周三，特拉华州联邦法院上演了戏剧性的一幕随着检察官和乔·拜登总统的儿子达成认罪协议在法官对协议条款的担忧中，亨特·拜登崩溃了——暂时如此。
在三个小时的大部分时间里，美国地方法官玛丽·埃伦·诺瑞卡仔细审查了认罪协议的几乎每一个方面——引起了政府律师和辩护律师的耸肩、可听见的呼气、疯狂的目光和其他不满的表情。
诺瑞卡承认，她的调查给整个过程带来了“一点麻烦”。
亨特·拜登最初同意承认他没有为2017年和2018年的收入缴税。作为交换，检察官会建议缓刑，这意味着他可能会避免入狱。
亨特·拜登还会同意对一项单独的枪支指控进行审前分流，如果他遵守某些条款，这项指控就会被撤销。
在华盛顿，民主党人称赞拜登可能的恳求是问责的标志，而共和党人则将细节斥为“甜心交易”。
周三在法庭上，特朗普任命的诺瑞卡(Noreika)对各方将亨特·拜登的税收认罪协议与枪支指控的交易联系起来表示担忧，并对交易中的一项条款是否会给予亨特·拜登全面豁免表示担忧——这意味着政府不会在未来进行更广泛的起诉。
听证会后，诺瑞卡最终推迟了认罪协议，并在多个场合感叹该协议“形式重于实质”。
在几个场合，她对该协议提出异议，包括将其描述为“非典型”和“不直截了当”。
“我对该协议有所担忧，这就是我提出这些问题的原因，”诺瑞卡在听证会上说，他还说，“我正在努力履行尽职调查。”
即使双方达成了修改后的协议，法官似乎也对缓刑协议提出了质疑:“我无法预测我是否会同意这是一个合适的判决。”
在此期间，亨特·拜登提出了无罪抗辩。
2023年7月26日，乔·拜登总统的儿子亨特·拜登在特拉华州威尔明顿出庭。
胡里奥·科尔特斯/美联社
三个小时的听证会有几个混乱的插曲。Noreika关于可能的豁免协议的一系列问题暴露了两党之间的分歧，讨论最终导致检察官威胁要根据《外国代理人登记法》提出指控。
这促使拜登的律师克里斯·克拉克说:“就我而言，认罪协议是无效的”——这让法庭上的人倒吸一口凉气。
短暂的休会后，双方都抛开了那些分歧。克拉克默认了政府的立场，即亨特·拜登的任何豁免权将只包括政府调查的税收、枪支和毒品相关行为。
在接下来的30分钟里，双方陷入了一种谈判模式，在法庭中间与对方律师磋商，退到角落里讨论，然后重复。
有一次，明显疲惫不堪的克拉克张开双臂走向检察官，威胁要“撕毁它”，并看向特朗普任命的另一位美国司法部长魏红星。“有人想谈谈这个吗?”克拉克说。
“真的对大家都不好...过了一会儿，有人听到克拉克对检察官说。
这场争论似乎陷入了僵局。
在一次休庭期间，当双方等待法官返回法庭时，正在为亨特·拜登处理其他事务的经验丰富的辩护律师阿贝·洛威尔走近韦斯并作了自我介绍。“看来我现在要卷入这场争论了，”他说，然后和他握了握手，回到他在画廊的座位上。
与此同时，明显激动的亨特·拜登从坐着变成了站着，召集他的法律团队成员讨论进展，并向克拉克咨询。在房间的另一边，韦斯似乎也有亨特·拜登的风范。
在法官回来前不久，亨特·拜登对着他的朋友兼律师凯文·莫瑞斯在他耳边说的话轻声笑了起来。
Noreika最终要求在确定下一步措施之前，各方在未来几周提供更多的情况介绍。
“我不会说我会接受协议。我不会说我会否认，”她说。
听证会快结束时，她自己猛烈抨击了这种情况，反复说她觉得自己好像被要求“橡皮图章”这项交易。
最终，她没有。
'Rip it up': Inside the dramatic unraveling of Hunter Biden's plea deal
A dramatic scene unfolded in federal court in Delaware on Wednesdayas a plea deal struck between prosecutors and President Joe Biden's sonHunter Biden fell apart -- for now -- amid the judge's concerns over the terms of the agreement.
