Attorneys for Hunter Biden are facing potential sanctions after allegedly lying to the clerk in the First Son’s criminal case, according to a report from the Daily Mail. Delaware Judge Maryellen Noreika has ordered Biden’s lawyers to explain themselves by 9 p.m. Tuesday or face sanctions.
Earlier today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith filed a motion urging the judge to toss Hunter Biden’s generous plea agreement on misdemeanor tax charges. Smith — like many critics — argued that the president’s son received preferential treatment.
According to the allegations, someone from the former law office of Biden’s attorney, Chris Clark, called the Delaware clerk, Sam Grimes, and pretended to be from the office of Smith’s attorney, Theodore Kittila. The individual allegedly asked the clerk to remove the original filing and with it, 448 pages of Congressional testimony from the two IRS investigators who worked on the case, the Daily Mail reported.
The documents were then taken down and sealed, prompting a “second outraged letter” from Kittila. “We promptly contacted the clerk’s office, and we were advised that someone contacted the court representing that they worked with my office and that they were asking the court to remove this from the docket,” Kittila wrote to the judge.
In a “fiery” email response, Clark denied the allegations and claimed that, “the clerk took the filing down on their own accord.”
Kittila, however, included a copy a copy of an email from the Delaware clerk, backing up his claims. He then identified the individual as Jessica Bengels and included her phone number. “She said she worked with Theodore Kittila and it was important the document was removed immediately,” the clerk wrote back.
Angered by the alleged shady activity, Judge Noreika ordered Hunter’s lawyers to explain themselves on Tuesday afternoon. “It appears that the caller misrepresented her identity and who she worked for in an attempt to improperly convince the clerk’s office to remove the amicus materials from the docket,” the order said.
“Therefore, it is hereby ordered that, on or before 9pm today on July 25, 2023, counsel for defendant shall show cause as to why sanctions should not be considered for misrepresentations to the court.”
The judge did place a temporary seal on Smith’s filing, however, meaning that it will not be made public until the conclusion of Hunter Biden’s plea hearing on Wednesday.