The judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s criminal case slammed his defense attorneys for attempting to deceive the court with their plea agreement.
Judge Maryellen Noreika threatened to punish the legal team after one of Hunter’s attorneys pretended to be counsel for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) in an attempt to remove information submitted by Mr. Smith’s attorney.
“The Clerk’s Office for this Court is staffed by many hardworking and dedicated employees,” Noreika 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,” she added.
Due to these actions, the judge now forbids any contact with the court clerk’s office. All inquiries must go directly to her instead.
“Any such issues and inquiries shall be submitted in writing and placed on the docket,” Noreika stated.
“To the extent that the rare instance arises in which a writing is not practicable, a phone call may be made to my Chambers by an attorney who represents one of the parties in these cases or an interested third party,” she added.
Hunter Biden’s legal troubles began when he pleaded not guilty to two federal tax crimes. His plea deal with prosecutors fell apart, which would have seen him pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to tax evasion for 2017 and 2018. The prosecutors recommended probation as part of the deal.
The agreement also included a pretrial diversion intended to clear a felony firearm offense from Biden’s record. However, Judge Noreika was concerned about the broadness of the immunity offered in the diversion agreement, so she deferred action on the plea deal.
In light of these incidents, the judge now has little trust in Hunter Biden’s defense team. She issued strict restrictions on contact with the court clerk’s office to avoid further problems.
“The Court has discussed the matter with the relevant individuals in the Clerk’s Office and has been informed that the caller, Ms. Jessica Bengels, represented that she worked with Mr. Kittila and requested the amicus materials be taken down because they contained sensitive grand jury, taxpayer, and social security information,” Noreika wrote in an order.
The caller misrepresented her identity and who she worked for in an attempt to improperly convince the clerk’s office to remove the amicus materials from the docket,” she continued.