For the better part of three hours, U.S. District JudgeMaryellen Noreikascrutinized nearly every facet of the plea deal -- prompting shrugs, audible exhales, frantic glances and other expressions of discontent from the government's attorneys and defense counsel alike.
Noreika acknowledged that her probing threw "a little bit of a curveball" into the proceeding.
Hunter Biden had originally agreed to acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. In exchange, prosecutors would have recommended probation, meaning he would likely have avoided prison time.
Hunter Biden also would have agreed to a pretrial diversion on a separate gun charge, with the charge being dropped if he adhered to certain terms.
In Washington, Democrats have hailed Biden's possible plea as a sign of accountability while Republicans panned the details as a "sweetheart deal."
In court on Wednesday, Noreika, a Trump appointee, raised concerns about the parties linking Hunter Biden's tax plea agreement to the deal on the gun charge and over whether or not a provision in the deal would grant Hunter Biden blanket immunity -- meaning that the government would not prosecute more broadly going forward.
Noreika ultimately deferred the plea deal after the hearing, lamenting on multiple occasions the deal's "form over substance."
On several occasions, she took issue with the agreement, including describing it as "atypical" and "not straightforward."
"I have concerns about the agreement, and that's why I'm asking these questions," Noreika said during the hearing, also saying, "I'm trying to exercise due diligence."
Even if the two sides strike a revised deal, the judge appeared to raise questions about the probation agreement: "I can't predict if I will agree if that's an appropriate sentence or not."
In the interim, Hunter Biden entered a not-guilty plea.
The three-hour hearing featured several turbulent interludes. Noreika's line of questioning about the possible immunity agreement exposed fissures between the two parties, and the discussion culminated in prosecutors threatening to bring charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
That prompted Chris Clark, an attorney for Biden, to say: "As far as I'm concerned, the plea agreement is null and void" -- stirring the courtroom into audible gasps.
After a brief recess, the parties moved past those disagreements. Clark acquiesced to the government's position that any immunity of Hunter Biden would only include tax, firearm, and drug-related conduct investigated by the government.
For the next 30 minutes, the parties fell into a pattern of negotiation, consulting in the middle of the courtroom with opposing counsel, retreating to their corners to discuss, and repeating.
At one point, a visibly frazzled Clark approached prosecutors with arms stretched wide, threatening to "rip it up" and looking to U.S. Attorney David Weiss, another Trump appointee. "Does anyone want to talk about this?" Clark said.
"Really bad for everyone ... no good," Clark was overheard telling prosecutors moments later.
The dispute seemed to arrive at something of an impasse.
During one recess, as the parties awaited the judge's return to the bench, Abbe Lowell, a seasoned defense attorney who is handling other matters for Hunter Biden, approached Weiss and introduced himself. "Looks like I'm going to be involved in the fray now," he said, before shaking his hand and returning to his seat in the gallery.
Meanwhile, a visibly agitated Hunter Biden transitioned from sitting to standing, summoning various members of his legal team to discuss developments, and consulting with Clark. Across the room, Weiss appeared to share Hunter Biden's demeanor.
At one point, shortly before the judge returned, Hunter Biden chuckled at something his friend and attorney, Kevin Morris, whispered in his ear.
Noreika ultimately requested additional briefing from the parties in the coming weeks before determining next steps.
"I'm not going to say I'm going to accept the agreement. I'm not going to say I'll deny it," she said.
Toward the end of the hearing, she herself lashed out at the situation -- repeatedly saying she felt as though she was being asked to "rubber-stamp" the deal.
In the end, she did not.
