Constitutional law expert Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax on Wednesday that it remains to be seen if the judge presiding over the Hunter Biden case involving misdemeanor tax charges and probation on a gun charge will question the plea deal before them.
"This is an unusual situation, but the judge has the authority not to accept the plea, to ask the parties to go back and answer some questions," Dershowitz said on Newsmax's "National Report." "I don't think he's going to do it, because if he was going to do it he would have indicated that now, [or] before, to give the lawyers an opportunity to respond.
"But we'll wait and see when we get to court as to whether the judge just acts as a rubber stamp or whether he does his job, and his job is to question the basis for the plea to see whether justice has been done to the American people. We know that both sides want this deal to go through for their own reasons, but a judge sits in a position of representing the people of the United States, not either party, so he has a responsibility outside of the two parties to see that justice has been done."
Dershowitz said President Joe Biden's son is "lucky" and has "excellent lawyers" who got him "a very good deal."
"The question is should the judge accept the deal?" Dershowitz said. "Has there been a thorough enough investigation? We don't know the answer to the million-dollar question. Did David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney, have authority to go beyond Delaware and inquire, follow the money, to Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles?
"If he did, then somebody is not telling the truth. And if he didn't, somebody's not telling the truth. And if he didn't, the judge should not accept the plea bargain. It would be based on an incomplete and misleading investigation.
"So the first question I'm asking, if I'm the judge, is, 'Wait a minute. I hear from [Attorney General Merrick] Garland that he had complete authority and then I hear from Weiss that he didn't have complete authority. What's the truth, before I make a decision, which I have the discretion to make?'"
Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor emeritus, also commented on the incident in which a member of Hunter Biden's legal team reportedly "misrepresented her identity" to court officials to block to release of damning evidence from IRS whistleblowers before his expected guilty plea.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., filed a brief asking the judge to consider denying the plea deal over whistleblower claims that the president's son was offered preferential treatment during the nearly five-year investigation.
"First the judge has to accept that," Dershowitz said of the material Smith filed. "They are not in the case, they would have to have authority to submit it. A judge is supposed to accept the plea in the interests of justice, and over the years judges have refused to accept pleas.
"I haven't been thrilled with that myself, sometimes they do it erroneously, but they do have the authority and, I guess, they have the authority to consider anything that's submitted to them."
<p><span style="color:#FF0000;"><strong>About NEWSMAX TV:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#0000FF;">NEWSMAX</span> is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!</p>
<ul>
<li>Find <span style="color:#0000FF;">NEWSMAX</span> in <strong>over 100 million U.S. homes</strong> via cable/streaming – <a href="https://www.newsmaxtv.com/findus" style="color:#0000FF;"><strong>More Info Here</strong></a></li>
<li>Watch <span style="color:#0000FF;">NEWSMAX TV</span> online – <a href="https://www.newsmaxtv.com/" style="color:#0000FF;"><strong>See It Here</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="https://qrcodes.pro/0FUKqL" style="color:#0000FF;">Download the<strong> FREE</strong> <span style="color:#0000FF;">NEWSMAX</span> App on Your Smartphone to Watch Now!</a></li>
</ul>
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.