Below is my column in the Hill on how the Hunter Biden plea deal is one of the most surgical and skillful examples of a “controlled demolition” in the history of political scandals. While the public has raised rightful concerns over a two-tiered system of justice, you have to admire the skill of the political and media elite in dropping this scandal without collateral damage to themselves.
Here is the column:
About a year ago, I wrote a column describing what I saw as evidence of a “controlled demolition” in progress in the Hunter Biden scandal. The media and political establishment had reached the point where they could no longer bury the influence peddling scandal by claiming that Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation.
That worked for defusing the scandal in 2020, but now another election was fast approaching, which called for a “controlled demolition” to protect political and media figures from any public backlash. I wrote: “Like those buildings dropped between other structures, it takes precision and, most importantly, cooperation to pull off. Specifically, this controlled demolition will require the perfect timing of the media, Democratic politicians, and most importantly, the Justice Department.”
The key was to get Hunter to plead to a couple of minor offenses with little or no jail time. The White House and the media could then declare the scandal over and insist that there is nothing more to discuss.
Of course, there is a great deal more to discuss. For critics, the plea agreement looks like rushing to the scene of a bank robbery and giving the getaway driver a ticket for double parking.
The House Oversight Committee has documented potentially millions in financial transfers from foreign sources to Biden family members. The labyrinth of LLC corporations and accounts used for the transfers seems designed to evade detection. Indeed, allegations from a trusted FBI source referenced payments that were being made to the Bidens without directly involving “the big guy.” That was the name allegedly used for President Biden after associates insisted that no one should use his name.
Attorney General Merrick Garland took the most important step in pulling off the controlled demolition by steadfastly refusing to appoint a special counsel. Such an appointment would allow the release of a report that would detail the alleged corrupt practices of the Biden family and the knowledge and involvement of the president. It is the essential framing used in demolition to avoid broad blast effects.
The second key is the charge. In buildings, you have to use just enough explosives to take out supports to collapse the structure in on itself. In scandals, it comes down to the criminal charges. You need an assortment of minor charges to suggest equal justice without anything large enough to cause collateral damage to others. It also has to be minor enough to get Hunter to take one for the team.
The Hunter plea is the perfect charge load for the scandal. He will plead to a couple of misdemeanors on tax violations without addressing how he actually made this money. The gun charge looks like a serious threat for incarceration, but it is little more than a phantom felony count under which Hunter will be allowed to go into a diversion program and ultimately negate the violation.
The problem for those seeking to drop this scandal in a confined fashion is that the House GOP is now investigating the influence-peddling scandal. The Democrats’ loss of the House in 2022 was a huge blow to the Biden team and, when the new Congress was sworn in, it was essential to enter a plea deal before the release of more serious evidence. In May, I called it a “capstone plea” to make it more difficult for the Justice Department to be pressured into stronger action.
The House will push ahead, but the media has already imposed another blackout on coverage. The challenge for the White House is that this plea could come at a tactical cost. If this is the end of the Hunter Biden investigation, the Justice Department and FBI will have a more difficult time withholding evidence on the basis of an “ongoing investigation.” That is why it is a bit suspicious to see U.S. Attorney David Weiss state that that there is an “ongoing investigation.”
The Justice Department will not say whether this is an investigation continuing in conjunction with the prosecution or whether there is a mandate to investigate the influence peddling scandal.
The House will also be able to inquire how the Justice Department investigated the influence peddling charges, if at all. House investigators have said that there is no indication that some of their evidence was previously acquired by the Justice Department. In the meantime, IRS whistleblowers have alleged that Hunter Biden was given preferential treatment in their investigation and that the Justice Department cut them off from further work on the case.
Chris Clark, Biden’s attorney, insisted that “with the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the Unites States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved.”
If true, the demolition of this case will constitute one of the most impressive scandal managements in American history. Mark Loizeaux, president and owner of Phoenix, Maryland-based Controlled Demolition Inc., once said that the success of the company is due to their effort to “identify the sensitivity of each of the neighbors to the unavoidable byproducts.” In this case, the “neighbors” are the White House, the media and a host of others that want this scandal taken down without implicating their earlier dismissals and denials. Just a couple of muffled thuds, a puff of smoke and an empty space.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
@seanmdavis
“BREAKING: According to IRS whistleblowers, DOJ tipped off Hunter Biden about a search of his storage unit, prohibited investigators from executing a warrant on Joe Biden’s guest house, and repeatedly prohibited charges from being brought against Hunter Biden.”
