Below is my column in Fox.com on the superseding indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.), who faces new charges after the cooperation of a former associate. The new charges only magnified the striking similarities between the corruption scandals involving Menendez and Hunter Biden. The timing could not be more interesting given filings the same week by Hunter Biden claiming selective prosecution.
Here is the column:
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was in court this week for another superseding indictment brought by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Rather than the four original counts, he now faces 18 counts with his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and alleged co-conspirators Wael Hana and Fred Daibes.
What is most notable is not the proliferation of counts but the lack of comparative charges in the pending case against Hunter Biden. Some of us have long raised concerns over the striking similarity in the alleged conduct in both cases, but the absence of similar charges against the president’s son. That contrast just got even greater.
The allegations in the two cases draw obvious comparisons.
Menendez is accused of accepting a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz as part of the corrupt practices. In Hunter’s case, it was a $142,000 Fisker sports car. For Menendez, there were gold bars worth up to $120,000. For Biden, there was the diamond allegedly worth $80,000.
Underlying both cases are core allegations of influence peddling and corruption. However, the Justice Department threw the book at Menendez while minimizing the charges against Biden.
That includes charging Menendez as an unregistered foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Many of us have said for years that the treatment of Hunter under FARA departs significantly from the treatment of various Trump figures like former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort as well as Menendez.
Now, there is a new layer of troubling comparisons to be drawn in the two cases.
The superseding indictment incorporates new charges after the plea and cooperation of Menendez’s former co-defendant and businessman Jose Uribe.
Uribe appears to have supplied the basis for some of the new charges, including a telling account with Nadine Menendez. She allegedly asked Uribe what he would say to law enforcement about the payments used for a Mercedes-Benz convertible and Uribe said that he could say that the payment were a “loan.” Nadine Menendez responded that “sounded good.”
The loan discussion hit a familiar cord with those of us who have written about the Biden corruption scandal. The Bidens have repeatedly referred to payment from foreign sources as “loans.” That most notoriously included millions given by his counsel Kevin Morris.
In some cases, foreign money was received by President Joe Biden’s brother James and then immediately sent to the president’s personal account marked as a loan repayment. James admitted that the $40,000 was coming from the Chinese.
The Justice Department in the Menendez case dismissed the claim of loans as merely a transparent effort to hide influence peddling. That includes not just the convertible payment but more than $23,000 that one businessman made toward the senator’s wife’s mortgage.
Menendez and Biden share the array of luxury gifts, cars, and loans. However, the most important common denominator was the underlying corruption. Both cases are classic examples of influence peddling, which has long been a cottage industry in Washington, D.C.
What they do not share is the same level of prosecution or press support. Menendez is a pariah in Washington and Hunter is the president’s son.
Menendez is blamed by many inside the Beltway not for being corrupt but for being open about it.
The fact that others have been prosecuted for conduct similar to his own has not stopped Hunter from claiming victim status. He has told courts that even the few charges brought against him are evidence of selective prosecution.
In the most recent filing, Special Counsel David Weiss dismissed many of Hunter’s claims as “patently false” and noted that Hunter Biden virtually flaunted his violations and engaged in obvious efforts to evade taxes and hide his crimes.
Weiss further noted that other defendants did not write “a memoir in which they made countless statements proving their crimes and drawing further attention to their criminal conduct.”
It was a devastating take-down of Hunter’s claims, but it did not address the conspicuous omission of charges brought against Menendez, including FARA charges.
It also does not address the fact that the Justice Department not only allowed the statute of limitations to run on major crimes, but sought to finalize an obscene plea agreement with no jail time for Hunter. It only fell apart when a judge decided to ask a couple of cursory questions of the prosecutor, who admitted that he had never seen an agreement this generous for a defendant.
Weiss noted in his filing that they filed new charges only after Hunter’s legal counsel refused to change the agreement and insisted that it remained fully enforceable.
As Hunter continues to claim to be the victim of selective prosecution in various courts, judges need only to look over the Menendez case to see the truth of the matter. Hunter is not the victim of selective prosecution but the beneficiary of special treatment in the legal system.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and a practicing criminal defense attorney. He is a Fox News contributor.
Jonathan: There are NO “similarities between the corruption scandals involving Menendez and Hunter Biden”. Menendez is a sitting Senator charged with taking bribes. That’s the very definition of “corruption” and “influence peddling” by a public official. Hunter has always been a PRIVATE CITIZEN–never held public office. Whatever “gifts” he might have received cannot possible come under the “corruption” statutes. By claiming there are “similarities” between the two cases shows you have descended into a fantasy world!
