Federal prosecutors intend to seek indictment of Hunter Biden by Sept. 29

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they intend to seek another indictment of Hunter Biden, the president’s son, by Sept. 29 after a plea deal fell apart on earlier tax and gun charges.

Biden was set to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor charges for not filing taxes in 2017 and 2018, which he has since paid. He was also set to enter a pretrial program for a gun charge, which would have resulted in the charge being dropped if he complied with program’s requirements.

But U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to accept the plea agreement because of disputes between Biden’s lawyers and federal prosecutors about the terms.

Congressional Republicans called the agreement a “sweetheart deal.” Republicans called for an independent prosecutor to replace David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, who had investigated Biden for five years and reached the plea deal.

Instead, Attorney General Merrick appointed Weiss a special counsel with broader powers to continue his investigation.

The indictment deadline resulted from the collapse of the plea deal. Under the federal Speedy Trial Act, the clock for a prosecution continued to tick once charges were filed against Biden, so prosecutors need to act or drop the case.

“The Speedy Trial Act excludes, ‘delay reasonably attributable to any period, not to exceed thirty days, during which any proceeding concerning the defendant is actually under advisement by the court,’” prosecutors said.

In a filing Wednesday, prosecutors said “the government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case” before Sept. 29. The filing came in the court docket for the previous gun charge rather than the tax charges.

Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, also filed an update saying he has complied with conditions for his pretrial release.

Three House Republican chairmen sent a letter Wednesday to Biden’s lawyers, Christopher Clark and Lowell, asking for documents related to the plea deal.

Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, head of the Judiciary Committee; James Comer of Kentucky, head of the Oversight and Accountability Committee; and Jason Smith of Missouri, head of the Ways and Means Committee, seeks documents described in articles in the New York Times and Politico about how the deal fell apart.

The lawmakers alleged it was “highly likely” the documents came from Biden’s defense team. Lawmakers asked for the 32-page letter from Clark to Weiss about the potential gun charge, the 100-slide PowerPoint presentation about tax charges and other emails.

Lowell called the request further evidence of interfering with the investigation.

“These Republican chairmen continue to abuse their power to push a purely partisan attack on the Biden administration and family," Lowell said. " This latest demand is further proof of their continued and improper interference with the Justice Department’s investigation, which remains ongoing and in which Congress has no legitimate role.”

What were the charges against Hunter Biden?

Prosecutors said Hunter Biden took in $2.4 million in income in 2017 and $2.1 in 2018 through Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, a Chinese-development firm, as well as domestic business interests and legal services.

Leo Wise, an assistant U.S. attorney, said an accountant prepared Biden's taxes both of those years, but his corporate and personal taxes were not paid. During this period, Hunter Biden made large cash withdrawals and covered other expenses like car payments on a Porsche, Wise said.

Biden told the court a "third party" paid the back taxes along with interest and fees pursuant to a personal loan he has not begun to repay.

Another charge in Weiss's inquiry alleges Biden made a false statement on a federal form when he bought a gun in 2018.

The Gun Control Act prohibits drug users from possessing firearms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled the ban applies to "a conviction for use or possession of a controlled substance within the past year."

Biden filled out a federal form when he bought a handgun in October 2018 in which he replied “no” to a question of whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance," according to the Washington Post.

By his own account in his memoir “Beautiful Things,” Biden battled drug addiction and for periods during 2018 smoked crack “every 15 minutes.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds intend to seek indictment of Hunter Biden this month