Federal Prosecutors Mock Hunter Biden’s ‘Conspiracy Theory’ That Tax Probe Is Politically Motivated: ‘Trump Is Not the President’

Justice Department prosecutors pushed back on Hunter Biden’s claim that he is a victim of selective prosecution due to pressure from Republicans, arguing in a Friday court filing that the first son is advancing a “conspiracy theory” to avoid taking responsibility for his alleged violations of federal tax law.

Hunter Biden’s guilty plea deal on two tax misdemeanors and pretrial diversion agreement for a single felony gun charge fell apart in July after a dispute between his lawyers and the Justice Department over an immunity provision inside the diversion agreement.

“From this fairly unremarkable set of procedural events, the defendant concocts a conspiracy theory that the prosecution has ‘upped the ante’ to appease politicians who have absolutely nothing to do with the prosecution and are not even members of the current Executive Branch,” Special Counsel David Weiss’s legal team wrote in the filing.

The prosecutors point out that former president Donald Trump is not running the executive branch, and Weiss was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of Hunter Biden’s father, President Biden.

“Second, to state an obvious fact that the defendant continues to ignore, former President Trump is not the President of the United States. The defendant fails to explain how President Biden or the Attorney General, to whom the Special Counsel reports, or the Special Counsel himself, or his team of prosecutors, are acting at the direction of former President Trump or Congressional Republicans,” the court filing states.

Weiss and his line prosecutors go on to describe the tax charges leveled against Hunter Biden for allegedly failing to pay over $1 million in taxes for tax years 2016-19, despite having the income to do so. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the tax charges in January and faces a maximum of 17 years in prison.

The Justice Department also pushed back against Hunter Biden’s claims in a court filing last month that the indictment of ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov undermines Weiss’s criminal investigation. Smirnov is facing charges for giving false statements to the FBI accusing Hunter and Joe Biden of taking $10 million in bribes from Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky.

“While the defendant testified to Congress that the Special Counsel had undermined the impeachment inquiry conducted by House Republicans, to this Court he argues instead that the Special Counsel is working at the behest of House Republicans,” the prosecutors said.

House Republicans are leading an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden centered around his son’s foreign business dealings. Hunter Biden testified late last month and suggested Smirnov’s criminal charges reflected the impeachment inquiry’s lack of credibility. He referenced the information disclosed by Weiss and his team that Smirnov has ties to Russian intelligence officials and allegedly received information about Hunter Biden from them.

Smirnov never testified for the impeachment inquiry and lawmakers did not know his identity until he was indicted. Republicans promoted the bribery allegations Smirnov brought to the FBI before Weiss’s criminal investigation into Hunter Biden resulted in the indictment against Smirnov.

Part of the impeachment inquiry is focused on how Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, and the Justice Department handled the Hunter Biden case prior to Garland appointing Weiss special counsel in August. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler came forward last spring with allegations that Justice Department prosecutors gave Hunter Biden special treatment by slow-walking and obstructing the investigation into his alleged tax violations. The IRS agents also turned over a trove of documents to the House Ways and Means Committee to substantiate their sworn testimony.

Hunter Biden’s attorneys have argued the diversion agreement is legally binding and confers immunity against the federal tax charges. Weiss’s team replied by arguing the agreement never took effect because it was not approved by probation officers and included a statement by Delaware Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wallace corroborating this version of events.

Federal prosecutors filed additional responses to Hunter Biden’s legal arguments for dismissing various counts of the tax indictment, such as his claims that Weiss’s appointment as special counsel is unlawful because of Weiss’s employment with the Justice Department.

In Delaware, where Biden is staring down three federal gun charges, his team has made similar arguments about the diversion agreement, Weiss’s appointment and supposed selective prosecution by his father’s Justice Department. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges and seeks to have them dismissed.