The Department of Justice has acknowledged it could hold up a probation-only plea deal offered to first son Hunter Biden for tax and gun crimes, recent court records show, following Republican backlash and claims that Attorney General Merrick Garland lied to Congress about the conduct of the investigation.

A Justice Department trial attorney said in a June 29 phone call that he would tell Delaware US Attorney David Weiss to think about pushing back Hunter’s scheduled July 26 plea hearing, allowing more time for the lead prosecutor to respond to records requests about the probe, according to a filing that same day in DC federal court.

The DOJ attorney, Jason Lynch, allegedly made the promise to Samuel Dewey, a lawyer for the conservative Heritage Foundation, which is suing the Justice Department for access to Weiss’ internal communications about the case.

[They *could*, but I wonder if they *will*. It should be pushed off for more transparency and honesty about the conduct of the DoJ, Weiss, and Garland. But I wonder if the DoJ may be starting to worry about what the judge in the case might do if they try to submit this deal as-is under current circumstances. Judge Maryellen Norelka might delay a ruling herself, or worse yet, refuse to accept it at all. The Heritage Foundation has a FOIA demand for documents relating to the deal, and a court has ruled that the DoJ has to answer it by Monday. Stay tuned — and I’d bet Norelka is staying tuned too. — Ed]