President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter means that Hunter’s two criminal cases won’t go forward to sentencing. But special counsel David Weiss has fought the defense effort to get the gun and tax indictments officially dismissed in Delaware and California.
In support of his opposition, Weiss cited the government’s previous objection to dismissing Steve Bannon’s indictment when Donald Trump pardoned Bannon in his first term. Weiss noted that the prosecution in Bannon’s case didn’t dispute that the pardon ended the matter but still maintained that dismissing the indictment was unnecessary; rather, the prosecution in Bannon’s case said the court should terminate Bannon as a defendant and have the docket reflect the pardon as the reason for his case ending. As Hunter Biden’s counsel emphasized in reply to Weiss’ opposition, the judge in Bannon’s case dismissed his indictment over the government’s objection.
Nonetheless, the post-pardon litigation means the judges in California and Delaware have to decide how to bury Hunter’s cases formally, even if they’re both basically dead from a legal perspective. While the California judge hasn’t decided yet, the Delaware judge on Tuesday entered an order on the docket stating that all proceedings are terminated due to the pardon but without stating that the indictment is dismissed:
Advertisement
Advertisement
Having reviewed the parties’ submissions … and in the absence of binding precedent, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that pursuant to the Executive Grant of Clemency signed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on December 1, 2024, Defendant Robert Hunter Biden has been pardoned for, inter alia, the offenses for which a jury rendered a verdict in this case … As such, all proceedings in this case are hereby terminated.
Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for expert analysis on the top legal stories of the week, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in Donald Trump’s legal cases.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
