A top lawyer representing the president’s son, Hunter Biden, in the investigation run by special counsel David Weiss is asking to withdraw from the case after the collapse of a plea deal.
The attorney, Chris Clark, filed a motion to withdraw in Delaware’s federal court on Tuesday, pointing to a “witness-advocate” rule that could become an issue during future legal proceedings.
“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,” the filing said.
Clark’s withdrawal will not cause “a substantial hardship” because Biden has other lawyers to assist him in the matter, the filing added.
The move comes after Abbe Lowell, another lawyer who was hired by Biden last year to spearhead his defense against GOP-led investigations in Congress, filed on Monday to become an “additional counsel” for Biden in the criminal case, according to Axios.
Biden, 53, is facing the prospect of going to trial after the plea deal on tax evasion charges fell apart.
Weiss, Delaware’s U.S. attorney, was elevated to special counsel status on Friday by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The new designation gives the prosecutor broader authority to bring charges in districts outside of his own, and Weiss indicated in court filings he may seek to do so in Washington, D.C., or California.
Lowell said during an appearance on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that a trial was “not inevitable.”
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In addition, Biden’s lawyers claimed in a filing over the weekend that a pretrial diversion agreement on a felony firearm offense — in which prosecutors would drop the case if the younger Biden met certain conditions — remains intact.
The agreement was developed alongside the plea deal, but the arrangement hit a snag last month when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika raised concerns about a provision that might have granted Biden sweeping immunity from prosecution in the future.
In an order on Monday, the judge instructed Weiss to file a response to the Biden legal team’s assertion that the diversion agreement was still valid. The special counsel was given a deadline of noon on Tuesday.