Jim Comer’s impeachment inquiry has reached a dead end. So where is he going now? ABC News had a long article yesterday about a meeting Comer had with DJT in Florida last month to update him on the investigation. Neither would comment publicly about the meeting but my sources tell me the meeting went something like this: Comer: “Hi, Mr. President. I wanted to give you an update on the work of my Committee. It’s highly unlikely there are enough votes in the House to impeach Biden. So, where do we go from here? I have an exit strategy. I will get my Committee to make ‘criminal referrals’ to the DOJ. Now we know Garland will sit on them. But if you are re-elected you can appoint a new AG who might want to look into criminal charges against Biden”. I understand DJT replied: “Jim, I’m really disappointed in your work so far. By now I expected you would find some reason to impeach Biden. That would have really helped my campaign. But given the reality I guess your idea makes sense”.
When Jamie Raskin, the ranking Dem member of Committee, found out about Comer’s exit strategy he said” “Criminal referrals generally relate to crimes, and we haven’t identified any except for the ones by their star witness [i.e., Alex Smirnov]”.
I don’t know where you are going with your continued bizarre claims about Hunter. But I do know you are now embarrassing yourself!
Biden is a sitting president accused of selling influence. Or at least being the influencer his son sold.
In any case, you should look in the mirror when accusing Prof. Turley of embarrassing himself.
Mary: Everything Comer has been investigating is either about when Joe Biden was VP or as a private citizen–not as the sitting President–unless you count SC Hur’s investigation that exonerated the President. Where have you been all this time? Maybe you need to look in the mirror!
Please go listen to Hur’s testimony – he made it perfectly clear – He did NOT Exhonerate Biden.
He said he was not competent enough to stand trial.
Yes, MOST of the conduct being investigated is when Biden was VP or Senator.
Democrats established you can impeach a president for anything.
The Hur Report as well as his testimony ARE Damning – Biden’s mishandling of Classified Docs is FAR more egregious than Trump’s.
And that is ignoring the fact That Trump is entitled.
Hur Confirmed that the President has rights under the constitution and the PRA that the VP does not.
Hur confirmed that Biden’s classified docs were not “discovered” just after the 2022 election – but a full 18months prior to the MAL raid. Further Joe had classified documents recklessly everywhere.
Further Biden SHARED his classified docs illegally with his ghost writer.
“Hur’s investigation that exonerated the President. Where have you been all this time? Maybe you need to look in the mirror!”
Dennis, are you so dumb that you believe what you say? If you do, you have my condolences.
Let us assume you shoot your wife, killing her and then do a lousy job committing suicide because the bullet to your brain destroyed your brain without killing you. Hur would not charge you for the murder of your wife because you are now too incompetent to defend yourself. Does that mean Hur exonerated you? No! It means you murdered your wife but cannot stand trial because of mental incompetence.
THE CONCLUSION FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR HUR IS: AG GARLAN HIRED ME WITH THE ONLY PURPOSE THAT HE SAY, (YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU WILL FIND)
1. THAT THE EVIDENCE DID NOT REACH THE NECESSARY HI LEVEL STANDARD OF THE PROVE THAT NEED HE MANAGED TO GET A CONVICTION “BEYOND ALL REASONABLE DOUBT.”
2. WITH ATTENUATING EXCUSE THAT THE INVESTIGATED HE HAS A SMALL DECREASE IN HIS COGNITIVE CAPACITY, VERY UNDERSTANDABLE AND COMPLETELY NATURAL AT HIS AGE (CENIL DEMENTIA)
Lynn, if you think yelling (all capital letters)helps your case, it doesn’t. If you kill a person in broad daylight and aren’t tried because of mental deficiency, it doesn’t mean you were exonerated. You killed the man but could not stand trial.
I completely agree with you, they can even judge you, because whoever decides what the degree of Mental Incompetence is, is the judge, not the prosecutor.
There is a difference between Mental Illness at the time of committing the crime and another difference between claiming Insanity at the time of being judged.
1- In this case, the Former Senator and Former Vice President was in full mental capacity.
2- Hur established that according to his investigation “The president INTENTIONALLY RETURNED classified materials.” He therefore can be tried when his presidency ends.
3- What I wanted to establish above (sorry if the capital letters bother you) were the reasons why he was hired by Garland. That although he INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD CLASSIFIED MATERIAL AND EXPOSED IT TO THE EDITOR OF HIS BOOK (the same thing they are accusing Trump of) there was no need to judge him because PRESIDENT BIDEN IS AN ANXIOUS MAN WITH CENIL DEMENTIA. (I go back and repeat, it is a baseless reason, neither did Hur give him a mental test nor did a judge determine how serious Biden’s MENTAL DISABILITY is)
4- In my opinion IF YOUR MENTAL DISABILITY exceeds these 4 points
A) adequately communicate with defense counsel
B) understand and process information
C) make decisions regarding the case, and
D) understand the elements of the charges, the gravity of the charges, and the possible penalties.
