Below is my column in The Hill on Hunter Biden’s sudden offer to appear for testimony in Congress. Biden’s demand for a second “valid subpoena” presents institutional considerations that weigh against yielding to the condition for testimony. This was a valid subpoena issued by multiple committees with independent subpoena authority. Few members relish Hunter and his team turning them into dancing bears for their public amusement. The contempt of Congress is already a completed act for Hunter. Even if he were to testify, he knowingly and publicly committed this violation. I imagine that his team has already seriously laid out an option for Hunter to agree to appear and take the Fifth. If he choses to testify at a deposition, he is looking at one of the most perilous stages of this scandal. Otherwise, he may hope that his last minute change will give the Justice Department, yet again, cover for declining to act. [Update: there are reports that the House will not call Hunter’s bluff and may issue a new subpoena as demanded.]
Here is the column:
This week, after weeks of Hunter mocking the House over its subpoena for a deposition, the House Oversight Committee voted to hold him in contempt. Now facing a referral for prosecution, Hunter declared that he might belatedly comply to avoid a prosecution.
Hunter is nothing if not consistent. As with his taxes and other federal violations, Hunter is asking for a mulligan just before a possible indictment. For decades, Hunter has conveyed an attitude that laws do not apply to him or to other Biden family members. After all, as his father once said, “no one f**ks with a Biden.”
Since he was a young man, Hunter seems to have been told that he lives a life of privilege that entitles him to considerations denied to others. Indeed, in Washington, it was an open joke when Hunter was put on the Amtrak board and later made its vice chair. When pressed on his lack of credentials for the position, Democratic Senator Tom Carper of Delaware quipped that “Hunter Biden has spent a lot of time on Amtrak trains.”
It appears that nothing is quite so funny as open nepotism in Washington.
Not surprisingly, Hunter’s life of entitlement would lead to a life of excess and debauchery. He was one of Washington’s noble class, a scion of a political dynasty. In time, he would be brought into the family business of influence-peddling with his uncles. For decades, the Bidens have been accused of selling access and influence to Joe Biden.
When things got legally difficult, Hunter could count on government guardians. When he lost his gun in 2018, Secret Service agents appeared at a gun shop to demand all records of his purchase. (Those records would later become the basis for the current gun charges against him.)
When Hunter lost his laptop, containing hundreds of incriminating files showing everything from influence peddling to alleged human trafficking, FBI agents showed up at the computer shop and reportedly conveyed an intimidating message to the owner not to speak to anyone.
When years of news reports forced the Justice Department to investigate some of these crimes, the Justice Department sat on the case until the most serious tax violations from 2014 to 2015 expired under the statute of limitations. It did so despite internal objections that the period for prosecution could easily be extended.
The Justice Department then sought a plea bargain so absurdly generous that it fell apart in open court, with a prosecutor admitting to the judge that he had never seen any deal like it. Notably, the cause for the collapse was an immunity agreement so obscene that no one other than a Biden would demand it, let alone get it.
Throughout this history, one thing has been consistent. Hunter has received and seems to feel entitled to legal mulligans that no other citizen could reasonably expect. It is the very meaning of “privilege” that many Democrats in Washington denounce on a weekly basis.
We are not the only country with such a privileged class of scions. In China, the children of powerful leaders who live lavish lives are called the “red nobility” or “communist princelings.”
Yet, even in Washington, many were floored by the display of absolute entitlement when Hunter appeared with his counsel Abbe Lowell outside of Congress at the time of his scheduled deposition. Hunter mocked the House and refused to go inside, insisting that he would only agree to give testimony on his own terms.
For those of us who have been writing about the Hunter and the Bidens for decades, it was not in the least surprising. His conduct on taxes showed the utter lack of concern over any obligations owed to the government. In a sense, his family is the government.
As the Justice Department noted in its tax charges, Hunter spent his money on “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes.”
When the IRS finally moved toward prosecution, a democratic donor named Kevin Morris reportedly gave him millions to cover his taxes and lavish lifestyle, even though he had only been introduced to Hunter at a Democratic fundraiser not long before.
Then, without a hint of irony, Hunter and Lowell guffawed at the notion of any prosecution because “Hunter paid his taxes.”
He is now applying the same logic to the crime of contempt. After his defiant presser on the steps of the Capitol, Hunter crashed the hearing for the vote on his contempt. By his side was Morris, who is now shooting scenes for a movie about Hunter — presumably a real-life version of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” where the corrupt establishment actually wins.
The stunt caused pandemonium and infuriated members of Congress. Hunter demanded that they yield to his demands. Once again, Democrats unanimously voted to protect him, even though they had demanded the same depositions in the past.
