Chris Clark, criminal defense attorney for Hunter Biden, asked to be released from his client's case on Tuesday, citing a potential conflict of interest if he continued to represent the president's son in a future trial when he might be called as a witness.
According to Breitbart News, Hunter Biden's "sweetheart" plea bargain fell through in July due to judicial scrutiny. The government plans to try Hunter Biden in court for tax and firearm offenses.
A motion asking the judge to allow Clark to recuse himself from the case was submitted on Tuesday, citing the fact that Clark was a partner at the same law firm in Washington, D.C. as Liz Cheney's husband.
Clark referenced a rule from the state of Delaware that says lawyers can't represent their clients in court if they're likely to be summoned as witnesses.
Clark stated in his submission, “Pursuant to Delaware Rule of Professional Conduct 3.7(a), ‘a lawyer shall not act as advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness unless… disqualification of the lawyer would work substantial hardship on the client,’
In his submission, Clark also claimed that the government will "contest" parts of the plea deal in which he participated as a witness because of the prosecution's use of a special prosecutor.
Mr. Clark is included as a witness because, "based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea agreement and diversion agreement will be contested," according to the petition.
Who will take over as Hunter Biden's primary defense attorney against the newly appointed Weiss is currently unknown.
Clark's request to disqualify himself from the trial includes all pre-trial motions, according to federal public defender and former national security prosecutor Kash Patel, who spoke to Breitbart News.
When a client refuses to waive a conflict of interest that could arise from their attorney testifying in court, it is cause for immediate dismissal. It doesn't matter if it's before or during trial," he remarked.
It appears that Team Biden will be contesting the dismissal of the plea deal. A plea deal, however, is not binding unless it is approved by the judge. The DOJ can change its mind at any time, and they usually do. And the Department of Justice (DOJ) has exclusive authority over pretrial diversion agreements. This is not the court's responsibility. A judge cannot intervene.
On Sunday, lawyers for Hunter Biden attempted to keep their failed plea agreement's "diversion agreement" in place. Hunter Biden may have avoided further legal trouble by signing the diversion deal.
After Weiss asked for the case to be dropped, Delaware Judge Maryellen Noreika requested this document.Hunter Biden's guilty plea was widely expected last month.
Prosecutors said on Friday that they anticipated the case to go to trial after Judge Noreika examined the atypical plea bargain, suggesting that they want to try the case somewhere other than Delaware and in front of a different judge.
