The second indictment of Hunter Biden brought nine new criminal charges and a host of problems for both him and his father. The indictment shatters past claims and denials related to the massive influence peddling operation by the Bidens. However, it is also a case study of the perils of legal gluttony.
Five months ago, exasperated Biden defense counsel Chris Clark snapped at federal prosecutors to “just rip it up” after a plea bargain hit a snag in a hearing before Judge Maryellen Noreika. They did and, for the first time, Hunter could be facing a real chance for jail time.
The six misdemeanor charges and three felonies carry a potential sentence of 17 years for alleged tax evasion and filing a false return. It could have been worse. The Justice Department inexplicably allowed the statute of limitations to run on the most serious allegations involving payments from years going back to 2013. Those are mentioned in the narrative of the indictment but not charged as separate offenses.
None of this would have happened if Judge Noreika did not ask a very simple question about the plea agreement and a sweeping immunity provision buried in its language. Many judges would have likely flagged through the agreement and given Hunter the sweetest of sweetheart deals.
Noreika noticed that the deal seemed to give Hunter immunity for any crime going forward and asked the prosecutor if he had ever seen any agreement like this one. He honestly answered “no.”
It was later learned that there was a push within the Justice Department to have no charges at all brought against Hunter in an investigation that was heavily laden with special treatment, according to IRS whistleblowers.
The investigation by the House has shown how Hunter and his counsel allowed their appetite for special treatment to turn into a raging disorder. The Justice Department reportedly gave Hunter a “heads up” about planned searches and interviews, scuttling those efforts. Even though the Justice Department had an agreement to “toll the statute” to prevent the early charges from expiring, the Special Counsel just let them die without any rational reason.
In this “all-you-can-eat” legal Smorgasbord, it is little surprise that the Biden team would demand an unprecedented immunity deal and just two misdemeanors after years of tax evasion covering millions from insider trading.
After all, Attorney General Merrick Garland had refused the calls of many of us to appoint a Special Counsel to look into the corruption scandal. The scandal was capped off legally and the media was running cover for Hunter.
The laptop was falsely denounced as Russian disinformation and the media largely dismissed influence peddling claims. Whenever new allegations surfaced, the President and the media would literally run to the nearest ice cream shop to discuss the President’s favorite flavors.
In other words, why ask for a sweeping immunity deal? The answer was why not.
That all came crashing down when Judge Noreika just cleared her throat in court.
As the prosecutors struggled to explain the absurd immunity provision, the Biden legal team was obviously shocked at the notion that they might have to exercise portion control. After all, the President himself has declared “no one f**ks with a Biden.”
That is when they told the prosecutors to “just rip it up.” Those are the four most dangerous words that a criminal defendant could utter in a hearing on a plea deal. They could have immediately narrowed the immunity deal and even added a few misdemeanors to salvage the deal. Instead, they shredded their client.
What followed was performative and frankly a tad pathetic. To the thrill of some in the media, the Biden team promised to get aggressive with witnesses and critics. They started to make demands as if they still controlled events, including saying that they would only comply with a congressional subpoena on their own terms.
It won’t work. A bill has come due. While Garland is still protecting President Biden from a Special Counsel, Hunter Biden is going to have to face these alleged crimes and corruption. 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.
The lesson for lawyers should be lasting: even if you can secure a massive sweetheart deal, you may want to exercise a modicum of portion control. That “all-you-can-eat” option may not be the best course for your client. The Justice Department was clearly willing to give Hunter anything that he demanded, but maybe you need to demand less. Sometimes it is better to go for the more limited a la carte option. Your client will consume less but he may be able to get up from the table. In other words, you need to be careful what you ask for . . . you just might get it.
There is now only one question of relevance to the political fate of Joe Biden here: did the documented massive transfers of hidden funds to his family or him influence his conduct in office? Where are the documents Comer demanded of Blinken regarding US policy towards Shokin in the last quarter of 2015, when Biden unilaterally decided to withhold $1b in loan guarantees until his ouster, likely after receiving a call from Hunter with Zlochevsky and Pozharski? What did the DOJ and FBI do to investigate the 1023?
There is no need at this point to focus on funds transfers; they happened, and Biden has lied about them. What’s needed now is evidence of what Joe Biden did in his official capacity to benefit his family’s paymasters. Without that, nothing politically significant will happen.
I have asked the $5M question of all of the Biden apologists here. Who did Hunter and Zlovchevsky call from Dubai shortly before Joe left for Ukraine.
