Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal Implodes

The plea deal between federal prosecutors and Hunter Biden has always looked fishy, and on Wednesday it was exposed in court. The legal fireworks make it harder to ignore fundamental questions about the integrity of the five-year investigation.

Federal Judge Maryellen Noreika didn’t reject the wrist-slap plea bargain outright, but she asked prosecutors and defense attorneys to clarify the terms of the deal on gun and tax charges. It says something that the deal collapsed under the most basic questions.

The June 20 plea never made sense except as a way to disguise and bury the political embarrassment of Hunter’s business shenanigans. The two misdemeanor tax charges and the deferred felony gun count could have been brought in the first few months of the investigation. Judge Noreika zeroed in on the diversion agreement on the gun count, which spared Mr. Biden jail time and would mean he would not be charged if he met certain conditions.