Hunter Biden, the president’s troubled son who apparently greatly wronged Republicans somehow, has reached a deal with federal prosecutors where he’ll plead guilty to two minor tax crimes and admit to the facts of a gun charge. In exchange, the feds won’t even LOCK HIM UP.
According to court papers, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of two years probation for the misdemeanor tax charges of failure to pay in 2017 and 2018. The combined tax liability is $1.2 million over those years. (Thanks, Obamacare!) The gun charge involves Biden knowingly possessing a Colt Cobra 38SPL while using a controlled substance. Prosecutors wrote in an otherwise polite letter, “The defendant has agreed to enter a Pretrial Diversion Agreement with respect to the firearm Information.” This means that Biden is not technically pleading guilty to the gun charge. The pretrial diversion agreement is an option for nonviolent offenders with drug problems. It’s not specifically a get-out-of-jail free card for presidents’ sons.
The gun charge dates back to 2018 when Hunter Biden admits he was regularly using crack cocaine, but he denied using drugs when filling out paperwork to buy a gun. That exposed him to a charge of making a false statement on an official document, as well as illegal gun possession. However, he only had the gun for less than two weeks, because his former girlfriend threw it out, presumably along with all his old comic books.
If Hunter Biden stays out of trouble during the probation period, the gun charge will be removed from his record. We can imagine that this won’t satisfy all the Republicans screaming “BIDEN CRIME FAMILY!” in all-caps.
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The Washington Post writes, “Hunter Biden’s proposed plea deal will likely become grist for the 2024 presidential race, as the nation’s two main parties once again debate the influence of politics on law enforcement, and the effects of law-enforcement investigations on political campaigns.”
CNN also claimed that Biden’s plea deal will have “immediate reverberations in the 2024 election.” It’s unclear why CNN is operating as a communications arm of the Republican National Committee.
Hunter Biden isn’t on the presidential ballot next year. That’s Joe Biden, who has not smoked crack and lied about it on a gun application. However, Biden’s likely Republican opponent, Donald Trump, is the one who has been indicted for all the crimes, including alarming violations of the Espionage Act. Even if Hunter Biden were running for president, I’d still vote for him over Trump because he hasn’t stolen classified documents and actively obstructed justice. Oh, and he’s also not fascist scum.
Republicans insist, without evidence, that Joe Biden is directly connected to his son’s legal problems, which they claim are far more serious than what Hunter’s actually facing. Here is a quick Whitman’s sampler of stupid.
Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Into Hunter’s Penis Committee, tweeted, “Hunter Biden’s getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery.”
Comer claimed Hunter Biden received a “sweetheart plea deal,” a term that Sen. Marsha Blackburn repeated because she is not known for her original material. She said it’s “no coincidence that less than a week after [Donald] Trump is arraigned by the DOJ, Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to a sweetheart deal with no jail time.” No, I think it is a coincidence, or more specifically, two unrelated sequential events.
Matt Schlapp, who has his own issues, tweeted, “A sitting President just orchestrated a sweetheart deal for his son in order to boost his re-election. All election interference.” Joe Biden didn’t negotiate this plea deal. That was US Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, who was appointed by Donald Trump.
Sen. JD Vance said, “Any other American would have the book thrown at them.” (That’s a lie.) “The president’s son gets a slap on the wrist. This is exhibit 1,402 for why I’m holding Biden’s DOJ nominees. We have a two-tiered justice system in our country. It’s a disgrace.” No, Senator, you’re the disgrace.
Perhaps the most absurd response comes courtesy of Rep. Lance Gooden, who tweeted, “DOJ brought 3 week charges against Hunter to try to trick the American public into thinking they aren’t politically biased. But Hunter will see zero days in jail even thought he has committed many crimes.” (The oh-so-many crimes remain unproven.) “Trump faces 450 years over a paperwork dispute.”
Stealing classified documents and showing them off to random people is not a “paperwork dispute” no matter how hard the MAGA cult tries to soft-pedal Trump’s treason crimes. Actual voters don’t buy it, either. Stop making the “Biden Crime Family” happen. It’s never going to happen.
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