(HENDERSON, Nev.) — A Nevada man faces child abuse charges after he was found unresponsive in a vehicle with his two children who were suffering from the effects of high heat, police said.
Brian Laugeson, 59, was found in a desert area of Henderson earlier this week with his two children hours after a friend reported them missing, according to the arrest report.
The friend told Henderson police on Monday that Laugeson was supposed to go church with the children the previous morning but never made it, according to the arrest report. The mother of the two children — a boy and girl whose names were redacted from the report — also was unable to get ahold of Laugeson, police said. The parents are separated and arranged for Laugeson to have the children over the weekend, according to the report.
After police were unable to find Laugeson at his apartment, local hospitals or jails, they pinged his cell phone, which led them to a desert area, according to the arrest report. They found his vehicle in a desert area shortly after noon on Monday. The father was unresponsive, while the two children were “going in and out of consciousness,” the arrest report stated.
The children were naked and “visibly suffering from heat-related illness,” and the boy also began to suffer from an apparent seizure, the arrest report said. The temperature at the time was 105 degrees, according to the report.
There was evidence of “possible narcotics use” in Laugeson’s vehicle, which was seized, police said.
All three were transported to area hospitals. The lab results of Laugeson’s blood test, which was obtained through a search warrant, indicated the “ingestion of narcotics,” according to the arrest report.
Henderson police did not have an update on the conditions of Laugeson or the two children as of Wednesday.
Laugeson was arrested on two counts of child abuse/neglect with substantial bodily harm or mental harm. He was initially scheduled to appear for a felony arraignment on Wednesday, though online court records indicate he is still hospitalized and the hearing has been continued until July 31. Court records do not list any attorney information for him.
(CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio) — An Ohio K-9 officer has been fired after an investigation into why his police dog attacked a Black truck driver who was on his knees with his hands up following a highway chase, officials said Wednesday.
Circleville, Ohio, K-9 Officer Ryan Speakman’s termination is “effective immediately,” the Circleville Police Department said in a statement.
“Officer Speakman did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers,” police officials said.
Speakman was fired after the Circleville Police Use of Force Review Board investigated the attack and submitted its report to the city officials.
The officer was let go despite the review board concluding that the “department’s policy for the use of canines was followed in the apprehension and arrest.”
“It’s important to understand that the Review Board is charged only with determining whether an employee’s actions in the use of force incident were within department policies and procedures,” the Circleville police statement said. “The Review Board does not have the authority to recommend discipline.”
Speakman was fired a day after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called for an increase in training for all police dogs in the state and their handlers as a result of the highway attack on the truck driver, 23-year-old Jaddarius Rose.
DeWine broke his silence about the incident involving a Circleville K-9 as the local chapter of Black Lives Matter announced it is planning a large protest on Saturday outside the Circleville Police Department. The BLM group listed a string of demands on its Facebook page, including the immediate firing of Speakman and that the police dog that mauled the driver be retired.
The Circleville police statement did not comment on the fate of the police dog.
“This incident in Circleville should be a lesson, a wake-up call to everyone that police training in Ohio is not equal. It needs to be equal,” DeWine said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The governor said he will propose to the state General Assembly that funding be added to the state budget to build a training facility for K-9 units across Ohio, saying, he wants the training to “be available to every single law enforcement agency in the state of Ohio no matter how big or how small.”
DeWine spoke out after he said he viewed the body camera footage released by the Ohio State Highway Police of the K-9 attack on Rose of Memphis, Tennessee.
The incident unfolded in Ross County, Ohio, on the Fourth of July, but the video wasn’t made public until last week. The footage showed Rose on his knees with his hands in the air after allegedly leading police on a lengthy chase.
The video showed Speakman appear to turn his dog loose and point at Rose despite a state trooper repeatedly yelling, “Do not release the dog with his hands up.” The dog attacked Rose, grabbing his arm as he screamed, “Get it off,” and appeared in pain.
According to the video, other officers, including Speakman, rushed to Rose as he was being bitten in the grassy center median and pulled the animal off.
Rose was treated at a hospital and later booked at the Ross County Jail on charges of failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony, according to the highway police.
“You have a Circleville police officer making clearly a call that was not within normal protocol,” DeWine said after viewing the body-camera footage. “You also have a highway patrolman that is very well trained, tell the Circleville police officer ‘no, don’t send the dog out, we have this under control.'”
