The “sweetheart deal” goes south

Republicans are all saying that this proves Hunter Biden needs to go to jail for the rest of his life. And it means that Joe Biden is the most corrupt leader in the history of the world:

1/ Earlier today, during a hearing when Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty, the plea deal was scuttled after the judge asked whether he would be immune from prosecution for other possible crimes as a result of the deal.https://t.co/NfCDOF2pGC
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 26, 2023

3/ As a starting point, the plea deal involved two crimes that are rarely charged as a federal crime— possessing a firearm while addicted to drugs and failing to pay taxes.

As I explained in my @politico column (below), in context, he was treated harshly. https://t.co/haiOAdltRY
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 26, 2023

5/ So it’s easy to see why the defense agreed to this plea deal. It wasn’t worth contesting these crimes, and if this wrapped up the investigation, it was a good result for their client.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 26, 2023

7/ It’s not unusual for these things to be fuzzy.

Prosecutors can’t promise that they won’t find more evidence tomorrow, which will change their plans.

The defense often had to rely on informal discussions and imperfect information.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 26, 2023

9/ If this *isn’t* the end of the road for Hunter Biden, and more charges are coming, then this deal doesn’t offer nearly as much to him.

My guess, based on what little is known publicly, is that there will be more informal discussions between both sides and a deal goes forward.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 26, 2023

UPDATE: There are now reports that there is a slightly revised deal, which doesn’t surprise me, for the reasons discussed above.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) July 26, 2023

We now know that the deal is on hold and they will appear in court in a couple of weeks presumably with this deal ironed out.

This is just par for the course these days. As I Xitted earlier:

Hunter Biden's plea deal for the gun charge falls apart in court. That sound you hear is a simultaneous, collective right wing orgasm.
— digby (@digby56) July 26, 2023