For years, Hunter Biden has managed to get away with a lot. The Department of Justice has done everything possible to stall and obstruct investigations to protect him and, by extension, his father — even letting the statute of limitations expire on some charges. A few months ago, he nearly got a sweetheart plea deal that would have resulted in a mere slap on the wrist and immunity from prosecution for the various crimes he's been accused of. Hunter Biden is the poster boy of the two-tiered justice system.
But strangely, things have gotten a bit different, and while I don't want to get ahead of myself, it's starting to feel like Hunter Biden's luck is starting to run out, and maybe — I can't stress the word "maybe" enough — he might just be held accountable for his criminal acts.
On Thursday, Hunter Biden was indicted on nine new federal charges, including felony tax evasion and six other related misdemeanors. According to reports, he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019. Keep in mind that his father was still vice president until January 20, 2017, and was allegedly selling influence to Hunter's foreign business partners during that time.
Hunter Biden had enough legal troubles before these new charges, for which he could face up to 17 years in prison. Meanwhile, the investigation continues, and the timing is, to put it mildly, terrible for Joe Biden.
Related: The Text of the Biden Impeachment Inquiry Resolution Has Been Released
Biden's political troubles are significant. Poll after poll shows that American voters, including those within his party, think he's too old and not mentally competent enough to be president. They are also hurting in this economy, and they blame Biden and his policies for that.
He also faces a pending vote by the House on opening up a formal impeachment inquiry, which of course ties into Hunter's tax issues. We know from the various investigations by the House GOP that Hunter Biden was selling access and influence to his father, that his father met with Hunter's business partners and participated in phone meetings with his foreign business associates, and that the Biden family created a vast network of shell companies to launder foreign payments.
It certainly looks like Hunter Biden may end up as collateral damage in an effort to protect Joe Biden.
"While Garland is still protecting President Biden from a Special Counsel, Hunter Biden is going to have to face these alleged crimes and corruption," writes Jonathan Turley. "Even the media is now admitting that he was influence peddling, though maintaining a final line of defense for the president. The last defense is that it was corrupt, but merely illusory because it did not actually influence Joe Biden."
"In other words, Hunter is rapidly becoming expendable," Turley added.
Meanwhile, Will Scarf, a lawyer for Donald Trump, candidate for attorney general in Missouri, and former federal prosecutor, read the indictment and concluded that not only is Hunter Biden in "a lot of trouble" but also that special counsel Weiss "appears to be playing this straight," among other things.
I have reviewed the new Hunter Biden indictment. As a former federal prosecutor, and someone who has followed the Hunter saga quite closely for years, here are my initial reactions:
— Will Scharf (@willscharf) December 8, 2023
(1) Hunter is in a lot of trouble.
With the sweetheart deal previously offered to him now off…
Again, I've become far less trustworthy of the Justice Department when Democrat administrations run it, but things are looking pretty bad for Hunter Biden right now.