DeWine added, “Frankly, my first reaction was training, it really was. You just have to make sure that every officer has the right training and that is not taking place in those smaller departments.”
Circleville police officials said the dog was trained by Pennsylvania-based Shallow Creek Kennels Inc., which “affirmed that its training protocols were followed,” the police department’s statement said, noting that the company’s training protocols are standard for service dogs deployed by the U.S. military, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and police departments across the nation and Canada.
“While we certainly respect Gov. DeWine’s views and are always ready to discuss how to improve police training, Circleville’s canine teams of dogs and officers are trained and certified to meet current Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission-recognized standards,” the police statement said.
Troopers from the state Highway Police Department’s Motor Carrier Enforcement Inspector unit initially attempted to pull Rose over for an alleged traffic defect violation of missing a mudflap on the left rear of his trailer, according to a police incident report. Rose allegedly failed to stop and led police on a chase through three counties before troopers blew out his tires by placing spike strips in the road, forcing him to stop.
During the chase, Rose called 911 and told a dispatcher, “They’re trying to kill me,” according to a recording of the call released by Ross County authorities.
“Right now, I have police officers following me for a long time and I am trying to figure out why they have their guns pulled out,” Rose said in the 911 call. “I am just a truck driver. I was about to comply with them, but they all had their guns drawn out. There are like 20 police cars behind me. And I don’t feel safe.”
Circleville Mayor Donald McIlroy told ABC News on Monday that Speakman, the K-9 officer, was put on paid administrative leave last Thursday and his dog was put in a kennel.
McIlroy said the city’s five-member use of force review board, made up of community residents, is investigating the incident and is expected to send its report to him by the end of this week or early next week. He said that once he gets the report, “we’ll make a determination where we’ll go forward.”
Asked by ABC News if he was aware of any disciplinary action taken against Speakman in the past, McIlroy said, “Yes.” He directed ABC News to the city’s human resources department to file a public records request, but the file has not yet been released.
Efforts by ABC News to reach Rose and Speakman for comment have not been successful.
Tom Austin, executive director of the Ohio Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, said in a statement released Wednesday following the announcement of Speakman’s firing that the union’s senior lawyer Joseph Hegedus has filed an official grievance with the city of Circleville contending the officer was terminated “without just cause.”
In the grievance, Hegedus wrote that the officer’s firing is “contrary to mandatory principles of progressive discipline” and is a violation of the union’s collective bargaining agreement. The grievance asked that Speakman’s termination be rescinded and that he be reimbursed for “wages, seniority and benefits lost.”
Hegedus also asked that Speakman’s termination be expunged from his personnel records.
Despite the firing of Speakman, the central Ohio Black Lives Matter organization said it is moving forward with a protest at noon on Saturday outside the Circleville Police headquarters. In a statement Wednesday to ABC News, the BLM group said more than 1,100 people plan to participate in the protest.
The BLM group is also calling for the dog that attacked Rose to be retired, asking for Circleville Police Chief Shawn Baer to resign or be fired and that all charges against Rose be dropped. The organization is also asking that race sensitivity training be provided to all Circleville police officers and that the police department’s budget be cut by 50%. Baer could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
“In the wake of the termination of former officer Ryan Speakman from the Circleville Police Department, our resolve for justice has only grown stronger,” the group said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
The BLM group said it is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the incident, adding, “We firmly believe that (an) indictment is necessary.”
“The protest will continue to send a powerful message demanding transparency, accountability and criminal charges for any wrongdoings,” the group said.
(UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa.) — A search for a 9-month-old boy who was washed away in a Pennsylvania flash flood 12 days ago with his mother and 2-year-old sister has been suspended after authorities said Wednesday they “exhausted” all attempts to locate the child’s remains.
The Upper Makefield Police Department said the search for the baby, Conrad Sheils, has ended after a massive effort to find him — involving hundreds of search-and-rescue workers — was unsuccessful.
“With broken hearts, we regretfully announce that the active search for Conrad has concluded,” the police department said in a statement Wednesday afternoon after notifying Conrad’s family.
Conrad was swept away in a deluge that hit Bucks County on July 15. His mother, 32-year-old Katie Seley, and his sister, 2-year-old Matilda “Mattie” Sheils, were also washed away in the flood waters and drowned, officials said.