“Investigators recovered WhatsApp messages from Hunter Biden to Chinese businessman Henry Zhao, explicitly threatening that Joe Biden, who was said to be in the room, would destroy him if the Bidens were not paid immediately.”
“If even a shadow of these whistleblower allegations are true, Joe Biden cannot continue as president of the United States, and DOJ needs to be torn down, brick by brick. Quite possibly the biggest corruption scandal in American history.”
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/smith-testimony-of-irs-employees-reveals-biden-irs-doj-interfered-in-tax-investigation-of-hunter-biden-revealing-preferential-treatment-for-wealthy-and-politically-connected/
**and today Emerald Robinson is reporting that Speaker Kevin McCarthy is openly telling people that he doesn’t want to impeach Joe Biden**
WHY NOT SPEAKER MCCARTHY?
Bribery is specifically listed as impeachable high crime for a president serving in the hightest office in the country.
IMPEACH BIDEN NOW.
In case you missed it:
@TuckerCarlson
Ep. 5 As in most of the developing world, it’s safer to be the president’s son than his opponent.
Tucker Carlson · Twiitter.com · Jun 20, 2023
Twitter Video Link:
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1671220446044487682/vid/1920×1080/1UeVtOWpBewZz4Aj.mp4?tag=16
The only thing in my opinion that can save this country is the convention of states. There’s so much corruption back unless we make amendments to the constitution it’s not curable. Start with the 25th amendment you cannot have the cabinet of a president determining it’s capability to function. No matter how ski ranged or ill he is they will support him or her. The country has to be decentralized I believe which would involve allowing portions of the state to separate and either form their own state or more likely be able to join another state. While this is possible under the constitution now it is made so difficult has to be near impossible. That should be modified to make it easier. Of course then there’s the terrible problem of lobbying and the corruption of elections in no small part due to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. It would also be necessary to set some reasonable term limits. We have now devolved into a corporate plutocracy not a Republic that cannot be changed with a simple election.
In today’s Ameria, extreme leftists dominate the White House, half of Congress, large swaths of the judiciary, the DOJ, the FBI, every intelligence agency, every branch of the military, virtually every law school, and the mainstream media. It would be a headline-worthy event if all of these leftists had NOT been able to cobble together a corrupt and unconstitutional plea deal for the criminal son of our criminal president.
Here’s another apt metaphor, courtesy of Tucker Carlson:
The Justice Department just baptized Hunter Biden. A lifetime of sins washed away in an instant.
Regular, everyday Democrats are starting to witness the thugs at the top of the party attempt to shut down Bobby Kennedy. Kennedy has almost 20% support, nationwide, at this point and is very popular in Northern New England and Iowa. People in some towns are lining up around the block to hear him speak. But the news media ignore him. And the powers that be are refusing to hold debates.
The big losers are the rank and file American citizens and the citizens of the world. The institutions such as the Department of Justice, FBI and media were the envy of the world. Now, they are corrupt and their reputations have been severely damaged. This is not difficult to figure out. Ol’ Joe and his family have been gleaning millions of dollars from foreign companies and governments for years and living the good life. How is this possible on a government salary, even if one has a high ranking job. A competent IRS forensic tax auditor could make short work of following the money and comparing lifestyle to stated income. They have such comparative data to make these assessments.
This is no surprise that the good ol’ boys club is alive and well. The thousands if not millions of man hours and resources investigating the grifters in Washington could have been applied to solving actual problems. But, that would take people who are competent and have the best interests of the country in mind instead of plans of how to feather their nests.
Not to worry, the President has plans to build a railroad from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Shhhhh. Don’t say a word. Joe said by going off script, he might get in trouble. He ended a recent speech by saying, “GOD SAVE THE QUEEN…MAN.”
