WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden's legal team was angry and dejected late Wednesday after a plea deal to help the president's son avoid prison blew up in a chaotic, three-hour court hearing.

Why it matters: Judge Maryellen Noreika's rejection of Biden's plea deal on tax charges ensures that legal issues will continue to shadow Biden just as Republicans on Capitol Hill are turning up the heat in investigating him and his father.

• Wednesday's hearing also revealed a disconnect between Biden's lawyers and prosecutors over the terms of the plea deal — and even subtle divisions among those on Biden's side.

Zoom in: Hours after the hearing, Biden's team was still fuming, suggesting that Noreika seemed intent on not letting the plea agreement go forward after deliberately questioning lawyers on both sides about the terms of the deal.

• But the judge's questioning did reveal a disagreement over whether the agreement on the tax charges was linked to a gun charge against Biden. Prosecutors said it wasn't; Biden's team thought it was — and they repeatedly argued about it in open court.
• Noreika frustrated those involved in the case when, after two hours of questioning, she said she wasn't sure whether the structure of the proposed plea deal was constitutional.
• One member of Biden's team ruefully compared Noreika to Judge Lance Ito, who presided over the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1995 and was widely criticized for letting it become chaotic.
• Others were quick to note that Noreika was...

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