US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter pleaded not guilty to minor tax offences Wednesday as a deal with federal prosecutors crumbled in a Delaware court.
The surprise move came after Judge Maryellen Noreika raised questions over the original deal — under which Hunter Biden had agreed to enter a guilty plea and admit to illegal gun possession — and effectively placed it on hold.
Biden, 53, whose legal troubles have cast a shadow over his father’s reelection campaign, had reached an agreement with prosecutors that he would be sentenced to probation on two tax avoidance counts.
The deal also specified that the firearms charge would eventually be erased if he adhered to a counselling-and-rehabilitation programme.
But the deal fell apart after Noreika queried why the gun charge was included in a tax case, and whether the plea agreement protected Biden from charges that might arise from a wider ongoing investigation of his business dealings, according to US media.
When prosecutors could not resolve her questions, Noreika said she could not accept the deal, and Biden then entered a not guilty plea to close the session.
That was expected to send the deal back to negotiations, which could become more complex.
Noreika gave the two sides 30 days to report back on where they stand.
