Several CNN hosts and contributors blasted the Biden Justice Department for hours after Hunter Biden’s pre-arranged sweetheart plea bargain fell through in court on Wednesday.
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“The judge overseeing a deal reached between federal prosecutors and Hunter Biden has reportedly thrown out the plea agreement over concerns that details of the ongoing investigation are not being considered in the prosecution’s decision to spare the president’s son from jail time in exchange for pleading guilty to tax and gun charges,” Trending Politics reported on Wednesday as details were unfolding after Hunter’s court appearance began.
Kara Scannell from CNN reported that during the court session, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Norieka directly asked prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Delaware about the inclusion of evidence from an investigation into whether Hunter Biden should have registered as a foreign agent.
The investigation is related to his representation of overseas companies from which he received substantial sums of money, and alleged false reporting to the Internal Revenue Service. In response, representatives for U.S. Attorney David Weiss informed the judge that this specific aspect of their office’s investigation would not be part of the plea deal, the outlet added.
Norieka was also perplexed about the arrangement DOJ prosecutors made with Hunter regarding a felony gun charge related to his claim on an FBI background check form when he bought a handgun that he was never addicted to drugs, which is false.
In the end, the deal fell apart and Hunter wound up pleading “not guilty,” all of which was too much for several CNN hosts.
“Someone made a bad mistake here. Am I wrong looking at this saying that these someone, whether it be Hunter Biden’s defense or prosecutors here, how did this fall apart?” host John Berman asked.
“How could there be such a big miscommunication?” his co-host chimed in.
“I cannot even begin to explain how the Justice Department walks into that courtroom without knowing exactly what the scope of immunity or coverage is for Hunter Biden, and equally, I cannot even begin to understand how Hunter Biden’s lawyers walk him into that courthouse without knowing exactly what the constraints, what the limitations of that deal are!” senior legal analyst Elie Honig replied.
That led former Trump acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell to tweet: “@CNN’s @eliehonig is shocked (SHOCKED!) that there is other legal issues for Hunter. This is what happens when your cable network employer fails to have dissenting views on a topic – you find out the facts later.”
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Honig replied later claiming Grenell had misinterpreted his response.
“I’m not remotely shocked Hunter has big legal problems. I’ve talked about this many times on air. I’m shocked at the incompetence and lack of preparation by lawyers for both sides. Watch the clip. You’re tilting at a straw man when I largely agree on this issue,” he tweeted.
On MSNBC, host Andrea Mitchell voiced concern about how the ongoing drama surrounding Hunter Biden’s case could impact President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. She highlighted that without a finalized plea agreement, the case would “be hanging over their heads” leading up to the 2024 election.
MSNBC White House correspondent Mike Memoli echoed her sentiments, BizPac Review reported.