They don’t want to know. One of them (Svelaz) even asked why it’s pertinent, LMAO.
I don’t care what the European Union or some Senator thought about what Shokin was doing at any point in time. The only thing that matters is that Zlovchevsky thought Shokin was on his a$$, and he asked Hunter for help with that, and they called someone. We have sworn testimony to that much.
Maybe they called Captain Kangaroo. I doubt it.
Exactly right, Tom. This call could be traced. Zlochevsky and Pozharski could be questioned, as could Hunter and Joe. The House could withhold all Ukraine aid until Zlochevsky and Pozharski testify with complete immunity from prosecution in the US or Ukraine. They could cover the 1023 as well.
In addition, where are the documents Comer demanded of Blinken regarding US policy towards Shokin? There is substantial evidence that the US and EU were both satisfied with his work. There are also reports of an interagency memo expressing dissatisfaction. There are answers to these questions, so what are they?
Daniel,
Well said.
“The Justice Department inexplicably allowed the statute of limitations to run on the most serious allegations involving payments from years going back to 2016.” Since there is no evidence that anything of value was done for these payments. Then IRS, under a new administration, should take “Biden position” that these payments from foreign sources must be loans and it is income when the loan go bad, ie today and income tax is due on these loans. Unless the Bidens can prove that these payments were for some service, ie bribes and influence peddling. It has to be one or the other. Checkmate.
“that these payments from foreign sources must be loans and it is income when the loan go bad,”
Not only that, since Hunter is now worth $250M, if he hasn’t paid the loans back, that looks like fraud. And we’ve all seen the gov’t doesn’t need a complaining victim to charge fraud.
Pardon me if I don’t feel any glee over this indictment. It’s like the son of the captain of the Titanic is finally charged for robbing passengers during the voyage. Hunter will still wrangle a seat on a lifeboat.
After all is said and done the Biden’s might set up a Biden Global Initiative. Along with the Clinton Global Initiative they will set about addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.
I would call it sheer arrogance, not necessarily gluttony. He believe the special treatment he had received thus far would continue. Had the GOP not taken the House–even by this razor-thin margin–Hunter would be free to continue selling influence and living a life of luxury, albeit he continues to do that anyway.
Judge Noreika has eyes, ears and knows how to read. News of the IRS whistleblowers were busted wide open by the time Hunter Biden’s case went before the court. Noreika must have had an inkling of something amiss, that’s why she didn’t treat the case routinely.
I must admit, this article reads a lot like Dennis wrote it. Full of analogies that make no sense, and fake gravitas.
But it will be interesting to see who gets deposed. No plea deal. Lets bring in every one of those foreign “suckers” that Hunter apparently defrauded with his “illusion” of access and find out what they were paying him for. Lets depose every family member that received money and find out why. Lets put Archer and the rest of the “business” partners under oath with immunity and start getting some truth.
It will probably be proved that Hunter did not report income from foreign sources. But it is clear by now that some of that money was paid to his father. Did Joe report his share of the income? Is anyone at the DOJ looking into that question?
Agree. And to answer your second question – yes – the DOJ has looked into it and they know far more than you and I.
“Influence peddling “ equals bribery. “Massive influence peddling” equals massive bribery. Hunter simply traveled the world picking up bags of cash for the Biden family’s name. Countries and people don’t dish out cash expecting nothing in return.
I agree that the timing is suspicious. This will be interesting to watch.
Regardless of the fancy lawyering, the truth will eventually be found out. Maybe not immediately, but in time. How will history judge this person? More importantly, Joe is at the jumping off place from this life to the next. His remaining years here will be filled with trouble. We will all stand in judgment when we depart this world; that should be our dread.
The tragedy is that his administration has done much harm to the United States and to the world. One small example is that families need an extra 12,000 dollars per year to buy what they could before he became President. Corruption abounds. The border is out of control and wars are occurring and are breaking out around the world. Yet, our President is AWOL and incapacitated. This is a tragic time in history.
@E.M.
The rapidity with which it has happened has been staggering, unprecedented. That now Biden is pulling out the student loan canard again and hinting at a draft – I used to think these people were just greedy and wrong-headed; it has become pure evil. Throw in the machinations taking place at the climate conference and it’s apparent we are in deep doo doo.
