Hunter Biden judge scolds lawyers for first son and House committee after documents dispute
The Delaware federal judge who blew up Hunter Biden’s plea agreement this week was in a no-nonsense mood again Friday, ripping lawyers for both the first son and a Republican-controlled House committee following a dispute over whether a Hunter ally had used deception to get documents wrongly pulled from public view.
In a terse, two-page order, US District Judge Maryellen Noreika ordered anyone with an interest in the case to raise “issues or inquiries” with her directly, rather than the court clerk’s office.
The sideshow began Tuesday, when Theodore Kittila, chief counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, claimed a former colleague of Hunter Biden attorney Chris Clark had told the clerk’s office she was from Kittila’s firm and needed the committee’s amicus brief removed from the public docket.
The panel’s filing included testimony by two IRS whistleblowers who sat for transcribed interviews at which they alleged high-level interference in the Hunter Biden probe.
Noreika gave Hunter’s attorneys until 9 p.m. Tuesday to “show cause as to why sanctions should not be considered for misrepresentations to the Court.”
Minutes before the deadline, the former Clark colleague, Jessica Bengels, submitted an affidavit in which she blamed a miscommunication among the clerks for the removal of the Ways and Means filing.
“I am completely confident that I never indicated that I was calling from Mr. Kittila’s firm or that I worked with him in any way,” she said.
“The only mention of his name was when [the clerk] had asked me if the filings had been entered by Mr. Kittila’s firm and I answered that I believed that to be the case.”
Following Wednesday’s chaotic hearing, Clark and colleague Richard Jones filed a motion to seal the committee’s filing, saying it contained “the type of grand jury materials and taxpayer information that is otherwise protected from disclosure.”
“Here, not only is such disclosure prohibited as a matter of law, but in a case such as this, where there is an active criminal case, the publishing of such grand jury and taxpayer information will only further seriously prejudice the Defendant,” the attorneys added.
“…[Hunter Biden’s] Confidential Information is protected from disclosure by law. No prior compelled or leaked disclosure of that information warrants the further dissemination on this public docket.”
In her Friday order, Noreika noted her “concerns about apparent misrepresentations” by the first son’s legal team before rounding on Kittila for “needlessly” including a court official’s name and contact information in his complaint from Tuesday.
“The Clerk’s Office for this Court is staffed by many hardworking and dedicated employees,” the judge wrote.
“They are often the public face of this Court and must address many different, and often difficult, issues on any given day. Their jobs are not always easy, but they do these jobs well. They have earned my trust and my respect. I will not tolerate or countenance them being ill-used, disrespected or lied to.”
In a separate order, Noreika gave the Ways and Means Committee until noon Monday to respond to Clark and Jones’ motion to seal the amicus brief.
