Judge: Hunter Biden’s legal team impersonated Republican, concealed evidence; sanctions possible.

Judge⁤ Accuses Hunter Biden’s Legal Team of Impersonation

A ⁢judge accused Hunter⁤ Biden’s legal team of impersonating a staffer for a Republican lawyer in order to get a filing removed from the public docket.

U.S.​ District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who ​is overseeing the ‍case surrounding Biden’s tax ​crimes,‌ said that a member of his legal ‌team “misrepresented … who‌ she worked for” to get evidence removed from the ​docket. Noreika threatened to place sanctions on the lawyers.

Noreika said the staffer falsely claimed to work for the lawyers employed by Republican representative ​Jason Smith (Mo.), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. Smith had submitted an amicus filing in the case,⁣ which was ⁢removed from ‍the ⁤docket‌ after a staffer for Biden’s lawyers called the court.

Biden’s team said‌ the issue “appears to stem from an ⁤unfortunate and unintentional miscommunication ‌between a staff member‍ at ⁣our firm and employees of the Court,” ⁤CNN reported.

The judge said the staffer called to have ​the item removed,​ claiming⁣ to work⁤ for the Republican ⁣representative.

“It‌ appears that the caller misrepresented her identity and who she worked for in an attempt to improperly convince the ⁣Clerk’s Office to remove ‍the amicus materials from the docket,” the judge said.

Jessica⁣ Bengels, a staffer for the Biden‍ law firm, said she called the court but denied pretending to work for Smith’s lawyer Ted Kittila.

“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,” Bengels said in an affidavit to the judge.

Biden’s Plea Deal and Impeachment⁢ Inquiry

Biden is‍ expected to plead ⁤guilty to misdemeanor tax crimes on Wednesday, avoiding jail time, though‍ Noreika could reject the⁢ deal he reached​ with the Justice Department.

House​ Speaker Kevin⁣ McCarthy (R., ​Calif.) said this week that the investigations into the Biden family’s foreign business ⁢dealings are “rising⁣ to the level of impeachment‍ inquiry.”