The lead attorney in the federal case against Hunter Biden asked on Tuesday to step down from his position in anticipation that he would serve as a witness in a potential trial that will focus on the now-failed plea deal he helped author between Biden and U.S. Attorney David Weiss.

Chris Clark cited in a motion to withdraw from the case a "witness-advocate" rule in Delaware that prevented him from staying on as an attorney.

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"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," the motion read.

It noted Clark's departure as attorney would not burden Biden as the case proceeds. His exit comes after longtime Democratic lawyer Abbe Lowell joined the defense team on Monday.

Lowell has worked in Washington for years as a top Democratic attorney, including serving as defense for President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial. Lowell has been aiding Biden on the side for months now in matters related to his laptop, which was found to contain a trove of evidence related to Biden's foreign business dealings and was subpoenaed by the FBI in 2019 when the federal investigation into Biden first began.

The shifts in Biden's representation come after his case came to a head on Friday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that day that he decided to appoint Weiss as special counsel in the case after Weiss requested to have the authority earlier that week. At the same time as Garland's announcement, Weiss's prosecutors filed a court document stating they were "at an impasse" with Biden's defense team over terms of a plea deal.

The deal, which many Republicans in Congress denounced as a "sweetheart" bargain, involved Biden pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and entering into a pretrial diversion agreement to avoid a felony gun charge.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was widely expected to approve the deal, unexpectedly raised concerns during a hearing about it in July. She called the deal "unusual" and said she was worried about the immunity it would provide Biden from being charged with crimes in the future, including violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The surprising turn of events at the plea hearing resulted in Biden pleading not guilty to the charges, which means that the case could be heading for trial in Washington, D.C., or California, where the alleged crimes occurred.

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Biden's attorneys recently argued that the pretrial diversion agreement for the gun charge, which they and Weiss both signed off on, is "valid and binding."

Prosecutors are required to respond to that argument by Tuesday afternoon.