THEN PRESIDENT BIDEN IS NOT IN THE MENTAL CAPACITY TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
_________________________________
1- INSANITY DEFENSE
The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a psychiatric disease AT THE TIME OF A CRIMINAL ACT
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/insanity_defense
2- COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL
Competency relates to the defendant’s mental state after an offense, not before or during it.
A person who isn’t competent to stand trial can’t be convicted of a crime. Courts require competency before defendants stand trial in order to preserve due process—that is, to make sure the proceedings are fair.
*What Does It Mean to Be Competent to Stand Trial?
Defendants have an absolute right to understand the proceedings against them and assist in their own defense. If they’re incapable of understanding and assisting, they’re legally incompetent.
*Incompetency Is Not a Defense
Competency to stand trial is legally unrelated to the defendant’s mental state at the time of the alleged crime. In other words, the issue of competency relates to the defendant’s state of mind during criminal proceedings, not during the commission of the crime. In the example above, suppose that the defendant suffered from severe mental illness when he shot the victim. If that illness prevents him from understanding the subsequent criminal proceedings, he’s incompetent and the proceedings must halt. Once he’s received enough treatment to understand what’s going on, he’s competent—at that point, the case can carry on. Whether he has a mental state defense to the crime, such as insanity or diminished capacity, is an issue to be determined at trial.
A court can find a defendant who has a mental illness diagnosis fit to proceed as long as the illness doesn’t rise to the level of incompetence. For instance, if a defendant is taking prescription medications to manage mental illness, the court may find competency and move the case forward. Further, if a psychological evaluation determines that medication could improve a defendant’s mental state, the court can order that the defendant receive the medication.
*How Does a Judge Determine a Defendant’s Competency?
The determination of whether a defendant is competent is left to the judge. The judge must decide competency before trial or as soon as reasonably possible after it comes into question. The prosecution, defense counsel, and even the court can raise the issue at any time. Competency usually comes into doubt when the defendant’s behavior indicates a lack of understanding. In some states, if defense attorneys believe there is any question about competency they must ask the court to have the defendant evaluated.
When a legitimate question arises as to competency, the defendant has a right to a hearing to determine fitness to stand trial. All trial courts have the authority to order psychological evaluations of defendants, and in many states, an evaluation is automatic once a party raises the competency issue. Judges give great weight to the results of an evaluation, but they can consider other factors, too, like the defendant’s demeanor in court. Among the points a court should consider are whether the defendant can:
*adequately communicate with defense counsel
*understand and process information
*make decisions regarding the case, and
*understand the elements of the charges, the gravity of the charges, and the possible penalties.
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/competency-stand-trial.html#:~:text=What%20Does%20It%20Mean%20to,%2C%20they're%20legally%20incompetent.
“I completely agree with you,”
lynnmariealvarez, you should have stopped there because all you did was confuse the issues and what you were trying to say.
To make a long story short, Biden was not exonerated.
False, Hur did not address the “beyond a reasonable doubt standard”
His standard was is there sufficient evidence to prosecute the case.
The answer was YES.
He did not recommend prosecution because the defendant was not competent enough to stand trial.
My point here is precisely THAT GARLAND HIRE HIM TO REACH THAT CONCLUSION, not because HE WOULD HAVE RECOMMENDED IT IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES. He said it in his testimony.
Part of his testimony in the House
1- Explained that he did not bring charges against the president, despite the that the President willfully retained classified materials though,
* becouse we did not however identify evidence that rose to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt because the evidence fell short of that standard.
* And I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden.”
2- “I viewed my task of my decision… to the attorney general as being based on my judgment.
* My assessment of the evidence would have would a conviction at trial be the probable outcome,”
Mr McIntyre, perhaps you need a refresher Course on FARA Violations
Anonymous: What specific “FARA Violations” are you talking about? Talk is cheap!
FARA is the Foreign Agents Registration act.
It requires private citizens who engage in “legal” influence pedaling, in the US on behalf of foreign governments or businesses must Register. Failure to do so is a felony – as Paul Manafort.
Hinter is not requistered, James is not registered, Joe is not registered. All met with, were paid by foreign entities.
They were paid for services that included using influence to benefit forign entities in the US.
Even if that activity is legal – failure to reguister is a fellony.
Dennis, I beleive FARA is unconstitutional. But Democrats weaponized it against Manafort and other Trump assocites.