Indeed, President Biden himself said that such defiance could never be tolerated in others. When asked about Trump supporters defying subpoenas he declared, “I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally.”
Those people, however, are not Bidens.
When the committee approved the contempt resolution and sent it to the floor, some of us speculated that Hunter would again demand a mulligan, just before any prosecution.
That is precisely what he did. Lowell told the House that the president’s son would deign to appear in a deposition if they re-issued a “valid” subpoena. It is the legal version of when Hunter instructed ABC News reporter Amy Robach to “say it nicer” when she dared to ask him uncomfortable questions.
Hunter is now effectively telling Congress to “say it nicer,” and he just might appear. The problem is that the original subpoena was valid, and Congress does not have to ask a second time. There are no mulligans when it comes to criminal contempt.
It is likely that Hunter and his counsel expect that the fix is in, again, at the Justice Department. Given his last-minute offer (as when he paid his taxes at the last minute), Hunter no doubt hopes the Justice Department will decline to prosecute.
For Hunter, it is not about the fact that he committed a crime. That is for ordinary people. It is about being a Biden, and being entitled to a lifetime of mulligans.
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.
The entire notion of being “privileged” has a certain magnetic appeal to many. Perplexing, yet the masses demand to be entertained.
Hunter dictates to Congress his terms for testifying? Who does he think he is Eric Holder?
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Imagine that… Hunter Biden made the swamp creature Comer blink. The Republicans, under Jim comer, are giving Hunter Biden a Mulligan on committing a felony in front of the entire nation. The next time any Republican prattles on about a ‘two tier system of justice’, hopefully they are reminded that they too facilitated that two tier system of justice through their silence in this instance. Weak and feckless are the two best words to describe comer and the Republican party today. Shameful.
A Second Subpoena
Ever dealt with a chronic manipulator (such as HB)? They’ve mastered the dark art of concocting excuses to blame others and to avoid personal responsibility: “But you didn’t tell me.” “But I thought you meant.” “But my drug addiction.” “But I’m a victim.” “But you didn’t cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s.”
If you can, it’s best to avoid manipulators. If you have to deal with them, such as in this case, then you need to remind them countless times, from every possible angle. Thus a second subpoena.
10:15pm 91% reporting No one as ever received 50% of the vote.
Trump 51
DeSantis 21
Haley 19
Vivek 8
The media theme is Trump is sounding very Presidential. Both in Town Hall last week and his victory speech tonight Trump is calm very articulate, and very gracious to all his competitors.
Vivek suspending his compaign. Endorsing Trump
“No one as ever received 50% of the vote.”
BS. In fact, it’s the lowest margin of victory of any person who’d been President, and a much lower % than he got in 2020.
J.B. Pritzker on the Iowa Caucus results last night: “Almost half of the base of the Republican party showing up for this caucus tonight voted against Trump. Think about that…I think that is telling. It tells you the weakness of Donald Trump.”
So he was supposed to get %100 with other candidates on the ballot? This is some lame spin. No Republican in a contested Iowa primary has come close to what Trump got last night. Cope.
He got 97% with other candidates on the ballot in 2020.
in the 2020 Democrat primary in Iowa, Joe Biden received only 26,291 of the 140,000+ votes cast. Translated, over 80% of Democrats voted for someone other than Joe Biden in Iowa. See how that works?
BS
Trump got 97% of the vote at the Iowa caucuses in 2020 (and yes, he had challengers then).
As for his current 51%, plenty of others have gotten bigger margins, including:
Carter — 59% in 1980.
Al Gore — 63% in 2000.
Clinton — 98% in 1996.
Obama — 98% in 2012.
Trump’s the only one to ever run as a former President (Carter, Clinton and Obama were incumbent Presidents, as was Trump in 2020), but Gore had never been President when he got 63%.
I was wrong that Trump’s the only one to ever run as a former President. But it’s been a long time.
Hey dumb dumb those are not Republicans.
Former President Donald Trump now owns the record for the largest margin of victory in the history of contested Iowa Republican caucuses, more than doubling the previous mark set by Bob Dole.
LOL that you have to restrict the claim to Republicans to make him look good. He barely got half the vote last night, less than 60K people in a state that has over 700K registered Republicans.
“less [sic] than 60K people in a state that has over 700K registered Republicans.”
Nice deception (yet again).
The true number is: of the some 110,000 who voted. And that turnout was in the midst of a sub-zero, Artic freeze.
Considering that only 20% to nearly 30% of Republicans caucused in recent years, I’d say the 15% who braved the sub zero temps was not bad…especially because it was a foregone conclusion that Trump would likely win big.