Matilda’s body was recovered from the Delaware River on Friday about 30 miles from where she was swept away in the flood waters, officials said. Seley’s remains were found a day after the tragedy unfolded, according to police.
The children and their mother went missing when they and their family were caught in the flash flood while driving on Route 532 to a barbecue near Upper Makefield Township, authorities said. More than 7 inches of rain fell within 45 minutes, causing a creek to spill its banks and generating a “wall of water” that took drivers on Route 532, also known as Washington Crossing Road, by surprise, officials said.
Seley died after she grabbed Mattie and Conrad and tried to escape their vehicle, but ended up being swept away in the violent weather event, officials said.
The children’s father, Jim Sheils, and grandmother grabbed the couple’s 4-year-old son, and escaped the car, officials said. They were all found alive.
The family is from Charlestown, South Carolina, and were visiting relatives in Bucks County when they were caught in the deadly storm, police said.
Eleven vehicles were washed away in the deluge, one found 1.5 miles from where it was swept into the creek that feeds into the Delaware River, officials said.
Four other people were killed in the Bucks County flooding. They were identified by the Bucks County Coroner’s Office as Enzo Depiero, 78, and Linda Depiero, 74, both of Newtown Township, Pennsylvania; Susan Barnhardt, 53, of Titusville, New Jersey; and Yuko Love, 64, of Newtown Township.
The coroner’s office said all of the victims died from drowning.
News that the search for Conrad has been suspended came just days after community residents and relatives of those killed held a candlelight vigil Sunday night at the 9/11 Memorial Garden of Reflection in Yardley, Pennsylvania. Dahlia Galindez, the grandmother of Mattie and Conrad and Seley’s mother, spoke at the vigil.
“I’m a lifelong learner and I never thought I would have to learn how to live through a tragedy like this,” Galindez said.
Once she got out of the car, Galindez said, “One minute it was inches deep, a minute later it was overhead”
“As I got into the water, I was pulled under. I was eventually able to hold onto a tree and I think that was my only injuries, miraculously enough,” Galindez said. “I have a few bruises and a few scraps. I guess I get to stay here for a while. I kind of wanted to be with Katie and the children.”
Mattie and Conrad’s uncle, Paul Sheils, also spoke at the vigil, praising the firefighters and rescue crews who searched for Seley and her children.
“This was not just another day at the office for these brave men and women. Many of the rescuers we visited had tears in their eyes,” Paul Sheils said. “They were all treating the search as if they were looking for their own children and it showed.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced a rule that will require airlines to make lavatories on new single-aisle planes large enough for two people to enter in a move to make bathrooms more accessible.
“Traveling can be stressful enough without worrying about being able to access a restroom; yet today, millions of wheelchair users are forced to choose between dehydrating themselves before boarding a plane or avoiding air travel altogether,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a press release announcing the rule.
The rule was authorized through the Air Carrier Access Act, and it specifies that the lavatories will need to be large enough passengers with disabilities and their attendants to enter and maneuver within the space.
In twin-aisle aircraft, accessible lavatories have been required since 1990. Yet as the range and fuel efficiency of single-aisle aircraft have increased, these planes now take longer flights. That can leave passengers with disabilities with no way to use the bathroom for hours on end.
John Morris, the founder of WheelchairTravel.org, is a triple amputee who travels frequently. Next week, he’s flying from Boston to Los Angeles on a plane without an accessible lavatory.
“Denying someone the ability to go to the bathroom is certainly a form of torture that has been used by rogue individuals in human history,” Morris said. “I just don’t think that that should be the case on an airplane.”
Commercial aircraft have a lifespan of decades. That means that years into the future, without retrofitting the aircraft, disabled travelers will still encounter inaccessible lavatories — a problem Morris himself has encountered. He recounted a trip he took in 2016 from Seattle to Tokyo on a wide-body airplane. Halfway over the Pacific, Morris, who said that airlines are opaque about sharing accessibility information before passengers book flights, discovered the aircraft he was on had been delivered before the accessible lavatory rule went into effect in 1990. There was no bathroom he could use.
“We need to ensure that people have the ability to go to the bathroom when they need to, without significant barriers being in place between them and carrying out that bodily function that is something that every human being needs to do,” said Morris.
