A top lawyer for Hunter Biden has asked to withdraw from the criminal case against the president’s son, according to an indictment issued Tuesday, which raised concerns that the lawyer would have to serve as a witness in ongoing negotiations over his plea deal.
The possible departure of lawyer Christopher Clark appeared to be another challenge for 53-year-old Hunter Biden, who was about to plead guilty in July before his plea deal fell apart.
Biden’s legal team has alleged that the Justice Department waived aspects of the plea deal in the case, which revolves around tax charges and a gun possession charge.
In a brief indictment in federal court, Biden’s legal team said Clark’s withdrawal was “necessitated by recent developments in the case” and that Biden would have “adequate counsel” on the matter.
The filing added that “it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea deal and diversion agreement will be contested, and Mr. Clark is a perceptive witness to those issues.”
Clark did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. law firm in Delaware filed two felony charges and a firearms charge against Hunter Biden on June 20. The office alleged that the troubled Biden failed to pay income taxes in 2017 and 2018, despite earning more than $1.5 million each year.
At the time, the Justice Department said Hunter Biden had agreed to a plea deal and entered into a so-called trial diversion agreement.
In a three-page lawsuit filed Sunday, Hunter Biden’s lawyers said their client had been willing “to waive certain rights and accept responsibility for his past mistakes,” but that the U.S. law firm had elected “to waive the previously agreed…on settlement agreement.”
Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated the federal prosecutor in the case, David Weiss, to the role of special counsel.
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