Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Newsmax Thursday that U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika asked "exactly the right question" when she declined to approve Hunter Biden's plea deal on two misdemeanor tax charges and a separate gun charge.
"[There was] quite a bit of conversation that this could happen, leading up to it, and everyone being hopeful that they would turn down this deal on it, and then she did turn down this deal and say that this is not normal," Lankford said during an appearance on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "This is the Department of Justice actually bringing something that's atypical in this.
"Quite frankly, she asked exactly the right question: Does this deal, dealing with a weapons charge and a drug charge, actually also get him off of all the other charges as well?"
"Of course, the prosecution said no, and Hunter Biden's attorneys were shocked, like, We thought the deal got us away from everything. And so they suddenly walked away from the deal on it, because apparently there was a backroom deal to be able to say, We don't face charges for anything. We walked away from everything and just talk about this gun charge, and that's it," he continued, "and it was quite remarkable to be able to see it."
In a stunning development on Wednesday, Noreika turned what was expected to be a routine plea hearing into a three-hour event marked by whispered negotiations between attorneys and culminating in the younger Biden's plea deal being put on hold.
"I cannot accept the plea agreement today," Noreika said, requesting that the parties brief her on why she should accept the deal. She added that she did not want to "rubber-stamp" a plea deal.
While Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre continued to say that "nothing has changed" with the White House response to questions about Hunter Biden, Lankford said that "something has definitely changed on this."
"The White House is changing its story because more and more facts are actually coming out that are different than the story they've been telling," he said. "There's a big difference between saying, I was never in business with — I guess he's saying, I never signed a contract with my son on all the different business dealings that he did.
"It's becoming more and more public now that Hunter Biden had all these sweetheart deals overseas with foreign entities and then part of the deal was he was connecting them with his dad when his dad was vice president," he continued. "So you can say, I wasn't in business, but clearly he was part of the business. That's coming out more and more."