor tax charges last month once worked for former FBI Director Louis Freeh — who has his own tie to the first son’s overseas business entanglements, The Post has learned.

Special Assistant US Attorney Derek Hines, who serves under Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, helped sign off on two counts of tax fraud and a diversion agreement for a felony gun charge filed June 20 against Hunter Biden, court filings show.

But according to his LinkedIn, Hines also served for nearly two years as special counsel to Freeh, who worked with the first son in an attempt to help a Romanian oligarch avoid a bribery conviction.

Freeh — who founded the lobbying and consulting firm Freeh Group International Solutions in 2009, eight years after resigning from the top job at the bureau — also donated $100,000 to a trust for two of President Biden’s grandchildren while hoping to pursue “some very good and profitable matters” with the first family, according to emails on the first son’s abandoned laptop.

Special Assistant US Attorneys Derek Hines, left, and Leo Wise, right, helped sign off on two counts of tax fraud and a diversion agreement for a gun charge filed June 20 against Hunter Biden.AP But according to his LinkedIn, Hines also served for nearly two years as special counsel to former FBI director Louis Freeh, pictured above, who also worked with the first son.Getty Images

Hunter also called Freeh “a close friend” in an email dated May 14, 2010.

The relationship raises questions about Hines’ impartiality. Justice Department rules state that he should be prohibited “from participating in a criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with any person or organization substantially involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution, or any person or organization which he knows has a specific and substantial interest that would be directly affected by the outcome of the investigation or prosecution.”

DailyMail.com first reported on the Delaware prosecutor’s connection to Freeh.

Hunter also called Freeh “a close friend” in an email dated May 14, 2010, found on his abandoned laptop.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told the outlet that the association between Freeh and Hines of the Delaware US Attorney’s Office “calls into question the integrity of their entire investigation.”

“These types of connections to the Biden family pose significant conflicts that must not be ignored,” he said.

Hunter’s relationship with Romanian tycoon Gabriel Popoviciu surfaced as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the first family’s influence-peddling schemes abroad.

“These types of connections to the Biden family pose significant conflicts that must not be ignored,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told DailyMail.com.Getty Images

In May, Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) reported that bank records obtained by his committee showed more than $1 million flowed from Popoviciu to Biden family members from 2015 to 2017.

The alleged money laundering scheme was one of several that Hunter and his associates may have engaged in between 2014 and 2019, netting $17.3 million from entities in Romania, Ukraine and China, according to IRS whistleblowers who testified to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Hines worked for Freeh between 2013 and 2015, the year before the ex-FBI director began coordinating with Hunter on legal representation for Popoviciu.

Hines’ work for Freeh occurred between 2013 and 2015, the year before the ex-FBI director began coordinating with Hunter on legal representation for Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu.Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

The first son in May 2016 had wanted Freeh to leverage his connections to US law enforcement to help Popoviciu evade prosecution.

The former FBI director later emailed Hunter and said he would reach out to federal officials stationed in Romania to resolve the tycoon’s legal troubles, according to emails on the abandoned laptop.

However, their cooperation may have violated federal lobbying regulations, as neither were federally registered as foreign agents.

Weiss, Hines, Special Assistant US Attorney Leo Wise and Assistant US Attorney Benjamin Wallace all signed off on what Republicans have called a “sweetheart deal” for Hunter, which will likely allow him to serve no jail time after a five-year probe.

A spokeswoman for the Delaware US Attorney’s Office declined to comment.