WILMINGTON, Del. — Lawyers in Hunter Biden’s criminal tax case lobbed accusations of misconduct and misrepresentation, a dust-up triggered after an attorney for a Republican House member asked to introduce additional evidence ahead of an expected guilty plea on Wednesday.
President Joe Biden’s son has agreed to plead guilty to two charges related to failure to file tax returns and has agreed to a diversion program for a separate gun charge.
An attorney for Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., sought to file an amicus curiae filing with the judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s case. Based on several filings, the lawyer, Theodore Kittila, sought to introduce some of the testimony and evidence about Hunter Biden compiled by the Republican-controlled House Ways and Means Committee, which Smith chairs.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Chris Clark, opposed the filing in communications with Kittila.
Clark argued that the various rules which guide the filing of amicus curiae letters were not followed and that unredacted tax information regarding Hunter Biden was included in the exhibits.
Kittila replied by explaining that the exhibits have been publicly available for weeks on the House Ways and Means website. Kittila then accused a staff member of Clark’s office of impersonating someone from Kittila’s staff in a call to the clerk of the Delaware court and asking to have the letter removed from court filings.
Clark responded by acknowledging that someone from one of the firms representing Hunter Biden had called the clerk but said she did not misrepresent herself and had said who she was and why she was calling.
The judge then asked the clerk, who backed up Kittila’s explanation of what happened. The judge then asked Clark to explain what happened or possibly face sanctions.
Late Tuesday, the staff member filed an affidavit with the court explaining that the mix-up was in the clerk’s office and provided details of what she said, her notes and the call records.
The judge could address the mix-up — and whether she believes the latest response — during Tuesday’s hearing.