Under the June 2023 agreements, Hunter would plead guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to pay taxes for 2017 and 2018, and the gun charge would be dropped if he spent two years off drugs and alcohol and gave up firearms. Republicans called it a sweetheart deal; Trump called it a “traffic ticket.” [1]
At the 26 July hearing Judge Maryellen Noreika asked who the immunity in the gun agreement protected and what it covered. Hunter’s lawyer said it barred future charges over his foreign business; the prosecutor said it did not, and that the investigation, including possible foreign-agent charges, was continuing. With no meeting of the minds, Hunter pleaded not guilty. Afterward the two sides fought over whether the diversion agreement had ever taken effect. [2][3]
Weiss asked to be made special counsel, and Attorney General Merrick Garland did so on 11 August 2023. In April 2024 Noreika rejected Hunter’s argument that the appointment was unlawful. [4][5]
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