Hunter Biden plea deal falls apart when Trump-appointed judge refuses to be a 'rubber stamp'

When Hunter Biden entered a federal courtroom on Wednesday, July 26, he was expected to plead guilty to two charges of failing to pay taxes. President Joe Biden's son had agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors, who promised to drop a gun-related charge in exchange for a "guilty" plea on the tax matters.

But the deal fell apart — at least temporarily — when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika raised questions about it, saying she felt she was being asked to act as a "rubber stamp." Noreika told Hunter Biden, "Without me saying I'll agree to the plea agreement, how do you plead?" And he pled "not guilty" to all charges.

NBC News journalists Phil McCausland and Tom Winter report, however, that the younger Biden "is expected to reverse his plea if a new agreement or the new information eventually satisfies Noreika."

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McCausland and Winter explain, "Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, pressed both sides about the terms of the agreement struck with U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, another Trump appointee, whom President Joe Biden kept on to oversee the case. She expressed clear concern about how two separate deals — one regarding the unpaid taxes and the other about a gun possession charge — potentially intersected, as well as her purview over them."

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Read NBC News' full report at this link.