Passengers won’t see these changes anytime soon, since the requirement increasing the lavatory size applies to aircraft ordered 10 years after the rule goes into effect.
“We’ve got to wait and that’s not great — but I’m going to balance this a little bit and say 10 years is not a long time in aviation,” said Chris Wood, the founder of the advocacy organization Flying Disabled. “In my heart, I wanted at least maybe three or five years for this to start to happen.”
(NEW YORK) — More than a third of the United States is on alert for hot temperatures amid a deadly heat wave that has plagued the country for weeks.
The National Weather Service has issued heat alerts that are in effect Wednesday morning for 120 million Americans across 27 states, from California to Massachusetts.
The weather forecast for Wednesday shows temperatures heating up particularly in the middle of the country, an area that’s had a relatively seasonal summer so far. By the afternoon, temperatures are expected to be near, at or above 100 degrees in cities like Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Manhattan, Kansas.
Heat index values — a measure of how hot it really feels when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature — are forecast to be in the 100s throughout the week from Kansas City, Missouri, to Washington, D.C.
The heat is expected to stretch into the Northeast later this week, with temperatures peaking on Friday. New York City could see its first heat wave of the season with high temperatures in the 90s on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A heat alert will go into effect there on Thursday. Heat index values could range from 100 to 112 degrees in the greater Interstate 95 travel corridor.
The latest forecast shows the heat will start to slowly push back south over the weekend and through much of next week. The Gulf Coast will feel the scorching temperatures, while the North and Northeast cool back down. Even the Southwest may see an end to the record heat streaks.
Arizona’s capital is on a record stretch of 26 consecutive days with temperatures at or above 110 degrees. Overnight temperatures in Phoenix have also not dropped below 90 degrees for at least 16 days. The city hit 119 degrees on Tuesday, breaking a daily record of 116 degrees set in 2018.
Arizona’s Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, has had a total of 25 confirmed heat-associated deaths so far this year. Another 249 deaths are currently under investigation as potentially heat-related, according to data released Wednesday by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Tucson, Arizona, has been at or above 100 degrees for a record 40 days in a row. The city’s previous record of 39 straight days was set in 2013. The city also hit 112 degrees on Tuesday, breaking a daily record of 110 degrees set in 2018.
El Paso, Texas, has been on a record-smashing stretch of 40 consecutive days with temperatures at or above 100 degrees. This is expected to continue this week and may finally come to an end over the weekend. The city’s previous record of 23 consecutive days was set in 1994.
Miami, Florida, has had a heat index high of 100 degrees for a record 45 days in a row, well past the previous record of 32 days set in 2020. The wider Miami-Dade County has been under heat Advisories and excessive heat warnings for a record-smashing 22 days. The previous record was just three days. South Florida, as a whole, is on pace to have its hottest July on record.
Meanwhile, a severe storm system is expected to hit the southern Great Lakes region on Wednesday before taking aim at the Northeast on Thursday.
The weather forecast for Wednesday shows a severe threat of damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes from Chicago, Illinois, to Cleveland, Ohio, including the cities of Detroit, Michigan, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The storm system is expected to enter the Detroit area after 4 p.m. ET before reaching Cleveland after 7 p.m. ET.
That severe threat is forecast to shift over to the Northeast on Thursday, from Washington, D.C., to Portland, Maine. The storm system is expected to enter the area sometime in the afternoon and evening.
(NEW YORK) — Jessica Meise, a Colorado woman who was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend, was found alive Wednesday and transported to a local hospital, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Meise’s condition is unknown at this time, authorities said.
Meise, 43, had been missing since Tuesday after she was forcibly abducted by her ex, 43-year-old Lance Foster, authorities said.
Foster was arrested by West Metro SWAT and is currently in police custody, the sheriff’s office said.
Witnesses told police that Meise was seen being forcibly kidnapped and taken in an unknown direction on Interstate 70, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Arapahoe sheriff’s deputies believe Foster had been stalking Meise prior to her kidnapping.
The Arapahoe sheriff’s office had issued a “be on the lookout” alert and multiple agencies were assisting in the search, trying to locate the pair.
Police said they believed that Meise was in danger.
(NEW YORK) — A crane caught fire and partially collapsed off a high-rise building in midtown Manhattan during Wednesday morning’s commute, littering the street with debris, according to officials.