Turn about is fair play.
@Dennis
Blah, blah, blah – inevitably, a link to MSNBC. This is beyond old. Yawn. And also, I want the seconds it took to scroll through you back. They add up. If I were charging you a retainer for wasted time – holy cow. You would owe us all your firstborn.
James: Look at the DOJ’s press release (9/23/23) when it charged Melendez. It charged him with “conspiracy to commit bribery”, “conspiracy to commit honest services fraud” and “conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right”. The case is being handled by the DOJ’s “Public Corruption Unit”. Hunter has always been a private citizen so he couldn’t be charged under the relevant statutes because he has never be a public official. That’s the part JT got so wrong and what you choose to ignore. So, blah, blah, blah and yawn back at you!
You do understand thatit is NOT just Menendez that is being charged ?
You do understand that Menedez did not personally solicity the bribes or other crimes being charged.
They were all solicited by family – and those family members are being prosecutied.
The Biden crime syndicate is EXACTLY like the Menedez one.
Memendez is a sitting Senator who is funneling bribes THROUGH HIS FAMILY – it is exactly the same.
Menedez’s wife is a private citizen.
According to the left Comer’s investigations reached a dead end long ago.
According to Comer every witness gives them more and more to investigate.
Regardless, the Comer and other investigation swill continue through November.
DOJ is barred from acting to to influence elections. The legislature IS the political branch of government.
You can expect Comer will Drip Drip Drip until the election.
I am not sure whether Republicans have the votes to impeach Biden. But honestly that is not the goal.
The goal is to keep digging all the corrupt conduct. Comer will be busy for a LOOONG time.
The “exit strategy” is and always has been the 2024 election.
You can expect the investigations to continue until then.
Referals to the DOJ are just a different tactic.
If DOJ ignores them – that gives even more weapons to house republicans.
DM – the goal is not and never has been to impeach Biden.
That may or may not be on the menu,
But the goal is to do the job of the press and the DOJ that they have sat on their hands and expose the corruption of the Biden syndicate.
The GOAL is to drag this out as long as possible – Drip, Drip, Drip.
Please Please Cite Raskin and other Democrats saying incredibly stupid things.
There is plenty of evidence of Crimes.
As to Smirnov – aside from DOJ’s indictment – do you have Actual evidence that he lied ?
…; Attorney General Merrick Garland, Alvan Bragg, Jack Smith, Justice Arthur Engoron, Attorney General Letitia James, Fani T. Willis et.al., and Others (DOJ, FBI, CIA, DHS) …
They Know, … They know that Trump will become their Boss come November, unless massive fraud stays Joe Biden.
So if you know that the person you are pursuing prosecution of is going to be your next Boss, What do you do?
I suppose, enjoy it while you can. – 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 –
With every fiber of my being, I hope you’re right!
You have to be kidding me. What reality do you live in?
Hur (a trump appointee) said under oath the classified docs case agains trump is orders of magnitude worse than Bidens.
Biden cooperated with the search for papers, trump hid them.
You do have one thing right, it will be a landslide, against former republicans. the trump party is a disgrace to humanity and will lose huuuuuuugely
Come November, I will greatly enjoy the delicious salty taste of your tears.
Hey Pal listen, Trump has ‘backbone’, Biden doesn’t and the Electorate knows it.
Those who are voting for Biden are not voting for Him, they are voting Against-Trump.
That’s the framing factor of this match-up. The Dems will be outnumbered.
Sure trump has backbone, he is a bully. Doesn’t change the accusation that when served with a search warrant trump hid the documents, Biden let them search.
Yea, I want a president that hides classified documents in his bathroom to share with visitors.
I want a president more interested in pussy than governing.
I want a president that doesn’t know when to shut his mouth after being told to pay money for defamation.
I want a republican senator that takes credit for things she votes against…”House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) recently patted herself on the back for a $1.8 million federal grant a community within her district received. However, that money came from a bill she and every other Republican opposed.”
republicans, you gotta love their lack of a frontal lobe in their brain don’t ya.
Hur’s testimony comparing the two. leaves Smith with a process crime of obstruction of Justice. That ignores PRA, and Classification power.
HUR DON’T SAY THAT: “under oath the classified docs case agains trump is orders of magnitude worse than Bidens.”
