Hunter Biden lawyers demand DOJ honor part of plea deal

Driving the news: Hunter Biden's attorneys wrote that the "parties have a valid and binding bilateral Diversion Agreement," referring to the deal on the gun charges.

• A judge's approval typically isn't required for a diversionary agreement, but "some key terms of the two-part deal between the president's son and the prosecutors were contained in the diversion, rather than the guilty plea agreement," The Washington Post notes.
• The plea deal hit a snag during a court hearing last month because the two parties couldn't agree on whether it guaranteed the end of the investigation.
• The plea deal to avoid jail time included a guilty plea to two tax misdemeanors for failing to pay taxes and a diversionary agreement on a gun-related felony for owning a weapon while using drugs.

A spokesperson for the special counsel's office declined to comment on the filing.

• Attorney General Merrick Garland last week elevated Weiss as special counsel to lead the investigation into Hunter Biden. Weiss had been overseeing the case since the Trump administration.

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