Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday despite having a plea deal, which was heavily questioned by the federal judge when she pressed attorneys about whether the president's son would be protected from future charges.

The "sweetheart" deal involved Hunter Biden pleading guilty to two tax misdemeanor charges and entering a diversion program to avoid a felony gun charge. The plea deal was reached weeks ago, and U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika was expected to accept it.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEA DEAL COLLAPSES IN COURT AS JUDGE THROWS 'CURVEBALL'

Now, the legal fate of Hunter Biden is up in the air, which could either harm or benefit President Joe Biden depending on prosecutors' next steps.

Here are three takeaways from the first son's court hearing and what is expected to come next.

DOJ investigation of FARA violation played a role

Noreika raised concerns during the court hearing about the prospect of Hunter Biden facing future charges, including failing to register as a foreign agent.

The federal judge inquired whether the Justice Department will slap the younger Biden with a Foreign Agents Registration Act violation, which would call into question the "scope" of the original plea deal's immunity provisions.

Specifically, Noreika pointed out Hunter Biden's business connections to Ukrainian and Chinese energy companies. The first son took in millions of dollars in 2017 and 2018 from energy firm Burisma, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors indicated the department would not be halted from issuing a FARA violation and that the DOJ investigation is ongoing, showing that while the plea deal may have been soft on appearance, the first son may not be handled with such care for other alleged misconduct.

Hunter Biden's lawyers said that if the first son could receive future charges, the current plea agreement would be "null and void."

Following Noreika's challenges to the deal and revelations from prosecutors, Hunter Biden switched his plea to "not guilty," and she deferred the case, possibly for weeks.

What comes next? (We don't know.)

It is unclear what the next steps are. Both parties were given 30 days to come up with new terms for the case after Noreika deferred ruling on the matter.

Noreika instructed the president's son to look for a job, stay away from alcohol and drugs, not buy or possess a firearm, and submit to random drug tests in exchange for not being arrested while the investigation continues.

The judge's deferral does not mean the original plea deal between Hunter Biden and prosecutors is dead. However, the parties will have to address the judge's concerns and her ability to enforce a pretrial diversion agreement.

If approved, the deal would help Hunter Biden avoid prison time on the gun charge if he does not break any more laws and remains sober for two years.

The younger Biden can withdraw his "not guilty" plea if Noreika approves the deal. If so, he would plead guilty to the tax charges but avoid the felony charge.

Noreika also urged both parties to look for opportunities for a pretrial diversion agreement that does not require the court's involvement before charging the younger Biden with a crime in the instance that he violates the deal.

She said placing her in the decision-making role could be unconstitutional and make her a "gatekeeper" for criminal charges, instead of the Justice Department.

How does this affect Joe Biden?

There are split opinions on whether Hunter Biden's unraveled plea deal will harm or benefit the president.

Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff, said he could not imagine a worse scenario for Joe Biden. He said the plea deal was intended to bring the legal scandal to rest, but now that it had "blown up," it will show people it was a "special deal cut for the son of the president of the United States."

GOP congressional leaders also said this would not stop any investigations into the Biden family, furthering a headache for the Biden administration and associated departments under the microscope for the alleged "weaponization" of the federal government.

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However, the plea deal could also alleviate some criticism from Biden on behalf of Republicans and critics, who believed he was personally leaning on prosecutors and mobilizing the DOJ to take it easy on his son.

Now, Hunter Biden could face the full extent of the law and receive a possibly worse sentence than he originally was provided with.