HURT SAY: ” I do address, as I was required to as a prosecutor, a relevant precedent in the form of the allegations in the indictment against former President Trump. I set forth my explanation in my assessment and comparison of those precedents in my report and I am not here to comment any further beyond this report,”
WHEN ASKED: “if he had concluded that Biden was “totally innocent,”
HE RESPONDED: “that conclusion is not reflected in my report.” “I viewed my task of my decision… to the attorney general as being based on my judgment. My assessment of the evidence would have a conviction at trial be the probable outcome,”
HERE I LEAVE YOU 5 RESPONSES FROM 5 REPRESENTATIVES WITH DIFFERENT POSITIONS OF BOTH PARTIES
1- McClintontock, a Republican say:
– “As you correctly noted in your report, that former presidents and other senior officials have been given wide latitude in their possession of classified information and I believe your decision not to prosecute Biden for the same offense is consistent with that precedent. But the problem is that precedent changed with the administration’s decision to prosecute Donald Trump,”
– Hur responded.:
“Congressman, I do address, as I was required to as a prosecutor, a relevant precedent in the form of the allegations in the indictment against former President Trump. I set forth my explanation in my assessment and comparison of those precedents in my report and I am not here to comment any further beyond this report,”
2. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said to Hur:
“For every document you discussed in your report, you found insufficient evidence that the president violated any laws about possession or retention of classified materials. The primary law that you analyze for potential prosecution was part of the Espionage Act, 18 U.S.C. 793, which criminalizes willful retention or disclosure of national defense information. Is that correct?
– Hur responded:
“Congresswoman, that is one statute that we analyzed. I need to go back and make sure that I take note of the word that you used. Exoneration. That is not a word that used in the report and that is not part of my task as a prosecutor. The judgement that I received and that I ultimately reached was relating to whether sufficient evidence existed such that the likely outcome would be a conviction,”
– Jayapal said:
“You exonerated him,”
– Hur shot back:
“I did not exonerate him,” “That word does not appear in the report, Congresswoman.”
3. Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, Democrat accused Hur of using his report to “trash and smear President Biden”. “you’re doing everything you can do to get President Trump reelected so that you can get appointed as federal judge or perhaps to another position in the Department of Justice. Isn’t that correct?
– Hur he refuted:
– “Congressman, I reject the suggestion you have just made,” Hur responded. “That is not what happened.
– “Partisan politics played no part whatsoever in my work.” “My work was independent.”
– “Congressman, I have no such aspirations, I can assure you. And I can tell you that partisan politics had no place whatsoever in my work,” he said in response. “It had no place in in the investigative steps that I took. It had no place in the decision that I made. And it had no place in a single word of my report.”
4- Ex-Special Counsel Robert Hur testified:
– that President Biden “willfully retained classified materials,” but said he “had to consider” the president’s “memory and overall mental state” when determining whether to bring charges against him.
– explained that he did not bring charges against the president despite the willful retention of classified records about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”
– “My team and I conducted a thorough, independent investigation,” Hur testified. “We identified evidence that the President willfully retained classified materials after the end of his vice presidency, when he was a private citizen.”
– “This evidence included an audiorecorded conversation during which Mr. Biden told his ghostwriter that he had ‘just found all the classified stuff downstairs.’ When Mr. Biden said this, he was a private citizen speaking to his ghostwriter in his private rental home in Virginia,” Hur continued. “We also identified other recorded conversations during which Mr. Biden read classified information aloud to his ghostwriter.”
– He added, though, that “we did not, however, identify evidence that rose to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the evidence fell short of that standard, I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden.”
5-Rep. Tom McClintock say:
– “As you correctly noted in your report, that former presidents and other senior officials have been given wide latitude in their possession of classified information and I believe your decision not to prosecute Biden for the same offense is consistent with that precedent.
– But the problem is that precedent changed with the administration’s decision to prosecute Donald Trump,” “the irony is that as president, Trump had full discretion over handling classified material and full discretion in deciding which records to retain. As a senator or vice president, Joe Biden didn’t have that. So now we get to this glaring double standard. “But the fact that the only person being prosecuted for this offense is Trup!
And I wonder how you square this.” ?
Hur:
– “Congressman, I do address, as I was required to as a prosecutor, a relevant precedent in the form of the allegations in the indictment against former President Trump. I set forth my explanation in my assessment and comparison of those precedents in my report and I am not here to comment any further beyond this report,” Hur responded.
“Hur (a trump appointee) said under oath the classified docs case agains trump is orders of magnitude worse than Bidens.”
Cit that testimony – Hur did not say that. He was repeatedly asked about the Trump case, His constant refrain was that was NOT his case and he was not involved.
“Biden cooperated with the search for papers”
False – Biden has been “hiding” classified documents for 40years.
Biden did NOT cooperate. Hur testified that contra the Press people outside of Biden’s orbit became aware of the illegally retained classified documents 18months befor the MAL raid. It is starting to look like the MAL raid was ginned up specifically to cover for Biden’s mishandling of Classified Docs.