REPRISE
________
Guyventner says:
June 21, 2023 at 11:16 AM
In a fascist state, the leaders and their cronies don’t have to follow laws!
The USA is a Fascist State
______________________
George says:
June 21, 2023 at 11:37 AM
A fascist state that includes pervasive, anti-American, unconstitutional Central Planning, Control of the Means of Production (by unconstitutional regulation), Redistribution of Wealth and Social Engineering, and that adheres to the slogan: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
That sounds like communism.
The demise of the Democratic Party will not be gradual. For years, it will seem as if an authoritarian federal government combined with illegal immigration, violent crime, transgenderism for children, a two-tiered system of justice, one war after another, and expensive food, housing, and transportation is a winning strategy. Eventually, however, the day will arrive when America decides it has had enough.
Not to mention programs that encourage young men to abandon their children and the mothers of their children, underperforming schools, a collapsing infrastructure, and unsustainable budget deficits.
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
– Declaration of Independence, 1776
“”Hunter Biden gets a ‘get out of jail free card’ from the Deputy Attorney General,” Patel said on the Wednesday edition of the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “That’s the only person along with the AG who can waive the DOJ manual and guidelines on this, and they did just that.” ”
John Solomon Just the News https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/former-trump-adviser-kash-patel-calls-hunter-biden-plea-deal-get-out-jail
Chris Clark, Biden’s attorney, insisted that “with the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the Unites States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware . . .
So the prosecutor is controlled by the defendant’s father. Classic conflict of interest. The DoJ should be disqualified from the case, and a special counsel appointed. But how would that be constitutional? It would not be. Bottom line: corruption prevails without anything to check it.
Jonathan: Now this is a continuation of my earlier comment. I had to take a break for dinner. Where were we? Oh, yes, now if think Biden was the head of a “crime family”–which you allege and all your loyal followers on this blog dutifully repeat, why didn’t Biden take steps to take the heat off his son, Hunter? When Trump took office in 2016 he fired a lot of US attorneys because they were allegedly “pro-Dems”. Trump had a right to do that. Biden could have done the same thing. He knew David Weiss was a Trump appointee charged with investigating his son. So why didn’t Biden, as head of a “crime family”, simply fire Weiss and end the the investigation of Hunter? But Biden and AG Garland left Weiss in place because they didn’t want even the appearance of a conflict of intertest. Doesn’t look like what a “crime family” would do.
But now that the Hunter Biden investigation has been resolved by a Trump appointee you, James Comer and Jim Jordan are livid at Weiss. You and they are claiming there was a “sweetheart” deal to let Hunter off. That’s not true because Weiss couldn’t come up with any possible prosecutions except the tax and gun violations–minor misdemeanor offenses. That’s it.
But Comer sees villains every where. So he says: “I think the US attorney [David Weiss] will be invited to testify to some Committee, whether it be Judiciary or Weaponization or Oversight”. What “some Committee” will that be? And what is Weiss expected to say? In a letter earlier to Jim Jordan, dated June 7, Weiss told the non-lawyer Jordan, that his decisions to prosecute or are determined by DOJ policies and the law–not the political agenda of Jordan and that he, Weiss, would not participate in the evidence-free witch hunt of either Jordan or Comer. If Comer expects Weiss to violate his oath of office to prosecute Hunter Biden for mere speculative crimes they better find someone else. Fortunately, David Weiss is not John Durham.
So there you have it. Hunter will not be prosecuted by a Trump appointee and you, Jim Jordan and James Comer have egg on your faces. Going after Hunter Biden, a hapless guy who overdosed on drugs and alcohol, for the alleged sins of the father was always a fool’s errand! You best come up with a different theory to convince voters that Biden is not fit to be re-elected.
“[W]hy didn’t Biden take steps to take the heat off his son, Hunter?”
He did, in countless ways. Here’s just four:
Weiss was not granted special counsel status. Thus he did not have the authority or protections to investigate the well-documented bribery schemes.
The IRS team investigating Hunter’s tax evasions were removed from the case, because they complained about the political favoritism infecting their investigations.
The FBI putting the screws to social media to kill the laptop story.
“Intelligence” officers peddling propaganda to choke the American public with a toxic smokescreen.
