Under a nine-count indictment brought by special counsel David Weiss in Los Angeles last week, Biden faces new and far more serious charges for the very same conduct that was the subject of a favorable plea agreement in July.
Sloppy lawyering on both sides resulted in an agreement that seemed to require the judge to decide whether to bring or dismiss the gun charges, a quintessentially executive function that could violate the separation of powers. She rightly balked, and the parties couldn't put the pieces back together.
The department is committed to the principle that like defendants should be treated alike. If a line prosecutor proposes to charge a crime either far more harshly or far more leniently than in previous cases, she had better have a compelling reason. The department's many-tiered supervisory structure is tasked with ensuring the consistency that is a hallmark of equal justice. Even a U.S. attorney - the position Weiss previously held under former President Trump and President Biden - may be overruled in a high-profile case.
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