A judge has allowed "Die Hard" director John McTiernan to withdraw his guilty plea in a case that involved the wiretapping of Hollywood celebrities and had left him with a four-month prison sentence.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer on Monday granted a request from McTiernan to reverse his plea to a charge of lying to the FBI about his association with convicted private investigator Anthony Pellicano.
McTiernan was not in court for the hearing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Saunders said a new indictment against McTiernan would be forthcoming. He didn't elaborate.
Fischer also ordered McTiernan's $100,000 fine refunded and set a March 23 hearing for attorneys to further discuss the case.
McTiernan, 58, argued he had inadequate legal representation and was jet-lagged and under the influence of alcohol when he made the plea in April 2006.
McTiernan, whose movie credits also include "Predator," said in his plea agreement that he paid Pellicano to conduct an illegal wiretap of film producer Charles Roven after the two worked on the 2002 film "Rollerball," and that he lied to an FBI agent about the wiretapping.
The director was free on bail while he appealed. In October, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated McTiernan's four-month sentence and ruled that he was entitled to a hearing on whether he could withdraw his plea.
Pellicano was convicted of bugging phones of celebrities and others to get information for his clients. He was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.