WASHINGTON — Republicans are demanding documents from Hunter Biden’s lawyers relating to a failed plea deal between federal prosecutors and the president’s son after news reports published accounts of the negotiations.
In a letter obtained by NBC News, the Republican chairs of the House Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Oversight Committees say Biden’s legal team waived its privileged communications protections by releasing information to the media.
“Given that these disclosures were made to two media outlets and that this information was widely disseminated, there is no reason to withhold these documents and communications from the committees, including on the basis of an alleged duty of confidentiality, d a product of labor or other privilege. interest,” reads the letter signed by GOP officials. Jim Jordan from Ohio, Jason Smith from Missouri and James Comer from Kentucky.
Special Counsel David Weiss said in a court filing on Wednesday that he plans to indict Biden in the coming weeks.
The Republican presidents are seeking correspondence between senior federal prosecutors and Biden’s legal team that details months of difficult negotiations, as well as a 32-page letter reviewed by Politico in which Biden’s lawyers threatened to put the president on hold. the bar if the Department of Justice indicts its president. son. The lawyer who wrote the letter reported by Politico, Christopher Clark, a longtime Biden lawyer, withdrew from the case last month.
Among the requested documents are an early draft of a draft agreement between Biden and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware, emails in which the agreement was amended online, suggested changes to plea and pretrial agreements in late July, versions of a statement reported by The New York Times that Biden’s attorneys intended to release once the deal became public, along with sample and final language on immunity.
Republicans said these and other details emerged in media reports of the dropped plea deal.
The request for documents, which sets a September 20 deadline, also calls on Biden’s lawyers to produce content for a 100-slide PowerPoint presentation on potential tax charges, a pretrial diversion report and other filings. and undisclosed communications about the settlement that Republicans claim. were shared with other news organizations.
Father Lowell, Biden’s attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
Biden was expected to plead guilty in July to two federal offenses related to his federal income tax return and avoid gun charges. But the deal appeared to fall apart when the judge questioned whether it was a ‘package deal’.
After the judge said Biden would not be immune from future charges in the government investigation, the president’s son’s attorneys backed out of the deal and Biden pleaded not guilty.
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