Eleven people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including two firefighters, officials said.
One woman told ABC News the crane struck her apartment window and the glass shattered in her face.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams stressed at a news conference that the accident, which unfolded around 7:35 a.m., could have been much worse if it occurred later in the morning.
“We were extremely, extremely lucky,” he said.
The building, which is under construction, is a 45-story structure at 550 10th Avenue, according to the Department of Buildings. The crane hit a building across the street at 555 10th Avenue.
The crane operator was moving 16 tons of concrete when the operator saw the fire started and tried to extinguish it, officials said. The fire heated the crane’s cable, causing the collapse, officials said.
Monadnock Construction, the general contractor on the project, said in a statement that their workers are in stable condition.
The crane operator was able to evacuate safely, officials said.
The fire department said the situation was under control by 11:44 a.m. and the Department of Buildings said the “tower crane and impacted buildings were found to be structurally stable.”
The preliminary investigation suggests the fire was likely caused by a hydraulic fluid leak, according to officials briefed on the situation. The probe is ongoing.
Following this morning’s tower crane collapse in Midtown Manhattan, DOB inspectors & engineers remain on scene and their investigation is ongoing.
The tower crane and impacted buildings were found to be structurally stable, and thankfully only minor injuries have been reported. pic.twitter.com/Rlrf5urmYf
(WILMINGTON, N.C.) — The three Marines who were found dead inside a vehicle in North Carolina died from carbon monoxide poisoning, the Pender County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Autopsies were performed Wednesday and the medical examiner determined that all three deaths are consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning, authorities said.
The Marine Corps has identified the three Marines who were found dead inside a vehicle in North Carolina over the weekend.
Camp Lejeune identified the men as Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Merax C. Dockery, 23, from Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Ivan R. Garcia, 23, from Naples, Florida, and Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Tanner J. Kaltenberg, 19, from Madison, Wisconsin.
The Pender County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Sunday morning from Dockery’s mother, who said her son was stationed at Camp Lejeune and did not arrive on his flight in Oklahoma the night before, officials said in a press release.
His mother told a 911 dispatcher that she spoke to a supervisor in Dockery’s unit and that a sergeant was on their way to the location where Dockery’s phone was possibly located.
The Pender County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a call at 9 a.m. on Sunday to look into a report of a missing person.
During their investigation authorities discovered the bodies of the three men inside a car at a Speedway convenience store in Hampstead, North Carolina, Pender County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release on Tuesday.
“My deepest sympathy and condolences are extended to the family, friends and colleagues of Lance Cpl. Kaltenberg, Lance Cpl. Dockery and Lance Cpl. Garcia,” Brig. Gen. Michael E. McWilliams, commanding general of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, said in a press release. “Our focus is providing the necessary resources and support to those impacted by their tragic loss as they navigate this extremely difficult time.”
Garcia entered active duty in July 2019, Dockery in June 2020 and Kaltenberg in May 2021, according to the Marine Corps.
“I am saddened by the timeless and tragic death of these three young men, who served our country honorably,” Pender County Sheriff Alan W. Cutler said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with their families and colleagues during this time.”
The Pender County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident and did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for additional information.
Sgt. Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Office said the department had received a missing person report for one of the three Marines, but he declined to share details. No drugs were found in the vehicle, he said.
“We do not suspect anything as far as foul play in that matter,” Sgt. Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Office told The Associated Press.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — More than a week after a 39-year-old woman vanished in North Carolina, her family is desperate for answers.
Allisha Watts was last seen on July 16 leaving a house in Charlotte, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
According to Watts’ sister, Stephanie Johnson, Watts was last seen with her boyfriend of one year.
The couple met when Watts, who lives in Moore County, North Carolina, would drive to Charlotte to visit her cousin, Gwendolyn Utley, who is the boyfriend’s neighbor, Johnson said. Now, every other Friday, Watts drives to Charlotte for the weekend, her sister said.
Johnson said Utley last saw Watts on the afternoon of July 16. The cousins planned to go to Charlotte’s Bojangles Coliseum for a comedy show, Johnson said, and when Watts didn’t show up, Utley reported her missing.
On July 18, Watts’ 2023 black Mercedes Benz GLC 300 was found in Anson County, North Carolina, police said. Anson County is located southeast of Charlotte.