Anyone that is still cawing ‘white nationalist’ at the opposition needs to get their head checked. It’s all straight-up, textbook tyranny, and it is being enacted without so much as a whimper from far too many. I would not be taken aback if martial law were declared by the dems at some point to stop the presses. Madness, and quite literally, right down to Ukraine, what they are *still* accusing Trump and others of.
James,
Where did you read Biden hinting at reinstating the draft?
I know of an essay written by the Army War College stating the the all volunteer military may have out lived its days and a partial conscription might be required in light of recent years of missed recruiting quotas.
Martial law declared by the dems for some imaginary threat? Reads like bad fiction, but as of late life imitates art. I could see it happening.
@Upstate
I didn’t. That was based on the rhetoric going around about American blood being spent. That is my own inference and no one need take it as anything other than that. Sorry, I should have included an IMO. My bad, and I’m sorry.
Absolutely Turley. As soon as the ‘just rip it up’ factor arose it became clear it was a gigantic mistake…
That said, these charges against Hunter will have a tough time since he paid back the taxes already. As to the gun charges the prosecution will wade into the nebulous grounds of trying to prove drug addiction in Hunter. Not that he isn’t, even admittedly an addict, there are no binding tests to prove when someone crosses the line with their addiction though.
But hey Jon, you’ve dedicated so much time and energy to taking down Hunter in order to damage Joe Biden that the charges must make you really happy.
Bug
Turley has proven beyond doubt that he echo’s right-wing talking points. If he didn’t his numbers on this blog would be nothing. He feeds the rage the Cult needs.
Last I looked this was a free blog. And looking around, I don’t see any advertisers. So exactly why does Turley need “numbers” on this blog? Street cred for one of the foremost constitutional scholars of our time???
And yet, here you come, fresh from your own echo chamber, every day to drop your steaming turd of a comment. Bereft of fact and making very little, if any, sense. I’m sure he appreciates your contribution.
Huh, I didn’t realize I was part f the “Cult” because I’m concerned my President and his crack smoking, gun toting, lying son is acting on behalf of our sworn enemies.
We’re you concerned when the previous president actually did work with foreign powers at odds with u.s. policy?
The cult needs him to do it and Turley needs numbers, hits are how he gets paid as an influencer. Who pays him? Fox. They have a joint venture to workshop talking points.
Any evidence to support your asinine claims?
Tom,
Evidence? They dont need no stinking evidence! They just spout crap and in their little minds it must be true!
Just like they cannot accept the fact myself and others are many different people who come to the good professor’s blog, read and comment independent of what others think.
Lol. It’s standard influencer practice. Print advertising rates are determined by circulation, social media influencing is gauged on the number of hits.
It never ceases to amaze me that the RW base here thinks Turley is writing to them personally on this blog like he’s sharing pie recipes or something…, reminds me of that quote from the jounalst and novelist Carl Hiasson. He said something along the lines of….America is an amazing place where guys 40 pounds overweight wearing bowling shirts can walk into a strip club and think the dancers are actually hitting on them. Lol…
Let me ask you this…, given that Turley has proven over the years to be all about money, being the trump rep in hearings, doing regular hits on Fox, signing on to be the attack dog against Clinton, etc….why wouldn’t he also monetize his blog. In fact I’d be surprised if Turley didn’t get paid by multiple sources…, everything from Fox to Leonard Leo and the Kochs.
When Turley gets tired of this he’ll outright sell his blog to one of those sources if he hasn’t already.
That’s what I thought. Conjecture and no evidence. You can’t even say if he has already sold it. So you know nothing. About right.
Tom,
These are the same intellectual midgets that tells us over and over there is no evidence of the BCF corruption, yet spout conjecture as if it were fact.
How lame.
Another way to frame your point of view is to say you’re not a fan of the fact based amongst us.
I don’t need proof in this instance any more than I would of whether Turley sold his house or not, or having a record of any contracts Turley may have signed…
You asked a few posts back why Turley would need “numbers” on this blog — and I told you what has become standard practice for bloggers who’ve become influences.
Interestingly enough, the mistake you made in your assumption about monetizing blogs through selling ad space outright versus selling influence is a common one made by people who haven’t kept up to date with how blogs are monetized in the influencing space.
So you’re welcome. I answered your question.
Yes, you did. Conjecture with no evidence that its true. Thanks
You’re welcome, slick.
“being the trump rep in hearings, doing regular hits on Fox, signing on to be the attack dog against Clinton, etc….why wouldn’t he also monetize his blog.”
