Hunter Biden's lawyers, DOJ called out for 'failure' in plea bargain fiasco: Only judge 'did her job properly'

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CNN legal analyst says judge in Hunter Biden case only one in the courtroom 'doing her job properly'

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Thursday that Judge Maryellen Noreika was the only person in the courtroom on Wednesday that was "doing her job properly."

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Thursday that judge Maryellen Noreika was the only person in the courtroom that "did her job properly" after Hunter Biden's plea deal fell apart on Wednesday. 

On Thursday's "CNN This Morning," co-host Erica Hill asked Honig about how both the prosecution and Hunter Biden's lawyers had such a "different view" of what the plea agreement said. 

"It was a failure by the DOJ, it was a failure by Hunter Biden's lawyers to communicate and make sure that they had the agreement set," Honig said, noting, "that plea agreement essentially says that Hunter Biden will not be further prosecuted for anything laid out in the statement of facts."

He added, "If you look at that document, there is a statement of facts. It’s about four pages and it lays out Hunter Biden’s business history making millions of dollars by the way, from Chinese companies and Ukrainian companies and his drug use history." 

CNN's Elie Honig says the Judge Maryellen Noreika was the only one doing her job properly on Wednesday.  (Screenshot/CNN/CNNThisMorning)

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Honig said judge Noreika was the only one in the courtroom who "did her job properly."

"I think the judge is the only person in the courtroom yesterday who did her job properly," he began. "When the judge was trying to explore this disconnect, what is he covered for, what is he not. The judge said interestingly, she said, ‘would he be covered for FARA, which is the Foreign Agents Registration Act.’ Which says, if you are lobbying the U.S. Government on behalf of a foreign government you have to register with DOJ. Hunter Biden had not registered. And DOJ here said, he’s not covered for that, and Hunter Biden’s team went, whoa, that’s a problem, and that is crucial. Is he still chargeable for this under their agreement or not, and when the judge identified that, she said, you all need to go back to the drawing board." 

CNN's Poppy Harlow asked him why Biden's lawyers wouldn't think that might be possible and cited David Weiss' letter noting that their investigation was "ongoing." 

"I think they were hoping he would be covered. Clearly they never had a direct conversation about this with prosecutors, which is not good practice by defense. A plea agreement is an agreement. It’s a contract," Honig said. 

He added the judge needed to do her job to make sure there wouldn't be a dispute "down the line" about what the plea agreement means.

DELAWARE, UNITED STATES - JULY 26: Hunter Biden, son of United States President Joe Biden, arrives in J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building to appear in court in Delaware, United States on July 26, 2023. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, as part of plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge.

Noreika did not accept the plea agreement, questioning the constitutionality — specifically the diversion clause and the immunity Hunter Biden would receive.

The original plea agreement seemed to break down after Noreika asked Weiss if FARA charges could be brought against Biden.

The Biden White House has called Hunter Biden's legal woes a "personal matter." (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Weiss said yes, and Hunter's lawyers disagreed. 

The prosecution then said there was "no deal." 

"As far as I’m concerned, the plea deal is null and void," Biden's lawyer countered. 

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Fox News' Brooke Singman and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.