Legal scholar Jonathan Turley explained Wednesday how U.S. Federal District Judge Maryellen Noreika identified the potential criminal charge against Hunter Biden the White House “most fears.”
What is the background?
As Noreika quizzed prosecutors about the details of the plea agreement, she forced the government to admit the investigation into Biden remains ongoing.
Not only is the investigation ongoing, but prosecutors told Noreika that Hunter Biden could be charged in the future for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act on grounds that he allegedly failed to disclose his work lobbying on behalf of foreign interests.
Biden’s lawyers thought the plea agreement shielded their client from such future charges, but prosecutors said it did not. Without a “meeting of the minds” (i.e., agreement from both sides), there could not be a deal, Noreika said.
What did Turley say?
The revelation, Turley said on Fox News, presents the White House with the problem the administration “most fears.”
“This is a big problem. This was all supposed to be scripted. It was all supposed to be easy. And now it is off script, and it is anything but easy,” Turley said on Fox News.
“The judge just raised the one charge that the White House most fears, which is the chance that Hunter was a foreign agent,” he explained.
If Hunter Biden acted as a foreign agent under the definition set forth by FARA, that generates new and more problematic questions — potentially leading to answers that entangle President Joe Biden, Turley explained.
“The question is foreign agent for who and for what purpose? The president was that purpose. If you’re influence peddling, it’s influence over the president,” he said.
“So if you go for FARA, it’s going to bring all of this stuff in,” he continued. “All of that can get boot-strapped into a FARA issue. The whole purpose of this deal is collapsing as we’re watching it. And it’s taken Washington by utter surprise. I was on the hill talking with members, and everyone was floored.”
Weiss’ office has maintained, since first announcing the plea deal, that its investigation remains ongoing.
However, prosecutors have not said what they are investigating. Wednesday’s admission in court was in the first glimpse of what may still come in the future.
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