Hunter Biden’s plea deal blew up and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put it back together again. Instead of a two year diversion program, Hunter Biden is now going to face a gun charge.

Weiss’s three-page filing to the federal court in Delaware suggests the indictment will be on a gun charge. Hunter Biden had tentatively agreed in June to admit to the facts of illegal gun possession but not actually plead guilty to that charge, as part of a complicated two-part deal with prosecutors that also involved him pleading guilty to two tax misdemeanors.

The timing laid out by Weiss for the gun charge indictment is not particularly surprising, given that legal experts believe the statute of limitations on that alleged crime was due to expire in mid-October. But the filing is another sign that, after the collapse of the plea deal, prosecutors plan to charge the president’s son with crimes with a little more than a year until the 2024 election — meaning Hunter Biden could end up on trial in the heat of the campaign.

You may recall that after the plea deal blew up, Hunter’s attorney attempted to claim that the plea deal on the gun charge was still in place:

Biden’s attorney argued in court documents late Sunday that an agreement sparing him prosecution on a felony gun charge still is in place even though the plea agreement on misdemeanor tax offenses largely unraveled during a court appearance last month.

His lawyer argues the Justice Department decided to “renege” on its end of the deal on tax charges. The agreement on the gun charge also contains an immunity clause against federal prosecutions for some other potential crimes.

But the prosecutors quickly denied that was the case:

On Monday, attorneys for the president’s son argued that the diversion agreement, part of the broader plea deal that has now fallen apart, took effect on July 26, when prosecutors signed the document.

But Weiss’ team said Tuesday that in order for the document to be ratified, it would require the signature of a probation officer — which they say did not happen.

“The Defendant chose to plead not guilty at the hearing on July 26, 2023, and U.S. Probation declined to approve the proposed diversion agreement at that hearing,” prosecutors wrote. “Thus, neither proposed agreement entered into effect.”

Despite this, Hunter’s attorney is still claiming his client is abiding by the terms of the non-deal and is clearly hoping to revive it.

Lawyers for the president’s son filed their own notice to the court Wednesday suggesting that, as far as they were concerned, the terms of the diversion agreement to settle the gun charge should still be in effect. As part of that agreement, Biden was to stay out of trouble and submit to drug testing over a two-year period.

Hunter’s fortunes have certainly declined from the moment earlier this year when Weiss was ready to let Hunter off scot-free. The investigation almost ended with no plea of any kind, but a pair of IRS whistleblowers came forward and started talking about the unusual handling of the case. Suddenly, Weiss demanded a plea deal which would have Hunter plead guilty to two tax related misdemeanors in exchange for diversion on the gun charge and immunity from further prosecution. It appears to be the immunity clause that blew up the plea deal.

The deal that blew up involved a felony firearms offense which was going to drop off his record completely if he completed his two year diversion program (basically staying sober). It’s not clear if the new gun charge he’s facing will be a felony or will be watered down in some way. Also, it’s worth noting that this gun charge may not be the end of Hunter’s problems. Weiss may also be planning to bring tax charges separately.

This is getting a fair amount of attention. It was a lead story on the CBS Evening News tonight.

Federal prosecutors revealed in a court filing Wednesday that they will seek the return of an indictment against President Joe Biden's son Hunter before the end of the month.
pic.twitter.com/NMBV39Kvws

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) September 7, 2023

Guy Benson is skeptical that we’re seeing Weiss turning over a new leaf.

My *highly cynical* (justifiably so, in my mind) analysis of the Special Counsel’s announcement on pursuing new charges against Hunter Biden — from tonight’s panel: pic.twitter.com/PAZgQnbMpF

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) September 7, 2023