Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, had his day in court yesterday to finalize his plea deal with federal prosecutors, but it didn’t go according to plan. U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, had concerns about the details of the deal struck between Hunter Biden’s legal team and U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s staff. Judge Noreika’s concerns included an agreement on a gun charge that was separate from the two misdemeanor charges for failure to pay his taxes, saying that the deal required her to determine if Hunter violated the terms of the agreement, a role she said doesn’t exist for judges.
After several recesses, both legal teams were given 30 days to submit briefs to Judge Noreika addressing her concerns. In the meantime, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty, but that could change if the deal is worked out. Republican lawmakers were quick to applaud the judge’s reluctance to “rubber stamp” the plea deal, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy saying, “There shouldn’t be two justice systems in America, and hopefully today that’s what is being done.”