On Wednesday, a federal judge in Delaware issued a set of conditions for Hunter Biden to follow to avoid jail time in the ongoing investigation centered around the son of the President. U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika outlined the conditions, which included actively seeking employment, refraining from drugs or alcohol, undergoing random drug tests, and not possessing any firearms.
The charges against Hunter Biden stem from two misdemeanors, related to his failure to pay over $100,000 in taxes on an income of more than $1.5 million for the years 2017 and 2018.
Initially, Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty on Wednesday, and an agreement had been reached with prosecutors recommending two years of probation. However, the plea deal fell apart during the court hearing when Judge Noreika raised concerns about the terms and her role in the proceedings.
The agreement also involved a separate gun charge, as Hunter had been accused of possessing a firearm while being a drug user in 2018. The plan aimed to wipe the gun case from his record if he abided by the terms; otherwise, the felony charge carried a possible sentence of 10 years in prison.
The overlapping agreements led to confusion for the judge, who demanded that lawyers resolve technical issues, particularly regarding her role in enforcing the gun agreement, before proceeding further.
Prosecutors disclosed that Hunter Biden remains under active investigation, although no further details were provided. Despite this, he pleaded not guilty to the tax charges.
The collapse of the plea deal was a surprising turn of events in the lengthy investigation, one that had been carefully negotiated over several weeks, with discussions between Justice Department prosecutors and Hunter Biden’s legal team.
The plea deal was intended to bring closure to the case and avoid a trial, but some Republicans have criticized it, claiming that it favored the President’s son while former President Donald Trump had been treated unfairly.
House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., applauded Judge Noreika’s refusal to accept what he referred to as Hunter Biden’s “sweetheart plea deal,” stating that it should be discarded.
As of now, there has been no response from Hunter Biden’s legal team to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.