Watts’ purse was found in her car and her phone was recovered at her boyfriend’s house, according to Johnson. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police would not confirm.
Johnson described her sister, who works in the mental health field, as a “hard working, independent, reliable, resourceful, loving, kind, attentive person.”
“She advocates for people’s mental health, and right now she needs somebody to advocate for her,” Johnson told ABC News on Tuesday.
“She’s out there somewhere,” Johnson said. “Every day that passes by, we are less likely to bring her home safe.”
James Johnson, CEO of the Racial Justice Network, at a news conference Wednesday criticized the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, accusing the department of not putting enough work into the case and not sharing their information with Watts’ family.
Dearest Price, the Charlotte regional director of the Racial Justice Network, insisted that Police Chief Johnny Jennings meet with them.
“We need to see you today. We need to sit at the table,” Price said in an impassioned statement. “We need to know what’s going on.”
The police declined to comment to ABC News about the news conference, deferring to their Twitter statement on Wednesday that said they’re “following all leads and using all available resources to locate Ms. Watts. Detectives have been in communication with immediate family members of Ms. Watts and their designee to provide updates and request relevant information.”
Police ask anyone with information to call 911. James Johnson said people can also call the Racial Justice Network at 800-694-1981.
“Somebody knows something, and we want them to come forward,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden is appearing in a Delaware courthouse Wednesday to formally agree to the plea deal he negotiated last month with federal prosecutors, in what could bring a close to the Justice Department’s yearslong probe into the younger Biden’s business affairs.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jul 26, 4:08 PM EDT
McCarthy, more lawmakers weigh in on Hunter Biden
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reacted Wednesday to Hunter Biden’s plea dealing being deferred for the time being.
He reiterated his allegation that the president’s son has received different treatment from prosecutors, which the Department of Justice has pushed back on.
“There shouldn’t be two justice systems in America, and hopefully today that’s what is being done,” McCarthy said.
“So now is the window to show that we have equal justice, and that’s the real question … is it going to be fair as you treat every other American? That will be the question,” McCarthy said as he left the House floor.
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said Wednesday that he hoped Hunter Biden will “acknowledge his responsibility for the proceeding” and that the outcome will be “fair and just.”
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Lauren Peller
Jul 26, 4:01 PM EDT
White House comments on deferred plea deal
At the top of her briefing on Wednesday afternoon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented on “the news in Delaware today,” as she called it, emphasizing that “Hunter Biden is a private citizen … this was a personal matter for him,” and saying the case was handled by a prosecutor appointed by former President Trump.
“As we have said, the president, the first lady, they love their son and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” Jean-Pierre said. “This case was handled independently, as all of you know, by the Justice Department.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Jul 26, 2:39 PM EDT
Judge said she wouldn’t ‘rubber-stamp’ the deal
Judge Noreika scrutinized nearly every facet of the plea deal before deciding to defer the agreement so the parties could reconvene at a later date.
The hearing was punctuated by multiple recesses, during which lawyers scrambled to negotiate their way out of the deal’s divergent perspectives.
A visibly agitated Hunter Biden spent much of the time shifting between sitting and standing, summoning members of his legal team to discuss developments. Across the room, U.S. Attorney David Weiss appeared to share his demeanor.
Toward the end of the hearing, Noreika herself lashed out, repeatedly saying she felt as though she was being asked to “rubber-stamp” the deal.
In the end, she did not.
Jul 26, 1:47 PM EDT
Judge defers plea deal
U.S. Judge Maryellen Noreika deferred the plea deal negotiated by Hunter Biden’s attorneys and federal prosecutors after a contentious hearing, taking issue with the structure of the arrangement and lamenting on multiple occasions the deal’s “form over substance.”
In the interim, Hunter Biden entered a not guilty plea. Noreika requested additional briefings from the parties in the coming weeks before determining next steps.
“I’m not going to say I’m going to accept the agreement, I’m not going to say I’ll deny it,” she said.
The three-hour hearing featured several turbulent interludes. Noreika’s line of questioning about an immunity agreement exposed fissures between the two parties, with the discussion culminating in prosecutors threatening to bring foreign agent charges, prompting Chris Clark, an attorney for Biden, to say: “As far as I’m concerned, the plea agreement is null and void.”
