26 November 2024,   08:01
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Hunter Biden pleads not guilty after plea deal is derailed

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges Wednesday after a plea deal he struck with the government unraveled when the judge raised questions about the terms of the agreement, writes NBC NEWS.

The surprise development came at a hearing in federal court here at which Biden had been expected to plead guilty to two charges of failure to pay taxes under a deal he struck with the government last month. Far from signing off on a done deal, he pleaded “not guilty” to those charges instead until the two sides can meet and address the questions posed by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika.

At times, Noreika appeared almost upset that she believed she was being asked to act as a “rubber stamp” for the deal. The parties will reconvene later to hammer out the terms and provide Noreika more information, which could be within the next six weeks.

“Without me saying I’ll agree to the plea agreement, how do you plead?” Noreika asked Biden. “Not guilty, your honor”, he responded.

Biden is expected to reverse his plea if a new agreement or the new information eventually satisfies Noreika.

Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, pressed both sides about the terms of the agreement struck with U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, another Trump appointee, whom President Joe Biden kept on to oversee the case. She expressed clear concern about how two separate deals, one regarding the unpaid taxes and the other about a gun possession charge, potentially intersected, as well as her purview over them.

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