Every single one of these stupid left wing nut claims that the Biden case was somehow LESS significant than Trump’s is refuted both By Hur’s report, and his testimony.
Hur confirmed that VP’s President’s, ex-vp’s and ex presidents routinely have classified information in their personal papers and notes – that is NOT a big deal. President’s and VP’s are BOTH permitted to have Classified docs in their homes.
ex-VP’s are not. ex-president are and routinely do.
Go actually read the JW V NARA case – Bill Clinton literally has classified tapes in his sock drawer – he is LEGALLY free to do that.
Hur found that Biden’s handling fo classified information was RECKLESS. All the Trump docs were found inside the securely locked SCIF at MAL except a Few that were in the securely lock presidents offices.
Biden had docs in his library, his upstairs den, his downstairs den, his garage, at Udel, at the Biden center – pretty much everywhere he went classified docs were strewn haphazardly.
Biden told the DOJ/FBI that the docs were in locked filing cabinets – they were NOT – PRes. Joe Biden broke 18 USC 1001 – lying to a government agent. The Biden docs were often found in stacks of books, magazines and notes. They were found in open cardboard boxes that in many cases were falling apart.
We still have no idea how Biden got Classified documents out of the Senate SCIF – except that he had to do that PERSONALLY.
And when he did that he KNEW what he was doing was a crime.
We keep hearing from you left wing nuts – that Biden Cooperated – FALSE – what is actually true is that the FBI cooperated with Biden.
They allowed Biden lawyers without security clearances to conduct the searches – Trump allowed NARA and FBI Agents to conduct their own searches long before MAL was raided – there is FBI email that have been retrieved via FOIA that have the FL FBI office SAC telling DOJ that he will not get a warrant for MAL and Raid Trump without a direct order to do so – because Trump has been “cooperating” from the start.
We have no idea who accessed the Biden docs – w have no idea who was able to get at the docs at Udel, at Biden’s vacation home, at the Biden center. As Senator – Biden had no security detail. as VP he lost the SS shortly after he left office.
There are no security camers in most of these locations. there is no security service. In amhy instances places Biden stashed classified docs were unoccupied and unattended for months. Or Joe was not there = But Hunter and his associates were.
There is fairly strong evidence that one way or another classified information found its way into Hunter emails.
Conversely MAL is a private gated community – no one gets into the 27 acre fascility without being identified. There is security everywhere 24×7. There is CCTV everywhere. Trump’s residence is separate and separately secured. It has additional CCTV,. and 24×7 security and it has Secret Service round the clock. But no Classified docs were found in the Trump residence EXCEPT – a very small number is the even more secure and locked presidents office, and nearly all within the locked SCIF within that office.
You had to get past atleast 3 layers of security – including guards and CCTV and ultimately the SS to get to Trump’s classified docs.
To get to Biden’s all you had to do was open a garage door – or get invited to stay with Hunter. Or sneak into to Biden Center or uDEL at night.
“trump hid them.”
Nope, While they are his documents and he is entitled to do with them as he pleases.
He did NOT hide them. Nearly all were found in the Locked SCIF at MAL – the same place they were kept when Trump was president.
I beleive one of two were found LOCKED in Trump’s desk in his presidential office.
They were NOT hidden. They WERE secured.
They were not found in Melania’s limgerie – or in Trump’s sock drawer – which is where the Clinton Classified tapes were and are likely to this day.
They were not found in an unsecured garage in boxes that were falling apart. They were not found mixed in with cloths and old furniture.
They were not scattered all through TRump’s various residences, and offices. They were not scattered througout MAL. They were not in places without securtity, they were not in places without CCTV. They were the same place they were during Trump’s presidency, secured in the same way as they were during Trump’s presidency.
“You do have one thing right, it will be a landslide, against former republicans. the trump party is a disgrace to humanity and will lose huuuuuuugely”
Anything is possible, The current betting odds are 2:1 Trump:Biden. Trump’s poll numbers are slowly rising.
He is +2.1 over biden head to head – that is almost 7pt gain over 2020 – when Biden won by less than 45,000 votes nations wide.
Trump is +5 in battlegound states and depending on the day is winning every single one.
On the Top 10 issues that voters care about – republicans win on ALL of them by large margins.
The economy could dramatically recover in the next 9 months
There could be an amazing peace deal in Ukraine that everyone loves.
There could be an amazing peace deal in Gaza that everyone loves.
The border could magically be secured.
Crime could suddenly drop precipitously.
These and many other disasters for democrats could resolve themselves favorably by November.
But I would not bet on it.
