Hunter Biden's legal team have vowed to put President Joe Biden on the stand to testify as a witness for the defense of his son if he faces criminal charges.

Christopher Clark, Hunter's then-lead criminal defense attorney, made the claim in a 32-page letter to prosecutors in Oct 2022.

It came shortly after news leaked that the Justice Department had enough evidence to mount against his client to move forward with an indictment.

Clark warned that if the DOJ brought charges against Hunter relating to the alleged purchase of an illegal firearm while addicted to cocaine there would be no hesitation to put Biden on the stand.

'President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial,' Clark wrote in the letter obtained by Politico.

Hunter Biden's legal team have vowed to put President Joe Biden on the stand to testify as a witness for the defense of his son if he faces criminal charges. Biden has so far shown a united front with his family amid the legal woes

Hunter pleaded not guilty to federal tax and gun charges in late July after a previous plea agreement fell apart. Republicans had widely criticized the previous deal as far too lenient.

In the letter to the prosecution, Clark appeared to ward off the DOJ by floating the prospect of Biden's testimony.

He argued that moving forward with a criminal trial would force Biden to testify in conflict with his own Justice Department, something he said would result in a 'constitutional crisis.'

'This of all cases justifies neither the spectacle of a sitting President testifying at a criminal trial nor the potential for a resulting Constitutional crisis,' Clark wrote.

Christopher Clark, Hunter's then-lead criminal defense attorney, made the claim in a 32-page letter to prosecutors in Oct 2022

The plea was pulled by Judge Maryellen Noreika over concerns over ongoing probes into other potential offenses committed by Hunter.

Clark and his team often told prosecutors in the months prior, that they worried about the politics surrounding the case.

They raised concerns over Republican pressure and the potential to tarnish the DOJ's reputation, if Biden was to go up against his own Justice Department.

The plea agreement that was supposed to have wrapped up the long-running investigation of the first son largely unraveled during a contentious court hearing last month.

The plea agreement had been decried as a 'sweetheart deal' by Republicans who are pursuing their own congressional investigations into nearly every facet of Hunter's business dealings and the Justice Department's handling of the case.

The agreement had originally called for Hunter to plead guilty to failing to pay taxes on over $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018, and get probation rather than jail on the misdemeanor counts.

A separate agreement was to spare him prosecution on the felony crime of being a drug user in possession of a gun in 2018 if he kept out of trouble for two years.

After the plea deal collapsed earlier this month, Weiss' prosecutors asked Noreika to dismiss the charges in Delaware, so new charges could potentially be brought in California or Washington, DC.

Hunter Biden's lawyers agreed that the charges should be dismissed, because they were only brought in Delaware as part of the earlier plea agreement. Noreika approved the procedural request on Thursday.

Hunter's legal counsel raised concerns over Republican pressure and the potential to tarnish the DOJ's reputation - if Biden was to go up against his own Justice Department

The case comes against the backdrop of the Justice Department's indictments against former President Donald Trump, Joe Biden's chief rival in next year's election

The fate of a separate but related deal to resolve a felony gun possession charge is still unclear.

Prosecutors said the deal never went into effect but Hunter's legal counsel argue it is still valid and binding.

Noreika will need to decide the status of the deal calling prosecutors to drop the gun charges in two years if Hunter stayed out of legal trouble and passed drug tests.

Clark this week also asked a federal judge on for permission to withdraw from the case because he could now be called as a witness in future proceedings, it remains unclear whether the leaked document also played a part in the decision.

'Based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea agreement and diversion agreement will be contested, and Mr. Clark is a percipient witness to those issues,' Biden's lawyers said in the filing.

Since his motion to withdraw, Clark has been replaced by Abbe Lowell.

Attorney General Merrick Garland's surprise announcement last week of Weiss as special counsel raised fresh questions about the case ahead of the 2024 election.

Hunter's history of drug use and financial dealings have cast a dark cloud over his father's political career.

The case comes against the backdrop of the Justice Department's indictments against former President Donald Trump, Joe Biden's chief rival in next year's election.

Trump has been indicted and is awaiting trial in two separate cases brought by special prosecutor Jack Smith.

One is over Trump's refusal to turn over classified documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

The other involves charges of fraud and conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In Hunter's case, prosecutors have not made any accusations or charges against the President in probing the affairs of his son.

Joe Biden has made closeness to his family a key tenet of his public brand - and has repeatedly said he tries to speak to all of his kids and grandkids every day - the family are seen on Independence Day at the White House

Hunter is expected to stand trial in either Washington DC or Southern California

House Republicans have been trying to connect Hunter Biden's work to his father, but have not been able to produce evidence to show wrongdoing.

The Biden family have presented a united front amid Hunter's legal woes.

On July 26, the day Hunter was set to enter a plea deal, White House aides intentionally left space in the President's schedule so he could follow along with the court appearance.

Some worried about exposing Biden to the press while the hearing unfolded - he made no public appearances that day.

When the plea deal collapsed, aides became concerned that the President's primary support system - his wife - was traveling out of the country that day.

The President has previously stood by his son - even contradicting the terms of the original plea deal by claiming he did nothing wrong.

'My son has done nothing wrong,' Biden said in a May. 'I trust him. I have faith in him. And it impacts my presidency by making me feel proud of him.'

Joe Biden has made closeness to his family a key tenet of his public brand - and has repeatedly said he tries to speak to all of his kids and grandkids every day.

Hunter's 29-year-old daughter Naomi and her then-fiancé Peter Neal were living at the White House ahead of their nuptials on the property last year. It's not clear if they still reside there.

People close to the Biden family said they fear the ongoing scrutiny of Hunter, a recovering drug addict, may lead him to make 'damaging' decisions.

The first son has kept a relatively high profile even as the legal troubles pile up. He accompanied Biden on a trip to Ireland on Air Force 1 in April and attended state dinners at the White House.

Hunter is expected to stand trial in either Washington DC or Southern California.