What is Foreign Agents Registration Act? Meaning explored as Hunter Biden's plea deal collapses amid DOJ investigation

On the morning of Wednesday, July 26, Hunter Biden made his first appearance in a Delaware court. The younger Biden pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal tax.

The deal was reportedly set in place so that the defendant could avoid jail time on a felony gun charge. As noted by Yahoo, the Department of Justice also implied that the defendant is under investigation on suspicion of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

According to the Department of Justice, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires agents of 'foreign principals' to publicly disclose their associations with these entities, especially if their activities and interests are political in nature.

Hunter Biden allegedly failed to report business deals he had made with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, as well as the Chinese energy firm CEFC.

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The details of the new allegations againts Hunter Biden

According to CNN, Hunter Biden's plea deal fell apart because he is still under federal investigation for supposedly violating the FARA act. While the defendant had initially expected to immunise himself from the felony gun charges by accepting the tax related accusations, Judge Maryellen Noreika did not accept the deal.

Yahoo reported that according to Judge Maryellen Noreika, the plea deal would be unconstitutional as it could 'immunize' Hunter Biden from future allegations. She clarified this by asking Justice Department prosecutor Leo Wise whether Biden was being investigated for further charges.

Wise said that this was true, but that he could not provide further details. Subsequently, Judge Noreika asked whether Biden could face charges related to the FARA, leading Wise to acknowledge that this was a possibility.

Upon receiving this information, Biden's defense team confirmed that they no longer agreed to the original plea deal either. Judge Noreika also discussed potential dealings Biden had that could implicate him in violating the FARA.

CNN stated that Judge Noreika further probed Biden's supposed dealings with Burisma Holdings and CEFC. The line of questioning probed whether Biden had used money received from the foreign companies to fund family interests in American politics.

In response to the allegations against Hunter Biden, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement about the case. The statement read:

"Hunter Biden is a private citizen, and this was a personal matter for him. As we have said, the president, the first lady — they love their son and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life."

The statement continued:

"This case was handled independently, as all of you know, by the Justice Department under the leadership of a prosecutor appointed by the former president, President Trump."

The White House claimed that they have not interfered with the case, as they acknowledge the autonomy of the Department of Justice.