Hunter Biden’s attorney asked to step down on Tuesday to potentially serve as a witness for President Joe Biden’s son in future litigation.
Christopher J. Clark, who negotiated a failed plea deal between Hunter Biden and U.S. Attorney David Weiss in federal court, wrote in his withdrawal request that a witness-advocate rule in Delaware prevented him from staying on.
Hunter Biden’s new attorney, Abbe Lowell, expounded on that rule in a motion filed in federal court.
“Based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea agreement and diversion agreement will be contested, and Mr. Clark is a percipient witness to those issues,” Lowell wrote in the motion, The New York Times reported.
The plea deal’s failure created a rift between Biden’s legal team and Weiss’ prosecution team, the newspaper reported. As a result, Weiss asked to be appointed special counsel in the case, a request that Attorney General Merrick Garland granted, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“Under the ‘witness-advocate’ rule, it is inadvisable for Mr. Clark to continue as counsel in this case,” Biden’s new legal team added, according to the NYT. “Withdrawal will not cause a substantial hardship to Mr. Biden because counsel from the other firms that have entered an appearance will continue to represent Mr. Biden in this matter.”
Lowell criticized Justice Department prosecutors for changing “their decision on the fly.” On CBS’ Face the Nation, he said there were three possible reasons why the July 26 plea bargain hearing ended without a deal.
“One, they wrote something and weren’t clear what they meant. Two, they knew what they meant and misstated it to counsel. Or third, they change their view as they were standing in court in Delaware,” Lowell said.
The plea deal on tax and gun charges appears to be dead, the Daily Beast reported.
Weiss said he expected the case to continue to court.
“After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse. A trial is therefore in order,” Weiss wrote in a court filing last week.
