The Department of Justice is reportedly considering postponing Hunter Biden’s plea hearing as the DOJ faces heavy criticism over the leniency shown to the president’s son.
Under the plea agreement — which has been described as a “sweetheart deal” by a number of legal experts — Hunter would avoid prison time by pleading guilty to tax and weapons misdemeanors. Numerous bombshell revelations have been brought forward since the agreement was announced, however, including several troubling allegations from IRS whistleblowers.
Whistleblowers have accused Attorney General Merrick Garland of lying to Congress and stated that Hunter should have been charged with more serious crimes. Agents were told to “stand down,” however, according to IRS veteran Gary Shapely.
Judge Maryellen Noreika is set to rule on whether to accept Biden’s plea deal on July 26. The hearing could be delayed, however, according to a recent filing obtained by the Daily Mail.
The Heritage Foundation is currently suing the DOJ for failing to release Delaware prosecutor David Weiss’ after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. A court filing obtained by the Daily Mail details a June 29 phone call between Heritage Foundation lawyer Samuel Dewey and DOJ lawyer Jason Lynch, in which Dewey told Lynch he could ask the federal judge for Biden’s July 26 plea hearing to be delayed to allow for additional time to process the records request.
“DOJ counsel indicated that Plaintiffs were ‘absolutely right’ that the Department could file such a motion and that DOJ counsel would take that point back to the ‘District’ (presumably speaking of the District of Delaware),” Dewey reportedly wrote.
The filing indicates that a delay could be on the table, though the Heritage Foundation has stated that it is far from a certainty. “They have the capability to move the plea deal, though they didn’t indicate any likelihood they would,” Heritage Foundation Oversight Director Mike Howell told the Daily Mail.
“The public has an interest to assess for themselves: Is this a sweetheart deal? It certainly appears to be,” he said. “This information needs to be out, and it’s in the public interest for it to be out prior to any plea being signed off on.”