It wasn’t long ago when Hunter Biden and the DOJ tried to sneak a ridiculous sweetheart plea deal by Judge Maryellen Noreika only to have her astute eye catch it.
They’re doing it again.
It’s been reported over and over that Biden will plead guilty to the tax charges he faces. He really won’t. He’s trying to take what’s called as “Alford Plea.”
The Alford plea is sometimes used in plea bargaining, as it allows the accused person to enter a plea recognizing that the prosecution’s evidence would likely result in a conviction, even while maintaining he did not commit the crime. This allows the accused to accept a plea bargain for a lesser sentence than he would receive if convicted at trial.
A couple of legal experts weighed in. Elie Honig:
“Essentially, what Hunter Biden is asking to do is go into the federal court and say ‘I’m not admitting my guilt, I’m not admitting that I’m guilty of these charges, instead, I acknowledge that the prosecution thinks they have the proof and I’m willing to take your sentence, Judge, based on the indictment as is. It’s very, very rare to see this type of plea or even an attempt to have this type of plea happen in federal court,” Honig said.
“So it is official Justice Department policy, and this is a DOJ federal case, that you do not as a prosecutor accept an Alford plea except for in extraordinary circumstances,” Honig continued. “I was a prosecutor for 14 years, [I] never accepted an Alford plea. Once in a while, a defendant or defense would call and say ‘hey, my guy’s willing to take an Alford plea’ and frankly, we’d laugh at them. We’d say ‘no way, we don’t do that. That’s a joke.’”
Alford pleas require DOJ consent. In 21 years at DOJ, I never heard of a case where DOJ consented. DOJ policy is that for a defendant to plead guilty, the defendant must make a factual admission of guilt. DOJ policy is to not allow someone to plead “guilty” while not admitting factual guilt.
Per 9-16.015 of @DOJ Justice manual, US Attorneys may not consent to Alford pleas “except in the most unusual of circumstances.”
Hunter being prosecuted for crimes implicating his father will certainly be considered by Merrick Garland a most unusal circumstance and consent.
— Ed Burke (@EdBurke85403199) September 5, 2024
The prosecution says it is opposed to the offering:
“I want to make something crystal clear: The United States opposes an Alford plea,” prosecutor Leo Wise said Thursday.
Wise accused Hunter Biden of seeking special treatment with the guilty plea. “Hunter Biden is guilty,” Wise said. “We were shocked as everyone else in the courtroom when Mr. Lowell stated his intentions.”
Now it falls into the hands of the judge – Mark Scarsi
He allegedly faces up to 17 years in prison.
I bet he doesn’t serve 17 minutes.
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