The parties moved past those disagreements, with both sides stressing their desire to move forward. But Noreika asked the parties to consult and brief her in the coming weeks.
In the understatement of the day, Noreika acknowledged that her probing threw “a little bit of a curveball” into the proceeding.
Jul 26, 1:36 PM EDT
Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to charges after deal falls apart
In a dramatic scene in court, the plea deal struck by Hunter Biden fell apart amid the judge’s concerns over the terms of the agreement.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika had raised concerns about the parties linking the tax plea agreement to the deal on the gun charge, and over whether or not a provision in the deal would grant Hunter Biden blanket immunity, meaning that the government would not prosecute him further.
Jul 26, 11:59 AM EDT
Plea deal is in jeopardy of falling apart
A deal between federal prosecutors and Hunter Biden is in jeopardy of falling apart.
There is now a brief recess as the parties try to come to terms.
Jul 26, 10:25 AM EDT
Hunter Biden arrives at courthouse
Hunter Biden has arrived at the federal court in Delaware for this morning’s hearing.
The younger Biden and his legal team arrived shortly before 9:30 a.m.
Jul 26, 7:20 AM EDT
Hunter Biden’s legal team threatened with sanctions
Less than 24 hours before Hunter Biden was expected in federal court, the judge overseeing his case threatened his legal team with sanctions after she found that a staffer might have “misrepresented her identity” in communications with the court clerk.
The bizarre saga played out Tuesday on the court’s public docket, where Ted Kittila, an attorney for the GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee, shared Hunter Biden’s taxpayer information as part of an effort to intervene in the case.
Chris Clark, an attorney for Hunter Biden, asked Kittila to seal the information, and when Kittila refused, a member of the firm representing Hunter Biden reached out to the court seeking to have it removed from the docket.
Judge Maryellen Noreika wrote late Tuesday that, having “discussed the matter with the relevant individuals,” Jessica Bengels, an attorney with Clark’s firm, “represented that she worked with Mr. Kittila and requested the amicus materials be taken down.”
“It appears that the caller misrepresented her identity and who she worked for in an attempt to improperly convince the Clerk’s Office to remove the amicus materials from the docket,” Noreika wrote.
Noreika asked Hunter Biden’s legal team to explain why she should not level sanctions against them. In response, Matthew Salerno, an attorney for Biden, called it “an unfortunate and unintentional miscommunication,” dispelling Noreika’s suggestion that it might have been a nefarious ploy to have a docket entry suppressed.
“We have no idea how the misunderstanding occurred,” wrote Salerno. “But our understanding is there was no misrepresentation.”
Jul 26, 6:56 AM EDT
Republicans urge judge to block Hunter Biden plea deal
Republicans embarked on a long shot bid in the hours leading up to Hunter Biden’s expected arrival in court to press Judge Maryellen Noreika to consider denying his plea agreement until the court reviews testimony from a pair of IRS whistleblowers.
Those whistleblowers, according to an attorney for the GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee in court documents filed Tuesday, have said the younger Biden “appears to have benefitted from political interference which calls into question the propriety of the investigation.”
Experts said it would be exceedingly rare for the judge to deny a plea deal negotiated in good faith. But Theodore Kittila, the attorney for the House panel, wrote that the judge should “evaluate” the IRS whistleblowers’ remarks before ruling, claiming that “plea negotiations were tainted by improper conduct at various levels of government.”
The judge did not indicate whether she would consider Republicans’ arguments at Wednesday’s hearing.
Republican lawmakers have for weeks publicly decried Hunter Biden’s plea agreement as a “sweetheart deal” and called on the judge to either delay Wednesday’s hearing or reject it outright. Experts have told ABC News that both scenarios are unlikely.
Jul 26, 6:52 AM EDT
Judge will weigh Hunter Biden’s plea deal with DOJ
A federal judge will have the opportunity to either reject or accept the terms of the plea deal Hunter Biden struck with the Justice Department last month.
Judge Maryellen Noreika will preside over the younger Biden’s initial court appearance in the case, set to take place in a Delaware courtroom.
According to the plea agreement, Hunter Biden has agreed to acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend probation, meaning he will likely avoid prison time.
He will also agree to a pretrial diversion on a separate gun charge, with the charge being dropped if he adheres to certain terms.
“I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life,” Christopher Clark, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said in a statement last month. “He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.”
