(GSA photo of Boggs building)
On Wednesday, Wilmington will be in the national spotlight when the media descend on the city for a federal court hearing.
Hunter Biden is expected to accept a plea deal with no jail time on federal income tax charges. He was also charged with having a gun while being addicted to drugs.
A combined Initial Appearance and Plea Hearing is slated for 10 a.m. before US. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika.
In keeping with federal court rules, no cameras, computers, recording devices or even smartwatches will be allowed in the courtroom at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in downtown Wilmington. If they fit, the items are put in locked pouches in the individual’s possession. Security officers will keep oversized items, like laptops, until the hearing ends.
Numbers needed to enter the courtroom will be handed on a first-come, first-served basis, with only two members of each news outlet allowed. Those media members not getting a pass can view a video stream in an overflow room.
The U.S. District Attorney for Delaware announced that no press release will be issued following the hearing, with reporters to rely on statements and rulings at the court session
The president’s son has also been under intense scrutiny from a U.S House committee, with Republicans and designated “whistleblowers” airing allegations over using his family’s influence in seeking business deals overseas.
The hearings have also touched on the reported contents from Hunter Biden’s lap that were allegedly dropped off at a now-defunct computer repair shop in Wilmington. The owner of that shop and Hunter Biden have traded lawsuits.
Republicans have claimed that the case investigation was tainted by Delaware U.S. District Attorney David Weiss being under pressure from the Biden Administration regarding the probe and the plea deal.
Weiss, appointed by former President Trump and retained in his post due to the ongoing investigation of the president’s son, has denied the claims. Weiss has worked as a prosecutor and held posts as a corporate lawyer and an executive of a Wilmington accounting and management consulting firm.
