Maryellen Noreika, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Delaware, shut down Hunter Biden’s plan for wide-ranging immunity from future prosecutions and, as a result, his initial plea deal imploded.
Former President Donald Trump nominated Noreika in 2017 with support from Delaware’s Democratic senators. She was confirmed in 2018 by a senate voice vote. Noreika previously served as a partner at law firm Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell in Wilmington, Delaware.
The transcript from Hunter Biden’s court appearance yesterday is truly stunning. Judge Noreika unravels the hidden immunity provision in Biden’s diversion agreement and gets the defendant to admit his guilty plea was tied to the diversion agreement @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/4DAy73Ugrp
— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) July 27, 2023
Noreika donated to Democratic and Republican campaigns when she was in the private sector. She gave $1,000 to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Democratic presidential campaign and $2,300 to Republican John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show. Noreika later donated to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign and Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton’s 2014 senate campaign, according to FEC records.
At Hunter Biden’s court appearance Wednesday, Noreika contested a provision in Biden’s diversion agreement that would have given him protection from federal prosecution for crimes related to his two tax misdemeanors and felony gun charge, according to the court transcript. Biden’s initial guilty plea lays out payments from Chinese, Ukrainian and Romanian business interests in 2017, in addition to describing his charges. (RELATED: Judge Tells Hunter Biden To Get A Job And Lay Off Drugs To Stay Out Of Jail)
“And sir, are you relying on the promises made in the Diversion Agreement in connection with your agreement to plead guilty?” Noreika asked Biden, according to the transcript.
“Yes, Your Honor,” he replied.
“And if the Diversion Agreement were not valid or unenforceable for any reason, would you enter into the Memorandum of Plea Agreement?” she followed up.
“No, Your Honor,” Biden responded, the transcript shows.
“But he would not agree, just so I understand, sir, you would not agree to that plea agreement if you didn’t get some immunity from other charges, is that right?” Noreika later asked. (RELATED: Here’s The Exact Moment Hunter Biden’s Hidden Immunity Deal Imploded)
“Speaking for my client, that’s correct, your Honor,” Biden attorney Christopher Clark said.
“All right. So there are references to foreign companies, for example, in the facts section. Could the government bring a charge under the Foreign Agents Registration Act?” Noreika pressed Justice Department prosecutor Leo Wise.
“Yes,” Wise responded, according to the transcript. As a result of Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) charges not being protected by Biden’s immunity provision, the younger Biden’s guilty plea fell apart. He ended up pleading not guilty to the charges because of the disagreement.
Noreika previously dismissed part of a defamation suit filed by Delaware laptop repairman John Paul Mac Isaac against Hunter Biden and Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, Forbes reported. The younger Biden is countersuing Mac Isaac for defamation because Mac Isaac disseminated information from the laptop Hunter Biden left at his repair shop, according to the New York Post.
Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, also sent a letter to the Department of Justice where he appeared to admit Hunter Biden’s laptop data is real and suggested Mac Isaac be subject to a criminal investigation. Lowell did not acknowledge that the physical laptop belonged to Biden. The contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop have been verified by the Daily Caller News Foundation, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CBS News after Twitter censored the New York Post for reporting on the laptop.