Whats next for Hunter Biden after plea deal unraveling
Whats next for Hunter Biden after plea deal unraveling
Transcript
00:00 But we begin with no deal.
00:02 Hunter Biden's agreement with federal prosecutors
00:05 falls apart, leaving his tax fraud case in limbo.
00:08 The federal judge overseeing the case raised questions
00:11 about the terms of a plea agreement made back in June
00:14 between Hunter Biden's lawyers and federal prosecutors.
00:18 Without the judge's stamp of approval on the deal,
00:21 President's son pleaded not guilty
00:23 to two misdemeanor tax charges, for now.
00:26 CBS News senior investigative correspondent,
00:29 Katherine Harridge, has the details
00:31 from inside the Delaware courthouse.
00:33 This morning as Hunter Biden
00:36 entered the Delaware federal court,
00:38 his team carried a sense of optimism.
00:41 The plea deal would bring his legal troubles to an end.
00:44 But Judge Mary Ellen Noryka, a Trump appointee,
00:46 said she needed more information
00:49 before she could accept or reject the deal
00:51 on misdemeanor tax charges and a gun violation.
00:54 Telling the court she felt she was being asked
00:56 to rubber stamp an agreement
00:58 she had concerns about.
01:00 - There's no reason to have a train wreck like today.
01:03 - The hearing laid bare a critical disagreement
01:05 between US attorney, David Weiss, a Trump appointee
01:08 and Hunter Biden's legal team
01:10 over whether the plea would close the door
01:12 on future charges for other possible crimes.
01:15 Weiss has said consistently the probe is ongoing.
01:19 Scott Fredrickson is a former federal prosecutor.
01:22 How unusual is it for a plea agreement to fall apart?
01:26 - Well, plea agreements fall apart.
01:28 Every day in federal court,
01:30 but they don't fall apart in high profile cases like this
01:34 based on such fundamental misunderstandings.
01:37 - The judge also had constitutional questions
01:40 on how the gun charge would be handled.
01:43 In the plea agreement, the charge would be dismissed
01:45 if Biden remains drug free
01:47 and commits no additional crimes for two years.
01:50 On Capitol Hill, the Republican house speaker reacted.
01:54 - There shouldn't be two justice systems in America
01:57 and hopefully today that's what's being done.
01:58 - Hunter Biden left court
02:00 and did not comment to reporters as originally planned.
02:04 - And Catherine Herridge joins me now
02:08 from Wilmington, Delaware.
02:11 Catherine, in your piece,
02:13 you spoke with the former federal prosecutor,
02:14 Scott Fredrickson, who said,
02:16 "While a plea's deal is fall apart,
02:18 "they don't happen in cases like this."
02:19 So what happened in cases like this?
02:22 - Well, John, I wanna take you inside the courtroom
02:26 to answer the question.
02:27 There was one event which I think indicated to me
02:30 that the deal was really falling apart.
02:33 There was a recess called by the judge
02:35 and Hunter Biden's lead attorney today, Chris Clark,
02:38 was talking with a member of the US attorney's team
02:42 and he said, "This has all been negotiated."
02:44 And the member of the US attorney said,
02:47 "That's not in the agreement."
02:48 And then Clark responded,
02:49 "Well, I guess we just tear up the agreement."
02:52 So that encapsulates the central problem
02:55 in this plea agreement,
02:56 that the two sides have essentially been talking
02:59 past each other for months about what it covers.
03:02 Hunter Biden's legal team believed
03:04 that it would limit or shut the door
03:07 on any future criminal charges,
03:10 but the US attorney's office believes
03:12 that this investigation is ongoing
03:14 and it left the door open for other charges
03:16 in the future, John.
03:18 - That seems like the kind of thing you work out
03:20 before you get to the big show in front of the judge.
03:22 So what did the lawyers- - Exactly.
03:24 - Yeah, so that's a real,
03:26 because the judge has got various concerns
03:29 that are distinct from this talking past each other
03:32 that you just described.
03:33 So what happens now?
03:34 What do the lawyers on both sides do now?
03:36 - Okay, so look, the lawyers have been given 30 days
03:41 by the judge to answer all of her questions.
03:44 And then based on that information,
03:46 she may ask for additional information from them
03:50 or she could make a decision
03:51 on whether she can accept this plea
03:54 or just simply reject the plea.
03:57 I think there were a lot of hints
03:58 from the judge in court today
03:59 that the bar is now very high for this plea agreement.
04:03 She talked about the language not being standard,
04:07 not being ordinary.
04:08 And at a couple of points,
04:11 she said to the US attorney's office,
04:14 "Look, you tell me what the precedent is
04:16 for this kind of plea agreement.
04:18 You tell me what authority there is
04:20 in the case law to do this."
04:22 And their answer to that question was, "There isn't any."
04:26 So in other words, it's like new case law
04:28 they're trying to create here with this plea agreement.
04:31 And that didn't seem to sit very well
04:33 with the federal judge here, John.
04:36 - Fascinating.
04:37 Katherine Harrington, Wilmington, Delaware.
04:38 Thank you so much, Katherine.
04:39 - You're welcome.