It’s just that the Left chooses not to see the DOJ’s/FBI’s protection racket.
Dennis McIntyre is deranged. Really deranged, so that any kind of rehab is not possible. Remember, liberalism….esp the extreme radical liberalism of today…is a mental disease. JW Logan
Adam Schiff sees himself as a hero. His censure a red badge of courage. Had he been calculating enough to assure his protection under the Speech and Debate Clause, the House wouldn’t have had a prayer. Fortunately, his ego hoisted him by his own petard and he made the rounds of the networks with his yada yada. I trust that he will succeed in being raised to the Senate by the SHPOS’im in his district. Pro-Choice advocates are most accepting of abortions. .
Jonathan: Do you want to know who is the real “crime family”? To no one’s surprise it’s Donald Trump not the Biden family. Here’s my evidence. For months Trump has been preoccupied with Mark Meadows. The latter knows where all the bodies are buried and could sink the Don–not only over the Mar-a-Lago case but also about Jan. 6. The reporting is that Trump wants to know where Meadows is–he hasn’t been in communication with Trump for months. Meadows has already testified before Jack Smith’s grand jury and Trump is worried Meadows has “flipped” and might testify against him. A legitimate concern. So Trump has sent out his underlings to find Meadows and find out what he is up to. No luck. Trump’s people came back and told Trump: “Sorry, boss, but we can’t find Mark. We think he has ratted on you. He may even be in a witness protection program”.
Now Trump calling Meadows a “rat” is not surprising. In fact everyone who has testified before Smith’s grand jury is called the same thing–for “squealing” to the Feds. Sound familiar? Yep, right out of a 1950s organized crime TV series– “The Untouchables” starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness. But this time Donald Donald plays himself–the head of an organized criminal syndicate. Trump is perfect in the roll. He calls those that might testify against him as “rats” and “lowlifes” –and those that prosecute him as “mutants”, “Marxists and communists”. When someone calls federal prosecutors these names you know you are dealing with a Mafia boss, a crime family head who threatens and tried to intimidate those in law enforcement who try to hold him accountable.
So for those out there on this blog who think Trump has done nothing wrong–stay tuned. The latest episode of “The Untouchables”, starring Donald Trump and Jack smith as Eliot Ness, will be playing in a courtroom near you!
Is that for the Bee or the next Clown show ?
“Jack smith (sic) as” the junkyard dog who sicced the IRS on conservatives.
Now your statement’s accurate.
Although this is beyond compare, the lawlessness of the ruling class, the decay of our cities and all the drafts of foul odor permeating from the democrats must be confronted.
The uselessness of the RNC, Congress and the presidential candidates to not mount a campaign to counter the demon of Socialism is more concerning (we must protect our Country). The RNC sits on their collective butts crying foul. There should be a push on national media (Print/TV/Internet) showing the destruction the numskulls of the left are causing. Without a concerted effort by Republicans the dangers of a failed state increase.
Saving your resources for a better time closer to elections or some other reason, at this time in history, is asinine and folly! COUNTER THE INSANITY OF THE LEFT they must be defeated for the soul of our Nation.
I hope this means the end of your incessant posts about Hunter Biden, professor
You can never get enough Hunter.
Hunter is directly involved with the ability of a corrupt President and his family to obtain money based on foreign governments paying the Biden Crime Syndicate for their help or for the secrets our enemies wanted.
With that in mind, expect Hunter’s name to be at the forefront of many comments.
“I hope this means the end of your incessant posts about Hunter Biden, professor”
Thus the Left’s endgame from the folly of a “controlled demolition.”
These heinous attacks on our esteemed and sacred Two-Tier System of Justice cannot be tolerated. All those opposed to our esteemed and sacred Two-Tier System of Justice must identified, targeted, captured, and placed in relocation centers (aka internment camps) until such time as is necessary to determine what to do with them.
While the public has raised rightful concerns over a two-tiered system of justice, you have to admire the skill of the political and media elite in dropping this scandal without collateral damage to themselves.
There are four tiers of justice in the US:
Tier I – Justice for the masses
Tier II – Justice for wealthy and or politically connected persons
Tier III – Administrative Justice
Tier IV – National Security