been publicly released yet. i think people have reported what the prosecutors are asking for. i think you have to wait until the court proceeding happens to know, but, you know, i think the judge is going to do what s fair, and i think what s fair is, you know, my client gets on with his life. let s get to the courthouse now, and nbc news investigations correspondent, tom winter who was inside during the proceedings today. also with us, former u.s. attorney and msnbc legal analyst, joyce vance. tom, how did this happen? reporter: well, it happened because what is normally a routine hearing and normally a routine plea agreement process, and prosecutors seeking more of a fast tracked opening, if you will, where a judge would sign off on the agreement, provided she was able to make sure the defendant in this case, hunter biden understood the terms of the agreement, understood the scope of the agreement, and understood his rights, and the rights he is waiving as a result of t
His brother in 2015. that was clearly at the root of hunter biden s sobriety issues during the time period that was under scrutiny here, and so as we ve continued to hear from the white house about this issue, they focused just on that, on the personal and the president s number one focus being on the health and well being of his son. we heard that today from karine jean-pierre. let s take a listen to her. 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. this case was handled independently as all of you know by the justice department under the leadership of a prosecutor appointed bymer president, president trump. so for anything further, as you know, and we have been very consistent from here, i d refer you to the department of justice and to hunter s representatives who is his legal team obviously who can address any of your
Bring in nbc news white house correspondent mike memoli. this is the first time the doj has brought charges against a son or daughter of a sitting u.s. president. politically and personally, you have to assume president biden was eager to put all of this behind him. any word from the white house on these developments? reporter: i ll start with the politics. clearly there had been indications that the white house wanted to move on, and put in the spotlight the president wants to run on for reelection, and as karine jean-pierre put it, are more interested in attacking the president s family than working to improve the lives of american families. this certainly complicates that by keeping the legal cloud around him as it relates to this potential justice department, u.s. attorney investigation in delaware ongoing. now, the personal is very different. president biden and his son, they have been through the trauma of losing president biden, his son, hunter biden,
You. i m in for katy tur today. hunter biden left the courthouse in delaware after entering a not guilty plea. that s not what we expected the president s son to do before he entered court this morning. it appears the deal he struck with prosecutors is now in doubt. it started when the judge presiding over the case asked two questions, whether the deal shielded hunter biden from potential charges down the road, and whether he was still under investigation for actions in foreign countries. prosecutors and hunter biden s defense lawyers couldn t agree on the scope of that agreement. and unless the two sides can reach a resolution, a criminal trial, the first ever for a child of a sitting president could proceed. this was always possible, but as hunter biden s lawyer told katy tur last month, they hoped this would all be in the rear view mirror by now. prosecutors are not asking for jail time. are you concerned that the judge here might freelance? i think, you know, look, there are do