President Joe Biden’s claims about his son being selectively prosecuted were unfounded, special counsel David Weiss’s office said in new filings on Dec. 2.
Weiss’s office noted that a number of judges, including some appointed by the president, have previously rejected similar arguments from the president’s son.
Prosecutors also pointed out that Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges brought in California federal court, and a jury convicted him of gun-related crimes in Delaware federal court.
The “full and unconditional pardon” from the president covers any offenses that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024,” the pardon states.
That includes charges brought by Weiss, according to the pardon.
Lawyers for Hunter Biden gave notice to federal judges in California and Delaware. They said that the pardon “requires dismissal” of both indictments against the president’s son.
“When alerted to a pardon by a defendant (or the government), courts dismiss pending indictments and adjourn future proceedings in those cases,” the lawyers said, pointing to a series of precedents. “Accordingly, dismissal of the Indictment with prejudice and adjourning any future proceedings and entry judgment in this matter is now required.”
Prosecutors said that view is not correct and urged the judges overseeing the cases to instead close the dockets, which would result in documents in the cases remaining accessible.
“The Government does not challenge that the defendant has been the recipient of an act of mercy. That does not mean the grand jury’s decision to charge him, based on a finding of probable cause, should be wiped away as if it never occurred,” the prosecutors said.
“It also does not mean that his charges should be wiped away because the defendant falsely claimed that the charges were the result of some improper motive or selective prosecution. No court has agreed with the defendant on these baseless claims, and his request to dismiss the indictment finds no support in the law.”
Weiss was the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware from 2017 through 2018 under President Donald Trump. He was tapped in 2023 by Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of the current president, to investigate the president’s son.
Weiss ended up presenting charges, which were approved by grand juries, in Delaware and California against Hunter Biden.
The president said that if a plea deal reached between his son and prosecutors had been approved, he would not have issued the pardon.
The deal would have allowed Hunter Biden to enter into a diversion agreement, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges in order to avoid punishment for a felony gun charge.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika turned down the agreement after learning that it contained other details, including promises from prosecutors not to pursue other charges.
