Hunter Biden’s legal team is in hot water following an alleged ruse that appeared to backfire amidst the president’s son’s guilty plea proceedings on federal weapons charges and tax evasion.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika demanded Hunter Biden’s attorneys “show cause as to why sanctions should not be considered for misrepresentations to the Court” after a member of the legal team allegedly called the court and pretended to be an associate of the House Ways and Means Committee’s top lawyer, Theodore Kittila, reported the New York Post.
The alleged misrepresentation purportedly occurred after the committee filed an amicus brief to bring the court’s attention to the testimony of two IRS whistleblowers that claimed Hunter Biden’s plea deal was tainted by “political interference which calls into question the propriety of the investigation,” according to National Review.
“[A]t approximately 1:30 p.m. [on July 25], we received word that our filing was removed from the docket,” Kittila said in a letter to the court, per NYP. “We promptly contacted the Clerk’s office, and we were advised that someone contacted the Court representing that they worked with my office [emphasis original] and that they were asking the Court to remove this from the docket. We immediately advised that this was inaccurate. The Clerk’s Office responded that we would need to re-file. We have done so now.”
Kittila included email exchanges he had with court officials and Hunter Biden’s attorney, Chris Clark.
According to court official Samantha Grimes, a woman who identified herself as Jessica Bengels called the court and said she worked with Kittila. She then asked that the court immediately pull the amicus brief, which it did. Bengels works as director of litigation services at the New York-based law firm Latham & Watkins, where Clark used to be a partner, according to NYP.
In Kittila’s email exchange with Clark, the latter claimed that the brief contained confidential and personal tax information that needed to be redacted, and that is why “the managing attorney from Latham” called to have the brief pulled.
“As far as I am aware the clerk took the filing down on their own accord. Your attempts to publicly file my client’s personal financial information with no protection ls [sic] are improper, illegal, and in violation of applicable rules. … We will seek all appropriate sanctions in response to your actions,” wrote Clark, per NYP.
Kittila responded:
“You should probably take a step back from your statements. The clerk’s office advised that it was represented to her that the request was being made by my firm. We will be advising Judge Noreika of this improper conduct.”
Bengels submitted an affidavit that stated she used a Latham & Watkins phone number when she called the court, which often comes up on caller ID as “LATHAM.” She denied ever “[indicating] that [she] was calling from Mr. Kittila’s firm or that [she] worked with him in any way,” blaming the removal of the brief on miscommunication between court clerks.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Judge Noreika did not accept Hunter Biden’s plea agreement on Wednesday. The judge asked questions about the scope of the blanket immunity offered to the president’s son. It is unclear if the previous day’s events factored into the decision.
The Dallas Express reached out to Kittila for comment. In an emailed reply, Kittila said, “The record is clear. We will await the Judge’s decision on this.”
