The federal judge presiding over Hunter Biden’s tax evasion and illegal gun possession case has set multiple conditions of his release from pre-trial custody.
Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected the plea agreement President Joe Biden’s son and federal prosecutors reached in June.
Noreika’s order setting the conditions of Biden’s release stated he must report for supervision to the Central District of California federal court jurisdiction, where he resides.
Additionally, he must “continue or actively seek employment.”
Further, Biden must “communicate in writing all international travel plans and provide supporting documentation.”
The judge also instructed him to not possess a firearm or other weapon and not use alcohol, narcotic drugs or controlled substances.
Biden is to participate in inpatient or outpatient substance abuse therapy, if directed by the court system’s supervisory officer to do so.
BREAKING: Judge Noreika just set release conditions on Hunter Biden.
My favorite is that he has to get a job lol pic.twitter.com/9yzsGa3S5H
— Julie Kelly ?? (@julie_kelly2) July 26, 2023
Biden’s plea deal fell through Wednesday when Noreika called into question the blanket immunity from future prosecution the agreement would involve.
“From the start, the judge seemed highly skeptical of the unusual deal — which offered Hunter Biden broad immunity from prosecution in perpetuity, questioning why it had been filed under a provision that gave her no legal authority to reject it,” The New York Times’ Glenn Thrush reported.
“When she asked Leo Wise, a prosecutor, if there was any precedent for the kind of deal being proposed, he replied, ‘No, your honor.’”
Thrush explained, “Noreika … [demanded] that the two sides make changes in the deal clarifying her role and insert language that limits the broad immunity from prosecution offered to Biden on his business dealings. Biden’s lawyers estimated it would take about two weeks.”
Concerning the gun diversion plea agreement, the judge questioned the constitutionality of her being included in the process of deciding whether Biden should be charged later if he violated the terms reached.
Last month, U.S. Attorney David Weiss recommended probation for Biden for failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes in 2017 and 2018.
The maximum punishment for the misdemeanor tax evasion charges is a $25,000 fine and one year in prison.
The pretrial diversion agreement would have been to resolve a charge of possession of a gun by a drug user or drug addict.
Under the deal, the president’s son would have agreed to be drug-free for two years and to never own a gun again.
With regards to finding employment, Biden has reportedly made at least $1.3 million selling paintings he created. However, it is not clear if Noreika will accept this line of work under the order.
A single buyer purchased $875,000 in artwork, Insider reported.
Los Angeles real-estate investor and philanthropist Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali is also a buyer of Biden’s artwork.
“In July 2022, eight months after Hunter Biden’s first art opening, Joe Biden announced Hirsh Naftali’s appointment to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. It is unclear whether Hirsh Naftali’s purchase of Hunter Biden’s artwork occurred before or after that appointment,” the news outlet reported.
The White House did not offer a timeline when questioned about the purchase.
“Hunter Biden is a private citizen who is entitled to have his own career as an artist,” White House spokesman Ian Sams told Insider. “We are not involved in his art sales, and any buyers of his art are not disclosed to the White House.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
