Judge assigned Hunter Biden plea was nominated by Trump but also donated to Hillary, Romney, McCain
The Delaware federal judge who scuttled first son Hunter Biden’s plea deal Wednesday was nominated to the bench by former President Donald Trump — but was backed by the First State’s two Democratic senators and has donated to both parties.
US District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected a bid from the 53-year-old’s defense team for blanket immunity as part of a probation-only plea deal on tax and gun charges after federal prosecutors said they could still slap the first son with further charges — including counts related to illegal foreign lobbying.
Hunter Biden agreed on June 20 to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willf🐟ul failure to pay taxes and to enter a diversion program for a felony fedཧeral firearms charge.
Delaware US Attorney David Weiss charged the first son with failure to pay at least $100,000 in taxes on more than $1.5 million ꦡin income he earned in both 2017 and 2018. The diversion program was agreed to after Hunter lied about his crack cocaine use on a gun purchase form in 2018.
The tax charges carried a maximum two-year probation sentence, and the gun charges had a maximum sentence of 10 year🧸s in federal prison.
Hunter would have had to remain sober, submit to drug tests, avoid commit♏ting further crimes and agree to never own a firearm again as part of the diversion agreement.
Both parties agreed to revise the plea agreement and brief Noreika over the next 30 days before returnin🌠g t🍬o court Aug. 25.
๊Between 2005 and 2014, Noreika donated $15,500 to candidates across the political spectrum, per .
Those donations include $5,200 to Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) 2014 Senate campaign, $5,000 to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, $2,300 to John McCain’s presidential run in 2008, and $1,000 to former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in 2006.
On the Democratic side, Noreika donated $1,000 to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and $1,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2009, according to the FEC.
At the time of the donations, Noreika was an attorney at the Wilmington firm of Morris, Nichols, Arsht &am🐟p; Tunnell.
She was nominated for a federal judgeship ♎by Trump in December 2017 and confirmed in August 2018.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who backed Noreika’s nomination along with Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), is a co-chair of President Biden’s re-election campaign.
Coons and Carper gave the Pittsburgh native a “blue slip” indicating their support, paving the way for her to clear the Senate nomination process within a matter of months.
“This is great news for Delaware’s federal courts as we become one step closer to having a filled bench,” Coons after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Noreika’s nomination in March 2018, her as a “talented, capable” jurist.
Carper, who is set to retire after the 2024 election, similarly commended her as a “highly-respected, sought-after” attorney who “displayed a vast knowledge of the law and a thorough understanding of the courts.”
Top Republicans such as Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) have decried the agreement as a “slap on the wrist.”
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has also floated the prospect of impeaching Attorney General Merrick Garland over allegations of J💎ustice Department interference in the case.