Senator seeks probe into member of Hunter Biden's legal team who may have lied about her identity

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Nebr.) called for a disciplinary inquiry into Hunter Biden's legal team after a judge accused one member of that team of having "misrepresented her identity and who she worked for in an attempt to improperly convince the Clerk's Office" to remove a document from the criminal case involving Hunter Biden just a day before the scheduled hearing on the plea deal agreed to by the Department of Justice and the president's son.

"I’ve heard from countless Americans who are concerned our justice system is being weaponized against President Biden’s political opponents while his son gets preferential treatment," Ricketts said to Fox News Digital in a statement. 

"There needs to be accountability for any misconduct or favoritism, including Hunter Biden’s own legal team," the statement continued. "Faith in our justice system has been gravely damaged by the Biden administration’s mishandling of recent cases and restoring its integrity is essential."

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika threatened sanctions against the first son's attorneys over the alleged "misrepresentation" incident.

Latham & Watkins staffer Jessica Bengels, a non-practicing attorney according to the law firm, may have also misrepresented who she was employed by, while attempting to persuade the Clerk's Office to remove a key document from the criminal tax case Hunter Biden was involved in. 

Ricketts called on the courts to launch an ethics investigation into Bengels and Hunter's lead lawyer Christopher Clark.

"While the exact details of this matter are uncertain, it appears an ethical line was crossed," Ricketts wrote in a letter Friday, according to Fox News. "Regardless of whether or not it was Ms. Bengels or another staff member at Latham & Watkins who called the clerk, the circumstances surrounding the incident demand an investigation.

"Furthermore, it was the responsibility of Biden’s lead lawyer, Christopher Clark, to ensure his team conducted themselves in a manner consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct," the letter continued. "It is the responsibility of courts, legislatures, and state bars to ensure that members of the profession adhere to the Rules of Professional Conduct."

In a letter sent to Judge Noreika by Matthew Salerno, a partner at Latham & Watkins, he wrote that it had been a misunderstanding by a Court employee and "to the extent there was a lack of clarity as to the purpose or intentions of our Lit Services Staff Member [Jessica Bengels] when she alerted the Court of our concerns, it was completely unintentional in nature and not in any way intended to persuade the Court or anyone else to take action that it would not otherwise take as a routine administrative matter."