Hunter Biden could face federal charges related to his failure to register as a foreign agent before he cut lucrative deals with Ukraine, China and other countries where his politically powerful father held sway.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that an ongoing investigation of President Biden’s son could include offenses related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA.
Prosecutors made the statement during a federal court proceeding where Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and agree to a deal to spare him a felony gun charge.
The agreement unraveled when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika started asking questions.
Legal briefs urged her to reconsider the deal.
Judge Noreika forced prosecutor Leo Wise to acknowledge that the Justice Department is investigating Hunter Biden for other charges, including some related to FARA violations.
SEE ALSO: Plea deal derails, Hunter Biden enters ‘not guilty’ pleas
The 1938 law requires special registration with the Justice Department by anyone who works on behalf of a foreign country to influence U.S. policy or public opinion.
Mr. Wise did not provide details about a Justice Department investigation. Some legal experts questioned whether the Justice Department had truly started an investigation or simply threatened one if Hunter Biden did not complete a diversionary program related to the gun charge.
Mounting evidence suggests that Hunter Biden used his father’s political clout to help secure massively profitable deals with China, Ukraine, Russia and perhaps other countries that wanted to influence U.S. policy.
FARA prosecutions were rarely used before 2016. Federal authorities used the once-obscure law to charge several associates of President Trump, including his former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, campaign manager Paul Manafort and inaugural committee chairman, Tom Barrack.
Mr. Barrack was jailed for three days in 2021 before posting a $250 million bond. He was charged with failing to register as a foreign agent on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. A jury acquitted him of all charges.
Mr. Manafort entered a guilty plea on multiple charges and was sentenced to 73 months in prison, including the statutory maximum of 60 months for conspiracy to violate FARA.
Mr. Manafort served less than two years in prison. He was released to home confinement in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Trump pardoned him in December 2020.
Mr. Flynn, charged with secretly lobbying on behalf of Turkey, never served jail time after withdrawing a guilty plea that came with a recommended six-month jail sentence.
The Justice Department eventually moved to drop the case. Mr. Trump pardoned Mr. Flynn in November 2020.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said Mr. Wise might have been dangling a prosecution under FARA to ensure Hunter Biden agreed to the terms of the diversion agreement for the gun crime.
When the judge asked about the details, the deal unraveled because defense attorneys thought the investigation was closed and included a guarantee of no further charges, including those related to foreign lobbying.
“Prosecutors want to keep open the possibility of additional charges if he doesn’t comply with the terms of the diversion,” Mr. Rahmani said. “They’re trying to hang that over his head. The defense disagrees.”
The judge ordered attorneys to provide additional details and refused to endorse the plea deal.
The case generated national attention and legal briefs, including from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, Missouri Republican.
Mr. Smith and other critics said the plea deal gave Hunter Biden a slap on the wrist for crimes that put similar offenders behind bars.
Revelations from a long-hidden FBI memo detailed a paid informant’s claim that Hunter Biden and his father split a $10 million bribe from the CEO of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. CEO Mykola Zlochevsky said the money was paid in exchange for Mr. Biden’s efforts to oust a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma. At the time, Mr. Biden was vice president in the Obama administration and spearheading U.S. policy in Ukraine.
Mr. Smith’s legal brief included information provided by two IRS whistleblowers who said Hunter Biden was given preferential treatment by prosecutors who slow-walked the case and avoided felony charges.
The political pressure might have made it far more difficult for Judge Noreika to agree to the deal without asking for more details, including whether the agreement would shield Hunter Biden from further prosecution and whether prosecutors were investigating FARA violations.
During the court proceeding, the judge sought details from the president’s son about his work with foreign companies.
Hunter Biden provided details about his employment on the board of Burisma, which paid him up to $1 million a year, as well as CEFC, a Chinese energy firm tied to the Chinese Communist Party, which paid millions of dollars to Biden family members and their close circle of business associates.
The judge asked Hunter Biden whether he understood he owed taxes. He responded, “Yes, your honor.”
Even if prosecutors put a FARA investigation on the back burner, Mr. Rahmani said, Hunter Biden could be vulnerable to prosecution under a Republican administration.
“If the administration changes,” Mr. Rahmani said, “it’s very likely that he’s going to be prosecuted for all sorts of things.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.