Hunter Biden attorney withdraws from tax case citing potential role as witness
by Rebecca Beitsch - 08/15/23 9:28 AM ET
Hunter Biden attorney Christopher Clark is withdrawing from representing the president’s son in a Delaware probe, pointing to a continuing legal battle over a plea agreement in the tax case that dissolved before it could be approved by a judge.
Clark’s notice to the court indicates he could be a witness in coming challenges over the disintegration of the deal, which the Justice Department moved to withdraw minutes after Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Delaware prosecutor David Weiss to serve as a special counsel in the matter.
“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,” Clark wrote.
He went on to cite Delaware professional conduct rules dictating that “a lawyer shall not act as advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness.”
Clark has represented Biden throughout the five-year investigation and helped broker the plea deal.
Biden was set to plead guilty to tax charges and settle a gun charge during a July 26 hearing in Delaware, but the deal fell apart during the hearing.
Abbe Lowell, another Biden attorney in the case, said Sunday that federal prosecutors “changed their decision on the fly” during the hearing — when such plea agreements are typically ironed out by both sides before appearing before a judge.
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https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4153140-hunter-biden-attorney-withdraws-from-tax-case-citing-potential-role-as-witness/
