As a former criminal defense attorney, Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., has seen his share of plea agreements. But he told Newsmax on Thursday he has seen nothing like the plea deal President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden reached with federal prosecutors.
Under the agreement, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two tax misdemeanors and averted prosecution on a gun charge by enrolling in a two-year diversion program for nonviolent offenders. But it was revealed during a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, the diversion program included language granting Hunter Biden immunity from further prosecution.
Judge Maryellen Noreika put the deal on hold after raising legal and constitutional questions about the agreement. Hunter Biden then pleaded not guilty to the two tax charges.
"I've never seen something like this," Armstrong told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "I've never seen a negotiated plea deal that by any stretch of the imagination is a sweetheart deal. And then there's this side agreement that obviously there's a disagreement between the two sides of what exactly immunity it covers."
Armstrong, a member of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, said it's unusual for an immunity deal to be part of a pretrial diversion program and not part of the actual agreement. Although Noreika has sealed that portion of the plea agreement, Armstrong said he would like to see it.
"The sealed portion of the diversion, nobody has had access to, but the judge obviously had real concerns for it," Armstrong said. "You enter into global plea agreements, usually they're entered when you're cooperating with the federal government.
"But as far as I'm aware, Hunter Biden has never sat for an interview, which is also incredibly unique in this type of circumstance."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.