Do you have even one single tiny piece of evidence to substantiate the claim that he made money from those? Just makin sh!t up again. I say he did it all pro-bono because he is deeply convicted about the rule of law. See, i can make sh!t up too.
You’re motivation for making unsubstantiated claims that Turley has ZERO convictions, save for money, is that you dont like what he has to say. Weak sauce bro.
Cool. Just put on that bowling shirt and go to the club then.
Just answering the first question you asked, cap.
Fishy, what “right wing” talking points? I dont see any.
Fishwings has changed names like a chameleon over the years and still spews the same endless drivel. Some of the others, I think they are paid. You – I think you are just bored, privileged, and bitter. ‘Right wing’ is absolutely meaningless at this point, it literally means nothing, and it doesn’t incite the ire you are hoping for. You are a tool that shares nothing productive here, never has.
Very similar to Gigi, who would frequently use the term alt-right in referring to Fox news, completely ignoring the meaning of the term, in describing the #1 cable news network in America. Intellectual lepers.
Why are you asserting that ‘addiction’ is the standard. Read the form, FHB lied on the form to get a gun, period.
Because he didn’t admit to his drug use…, that’s what he ‘lied’ about.
That’s my point, use is the standard, not addiction.
If that were the case the number of legal gun owners would be halved in one day. The right is caught in a pickle on this one…, on the one hand being completely in the pocket of the gun lobby and dedicated to removing any possible blocks to gun ownership, on the other wanting to nitpick on Hunter because he’s Hunter.
It is the case:
“Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?
Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.”
And “the right” is not in a pickle. FHB is a junkie and he lied on the form, lying is the issue. No one said that answering in the affirmative to 21.f. absolutely precludes you from buying a gun, btw.
You can continue to flail about here defending that ahole for some reason, but you have not been correct about one thing.
Back to my original point…, establishing ‘addiction’ when there really isn’t a determinative way to do it.
The wording is right there @12:23
“Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to . . .
Notice the word addicted in that.
Did you notice the word “or” ?
People who are genuinely concerned about that stupid gun charge don’t represent “the right”. Aside from the issue that there have been others thrown in jail for the EXACT SAME THING. Joe is the issue, and you are deflecting.
No. The reference to the right was just an aside. My bad for not overtly labeling it as such…, I forget often this isn’t the most nuanced space and there are many on this blog comment section who are quite basic.
And no, Joe is not the issue. Hunter is and he’s not in the Biden administration.
No, you aren’t nuanced enough to know (or at least admit) where this is headed. No one cares about Hunter and that stupid gun charge. Gaslighting.
My point exactly why this is going to be a tough case for the prosecution. And my guess is you think this going past Hunter…
That’s what Comer and Jordan have failed at, escalating it up to Joe. Not happening.
A few weeks ago you were all crowing that the R’s didn’t have the votes to open an impeachment inquiry because comer didnt have enough evidence.
Now it looks like they’re going to get the votes. I guess that means that comer has enough evidence now.
Predictably, you’ll deny that.
If that were the case the number of legal gun owners would be halved in one day.
Most gun users don’t post pics of themselves using drugs all over the internet. If the do, they deserve to be stripped of their gun. and charged with lying on the federal form
Somebody sold those pics to a tabloid. Hunter, even out of his mind intoxicated, wouldn’t have done it.
“Somebody sold those pics to a tabloid. Hunter, even out of his mind intoxicated, wouldn’t have done it.”
Its impossible to “know” absolutely everything. Most people understand the concept.
So why do you insist on correcting people about stuff you just dont know? The internet is a big place, you claim to have monitored all of the internet.
Hunter uploaded his drug fueled sexapades to PornHub, just to name one site.
No way he did it. Someone did it and got paid for it.
Impressive mind reading act, You should take it on the road.
“If that were the case the number of legal gun owners would be halved in one day.”
Another nuanced aside, I suppose. If you knew much, you would know that MANY LEGAL gun purchases are done without filling out that form, and that MANY gun owners didn’t purchase their guns at all, and that MANY gun owners have never bought a gun in their life. I have XX number of guns that I made myself. Hint: thats more than 2, less than 100.
So another underinformed lefty assertion…
All cool. Used to surf with a friend who was a sniper in Viet Nam. He makes his own guns, hie own ammo, the whole nine.
But this has nothing to do with the difficulty involved with the prosecution’s case against Hunter.
No, and i didnt comment on that, because who cares.