Elections have ALWAYS been a drag on the economy – in good times or bad.
Elections are uncertainty and markets do not like uncertainty.
The market and the economy usually go up after an election – even when the worst choice wins.
A known bad president is better for the markets than uncertainty.
Your mouth to God’s ears, but me thinks they cheat better than the Republicans. In any case, as he discovered first time round, he’s dealing with a hydra. The entire body is corrupt so cutting off the head will not bring change. It would only regenerate the same.
Is it time for AI to be used to eliminate ideology (bias) from the justice system? At least on the front-end in determining whether facts and evidence are sufficient for an indictment? Consider both classified document cases of Biden and Trump. Either they both should be indicated or they both should not be indicted. Just considering one had classification authority and the other did not. The difference in how and where they were stored. At a minimum, Biden should be indicted right along side Trump.
One would first need to teach the A-I programmer U.S. Founding Ideas and Principals. Without that critical information the ai wouldn’t know to defer to individual’s Rights vs government Powers in a ‘justice’ system.
JAFO, that would be a great project in the development of AI to evaluate existing laws and regulations. But for those laws and regulations already on the books, using AI in what I was describing would in theory remove the institutionalized bias in the front end of our justice system.
Olly, one can indeed hope. I’m not one of those who see Ai as ‘neutral’. With very few exceptions (like learning how to respond to human thoughts to move mechanical replacement parts of the body), Ai is currently being programmed by the same minds that program Kli-mat Ka-CHING(!) computers, if you know what I mean. The programmers know the pre-ordained outcome because they control the data input. For Ai to evaluate literally anything, it must have multiple comparitive options and outcomes to weigh. In this example, existing laws vs human, inalienable Rights guranteed in the Constitution, it needs something artificial intelligence will never have, an improgrammable conscience. Ai can’t be ‘taught’ nor actually ‘learn’ right vs wrong because it can’t and/or doesn’t, care. It’s a tool at best. Tools are used in decisions humans make, both good and bad. Remember what Yogi says, “In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.”
You just need to have AI be a closed loop system – where the AI itself uses the results of its own output as input to learn from.
Current AI systems learn from input humans chose,
When they learn from mistakes – it is because HUMANS detect those mistakes and chose to feed the AI new input.
AI is a sort of heuristic as opposed to algorithmic logic system. It works similarly to the way animal brains work as best as we can tell.
Given a closed loop it will arrive at the same place as the best human minds on its own.
The fundimental problem of AI Bias, is because Biased humans still control the input and AI systems “close the loop” through humans.
I am on the fence regarding AI. Properly coded AI could make all judicial decisions in a perfectly consistent and politically neutral way.
But properly coded is a reach. As we have seen with Googles Gemeni – gargantuan bias can easily get in.
One facet of AI that we have not really seen is closed loop learning. Current AI learns from what it is provided as input.
Garbage In Garbage out. You can control I by controlling the information it is fed.
But if we get to a point at which AI closes the loop and uses the conseqences of its output as input, THEN I see AI as rapidly moving toward classical liberalism.
One of the reasons those on the left want to burn it all down and start over, is because the system we have that culminates with the US constitution, US government and US legal system is the result of 10 milenia of evolution.
It is not perfect – but it is better than anything anyone tries to dream up on their own.
Seems Menendez, with his long history of appearances of corruption, is a embarrassment to the DNC. They finally have a real way of getting rid of him, so they are going to make the most of it.
The question I have, does he have any dirt on anyone else he can use to leverage a “sweetheart” deal?
UpstateFarmer said: “Menendez, with his long history of appearances of corruption, is a embarrassment to the DNC”
Sorry to disillusion you, but it takes far more than Menendez’ behavior to seriously embarrass today’s Democrats. The bottom line is that Phil “Gopher” Murphy, Governor of this state, has developed designs on Manendez’ Senate seat for his idiot wife Tammy.
@Upstate
No doubt. I am seriously questioning the mental health of people that can twist themselves into these ideological pretzels at will, even if they are doing it for money. That is the very definition of a sociopath. Are they all on drugs of one kind or another? At least that would make it make sense.
Barring that, if this is the true mentality of our phone-addicted culture – I don’t know what else to say except that it probably wouldn’t be too hard for the rest of us to overtake such weaklings if we can just stand together. So let’s do that. In droves.
Put pettiness aside and realize that in November, our entire way of life is on the line, even for those that define their perimeters according to their particular bubble. There will be no more bubbles in the dems’ vision for our collective future; just compliance or non-compliance, and taking whatever it is that you get.
Young people today are probably too ignorant to understand the phrase ‘government cheese’, the rest of us know perfectly well what that means, and it’s pretty much what they are trying to foist upon us.