Hey, wait!
Isn’t it plagiarism, philandering, blasphemy, fraud, welfare, and affirmative action day?
Ron DeSantis telling the truth for once: “[Trump’s] got basically a Praetorian Guard of the conservative media. Fox News, the websites, all this stuff. They just don’t— they don’t hold him accountable because they’re worried about losing viewers and they don’t want to have the ratings go down.
The relationship of Conservative Media to Trump is fundimentally determined by the relationship of its viewers to Trump.
This is one of the things those on the left do not understand.
Trump is a reflection of the republican Base NOT the other way arround.
Trump success is because he gave voice to tens of millions of people. Not because he brainwashed them.
Murdock is hostile to Trump. Tucker Carlson has been very hostile to Trump in the past and is still fully prepared to criticize him.
Fox tried to distance themselves from Trump at great expense and it significantly damaged their ratings.
Conservative media is supportive of Trump because conservative viewers are supportive of Trump – not the other way arround.
Fox has not been the nicest to Trump at times. Saying he has a Praetorian Guard is laughable given the level of protection afforded Biden, Obama, and any other democrat. The MSM lies by omission all the time about anything negative. They give credit that isn’t deserved. And the MSM loves to lie about Trump. They refuse to tell the truth about any of the ridiculous indictments. They refused to tell the truth about any of the impeachment nonsense. But, sure, Trump is the protected one.
In new poll, 43% of Nikki Haley’s supporters in Iowa say they’d vote for Joe Biden over Trump.
Remember, the entire purpose of the deposition is to ask uninterrupted questions out of public view to avoid disruption and obfuscation of the truth. Open testimony may then be weighed against the deposition. This is NOT about putting Hunter in jail for contempt, it’s about revealing the evidence of bribery and corruption to impeach his father. Once that is taken care of there will be plenty of time and evidence to convict the lot of them.
Reuters:
“Joseph Tacopina, an attorney on former U.S. President Donald Trump’s legal team, on Monday said he will no longer represent him in a criminal case in Manhattan related to alleged hush money payments [involving Stormy Daniels] or a separate appeal of a civil case [involving E. Jean Carroll].”
Sorry, Turley, your latest gambit–pearl-clutching over Hunter Biden’s “contempt of Congress” is just plain sad, revealing the pathos of your purchased outrage. When Jordan and the other Republicans who FIRST ignored Congressional subpoenas are dealt with and criticized in the same tone–and, bear in mind,, there IS evidence that they supported and/or were directly involved in the insurrection AND they are and were members of Congress, unlike the dearth of evidence that anything Hunter Biden did involved JOE Biden in any way–then you can wax all you want about Hunter Biden. Until you deal with Republican hypocrisy, you’re nothing more than a paid mouthpiece with little to say of any substance.
And, in other news, an investigation in Virginia disclosed that Joe Biden won by about 4,000 more votes than what were registered. The errors made in that state all benefitted Trump.
Iowa Caucus open it’s doors to Voting at:
9:00 pm AST ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME
8:00 pm EST EASTERN STANDARD TIME
– 𝟕:𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐦 𝐂𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 –
6:00 pm MST MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME
5:00 pm PST PACIFIC STANDARD TIME
4:00 pm AKST ALASKA STANDARD TIME
3:00 pm HAST HAWAII-ALEUTIAN STANDARD TIME
Come on Trump – Mama needs a new pair of shoes!
OT: Insurrection by Pro-Palestinian rioters causing White House turmoil leading to fleeing as projectiles are launched. Americans are horrified and waiting for the J6 committee and Jack Smith to take action. Thank goodness we have these people to protect us from violent insurrections.
S. Meyer,
I have noted how most of the pro-Palestinian protests turn violent.
Contrast that with the pro-Israel rallies. The only time they turn violent is when counter/pro-Palestiane protesters show up and instigate violence.
I think we will see more of that kind of behavior in the coming months.
Jonathan: In other news DJT’s lawyers are again dropping like flies. The latest is Joe Tacopina. He represented DJT in the NY case alleging DJT falsified business records to make hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. Tacopina also lost the first E. Jean Carroll lawsuit in which DJT was ordered to pay $5 million in damages. Tacopina is a competent attorney but doesn’t have a sterling record in representing DJT so he just informed Judge Merchon he is withdrawing his representation of DJT.
So who’s left to represent DJT in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit. You guessed right. It’s Alina Habba and her 2 person law firm. If Tacopina could not successfully defend his client in the first lawsuit what can we expect from Alina? With that “brain trust” we can expect a jury verdict against DJT. And it will be a big payday for Carroll!