And when you said “legal gun owners would be cut in half”, that had “nothing to do with the difficulty involved with the prosecution’s case against Hunter” either.
But it was a predictably asinine statement, which i effectively demonstrated.
Hunter walks because he paid back the taxes? So I can rob a bank, and if I get caught, return the money and go about my merry way? Who knew that the law was so forgiving, lol.
And we’re bombarded daily that Trump will be a dictator when elected while in the meantime the Biden’s are the Untouchables
That is, imo, prelude to the outcry over Trump jailing political crooks after he retakes office. Likely the outcry will be from left and right and hopefully so will the jailings. But, the propaganda operation is clearly in place. That one and the one where anyone claiming any kind of opressed status is absolved from any kind of illegality, including murder.
Trump helps this along by saying he intends to do dictator type things if he gets back in the oval office…
I’m totally curious if Turley is working on schedule F/project 2025 as we speak.
Is using an executive order ‘dictatorial’ in your opinion?
No. It’s using an executive order.
Then what are these “dictatorial type things”he talked about doing?
Trump helps this along by saying he intends to do dictator type things if he gets back in the oval office…
Trump, as always, was using absurdity, to illuminate the absurd.
Trump said he was going to be a dictator, bu only for one day. His first day in office. AND THEN only to do exactly what Biden did, only in reverse. Close the border, and drill baby drill.
If you don’t like what Trump said, why do you approve of the actions Biden actually took?
With you so enamored of floptop I’m surprised you still don’t get how he works.
So, the question lingers….why would Garland, the FBI, and countless others jeopardize their careers to save Biden’s butt? They too, must be getting paid..and big time.
One would think that the mere hint of collusion would have deterred these public servants from even touching this pile of toxic waste but it appears that the notion of shame in the public eye has no effect but, rather, they are basking in the accolades of their prog/left fanatics.
Or they are being blackmailed by the Biden crime family.
What do you think their careers entail? garland’s job is to save FJB’s butt and the fbi is clearly compromised since (at least) the obamma admin.
This is boiling down to a matter of; whether the prog/left will defend their corruption or the right will prove that they are as incompetent as they were with hillary.
This is just so they can throw Trump in jail and claim fair balance. And Hunter will never go to jail.
Seems trump has put himself on a crash course with jail just by his own efforts.
So when does Menendez go to jail for his obvious crimes? Heck his wife Murdered a person while driving drunk….completely covered up by a BUNCH of Democrats!
more interested in jailing…EVERY SINGLE Democrat in government protecting the Bidens, Pelosis, Kerrys, Clintons, etc
As well as those prosecuting and harassing Trump and his people. Think Nuremberg Trials for Fascist Democrats!
I want Criminal Democrats jailed by the thousands for their CRIMES! Starting with the Russian Hoax, Biden crime wave, etc
Also 50% cut in federal spending…to REMOVE the power center….also remove non-profit status from any non-profit where ANYONE gets $100,000 or more!
A fish would not get caught if it kept its mouth closed. Whether Hunter did anything wrong or not remains to be seen. I am still not sure how this Justice Department moves forward after what has already been alleged. I will say this reminds me of Watergate in that the drip, drip, dripping, continues and it is looking bad. They should have not been so arrogant.
Remains to be seen? I think we’ve seen enough.
Remains to be seen? Are you kidding? Such blatant criminality and corruption that only an idiot can’t see it.
The timing is of question, why now? Suspect this is their plan to stall and run out the clock and in the end, slap on the wrist or conviction and Joe Pardons his son, after the elections or on the way out if he decides or is forced not to run. Another DOJ plan to protect the Bidens.
If a crack head and a dementia patient can skirt our legal system, we’ve got serious problems as a country.
EXACTLY. That is a really good point.
That dementia patient became the POTUS. What does that say???
Skirting the legal system is one thing (and is unfortunately a trait of a corrupt legal system heavily influenced by politics and greed) the real tragedy is that we have a corrupt sociopath in the Presidency
who has forever tarnished that office and that will weigh heavily on the citizen’s perception that we can trust our leaders for the most part to do what is moral and right for the whole. We are seeing it’s effect now in the inability of our Armed Services (with the exception of my beloved Marine Corps) to meet recruiting goals.
This isn’t over. My prediction is that Hunter will never spend a day in jail. Presidential pardon, perhaps?
One simple word – pardon
After the 2024 election, biden will pardon hunter – and all his family. No matter the outcome.