Judge Orders Hunter Biden to Get a Job, Drink No Alcohol and Submit to Drug Testing

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance, Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The judge in the Hunter Biden tax evasion case ordered the defendant to abide by several stipulations now that he has pleaded not guilty following a derailed plea deal.

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich tweeted a scan of the judge’s order on Wednesday evening.

“As part of his release conditions, Judge Noreika ordered Hunter Biden to get a job, drink NO alcohol, not use or possess any drugs, and — if asked by pretrial services or officers —submit to testing and participate in substance abuse therapy.”

Hunter’s legal team and federal prosecutors are reportedly working on a “more limited” plea deal following Wednesday’s court appearance.

MSNBC’s Tom Winter explained why Hunter pleaded not guilty after it was clear the original plea was not accepted.

Bottom line here is that the judge now has to accept a plea because we had the initial appearance in the early part of this hearing and has to accept a plea from Hunter Biden today. She says she’s not willing to accept or reject this plea agreement, but she wants some more information before she makes a decision. As a result, she still has to take a plea today, and Hunter Biden and his attorneys, in a discussion that lasted maybe two seconds, did the thing that I think anybody in his position would do and say, “Well, I’m not going to plead guilty to anything. I don’t have an agreement anymore.” The judge hasn’t made that determination.

Earlier Wednesday, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tweeted, “According to the prosecutors and the defense, there is no Hunter Biden plea deal and things appear to have fallen apart during today’s hearing. Hunter Biden had been expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors.”

In addition to the two tax misdemeanors, the original plea deal allowed Hunter to enter a pre-trial diversion program related to a federal gun charge. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump called it a “sweetheart deal,” complaining that any private citizen would have received jail time.

Of the original deal, the White House said only, “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life.” Hunter had struggled with addiction issues, most notably to crack cocaine.