Maryellen Norreika, the U.S. District Court judge assigned to Hunter Biden’s now defunct plea deal, is not happy. What would make her upset?
On Wednesday, she was presented with an absolute circus after the DOJ tried to pass off an unprecedented agreement whereby Hunter Biden would receive near global immunity. Instead of putting that in the plea deal itself, it was buried in a pre-trial diversion agreement for a gun charge.
After contacting the parties, it became clear that they had reached a deal in which immunity was maintained but not made public. In other words, the DOJ was willing to let Hunter Biden leave despite mounting evidence he violated FARA regulations. It was only when Judge Noreika asked for an explanation that the situation became explosive. Hunter Biden’s attorneys refused the watered-down deal that would have taken away his broad immunity.
Hunter Biden’s legal team says that the lawyer misrepresented herself.
Judge Noreika has now forbidden Hunter Biden’s team from contacting even the clerk. Additionally, she strongly defended the employees of the clerk’s office in terms that were not exactly ambiguous.
Following bizarre accusations of impersonation in Hunter Biden’s federal case, the federal court judge who oversees Hunter Biden’s federal case on Friday ordered that attorneys raise all issues with her chambers instead of the court clerk.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika warned of sanctions this week after accusing an attorney representing Biden’s law firm of misrepresenting Biden’s identity during a phone call to the clerk’s office.
Noreika, a Trump-appointed official, ordered on Friday that “any question or inquiry” about the case “should be brought to my attention and not the Clerk’s Office.”
“The Clerk’s Office for this Court is staffed by many hardworking and dedicated employees,” she wrote. “They are often the public face of this Court and must address many different, and often difficult, issues on any given day. Their jobs are not always easy, but they do these jobs well. They have earned my trust and my respect. I will not tolerate or countenance them being ill-used, disrespected, or lied to.”
I don’t know how you read that, but it sure sounds like to me that the judge isn’t appreciative of Hunter Biden’s team trying to throw the clerk under the bus. The mention of trusting the clerk and the rest of the employees stands out as purposeful. Certainly, there’s nothing confusing about her saying she “will not tolerate or countenance them being ill-used, disrespected or lied to.”
It’s no surprise that the judge is not buying the story Hunter Biden told. This will affect her future decisions. Both sides have tried to trick Judge Noreika to try and deceive her court about the plea bargain.
Given that, things are going to be even more interesting going forward. Shouting “Trump judge!” isn’t going to save the DOJ or Hunter Biden. They have to deal with her, and she has every right to give them no quarter at this point. Will the two sides show back up with another sweetheart deal? If they do, it probably won’t turn out very well.