“Put pettiness aside and realize that in November, our entire way of life is on the line”
Amen, James.
I think a large part of the mental health issues of large swaths of the Democrat Base, are direct result of bad choices when faced with cognitive dissonance. See this excerpt:
======
“Today, we’ll take up cognitive dissonance (e.g., Festinger et al. 1956), which manifests itself in the tendency to overvalue anything in which we’ve invested too much—money, time, emotional energy, whatever. Cognitive dissonance essentially means that the more you’ve paid, the better you like. Whether it makes any sense or not.
Enter Marian Keech.
Keech (a pseudonym) believed she had received messages from the space aliens of Planet Clarion (seriously—that’s what she said) that large chunks of the Earth and its population were to be destroyed by flood at dawn on December 21, 1954.
Keech managed to persuade her followers that the apocalyptic flood was going to happen, that they should join her to await the disaster, that they would be rescued by the Clarion Flying Saucer. That everybody else could drown—well, the hell with them.
Now, since the world was basically ending, there wasn’t much point in holding on to property, careers, or perhaps even relationships. So many of Keech’s Believers gave these things up. You can imagine how the relevant marital conversations went, when the Believers explained that they were now unemployed and they’d sold the house or car for a few bucks and a smile.
Keech’s followers paid tremendously for their participation in her cult. Property, careers, spouses—all of those were flushed away.
The devotion of Keech’s believers to her nonsense seems bizarre, but it actually makes perfect sense when you think about it in terms of cognitive dissonance. They’d paid so much that there was no way they could believe they’d been wrong.
When December 21 came, of course, there was no flood. And no space aliens. Nothing happened at all. Keech started to cry.
But then, Keech received a “message” by means of automatic writing. (“Automatic writing” happens when you write a message to yourself and pretend [or believe?] that somebody else, who’s invisible, is controlling the pencil. This happened to Keech a lot.) But anyway, the message, apparently from God himself, was that He was so impressed by Keech and Company’s devotion that He’d decided to stand down and not cap much of the world’s population after all.
Do you think you could sell obvious nonsense like this even to a child?
But Keech’s adult followers had invested so much, their cognitive dissonance was so great, that not only did the majority of them believe Keech’s story, they became even more devoted to these beliefs, proselytizing Keech’s message like never before (Festinger et al, 1956).
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-forensic-view/202010/cults-and-cognition-programming-the-true-believer
================
I think too many Democrats have invested too much of themselves into Democrat Narratives, so much that they simply can not see things for what they are. If DeMac is being truthful, that he is a retired 73-year-old lawyer, then he is probably incapable of leaving the cult. Particularly when he has millions of cohorts, who are just as bonkers as he is. He is not even able to do the most “lawyer” thing that there is – see the other side of the case in a dispassionate manner. He has fried his own brain, as surely as if he had been smoking crack and meth for decades. Sad, really.
Floyd, all we have to do is look at recent history.
Hormones and surgery are provided to young children going through childhood.
COVID-19 vaccine to the young who did not face the disease but face whatever the COVID-19 vaccine offers in the present or the future.
The left doesn’t think, and the population goes with the flow. If the Democrats don’t lose, we are doomed.
They may have decided to sacrifice Menendez to create the false impression that the legal system is not rigged against Republicans.
With the obvious rebuttal (and rhetorical) question being: “What took soo long?!”
Quick, haul out the Hunter porn tapes. The Biden impeachment attempt is a farce, the Biden classified doc case is a farce, there must be something we can smear the Bidens with.
Just smear them with their policy and leadership records – that is disgusting enough. But yeah, they are also personally scum of the earth, too – but you keep pretending they are something other than thugs and junkies and corrupt. F’ing clown.
The only people talking about Hunters drugs and sex with underage girls is the Democrats like you defending his actions
The same Weiss who: was in charge, wasn’t in charge, eased up on Hunter, and now comes down on Hunter?
Am not holding my breath about the equal follow-through of justice in this situation.
The ‘selective prosecution’ seems to be that he is NOT being prosecuted much, thus far.
Letting him get away with not showing up when subpoenaed is just one of the many examples.
Am a bit surprised Prof. Turley hasn’t yet compared Hunter’s counterclaims to the ‘Twinkie Defense’.
-Cat
Both deserve prison. Neither will get it.
The difference between how Attorney General Merrick Garland handled Hunter Biden’s criminal case and Bob Menendez’s criminal case is striking. Sack dragging the more serious felonies until the statute of limitations ran, no FARA violations, and plea deal fit for a Prince. I would argue the same is true for how Merrick Garland handled the classified document case for President Biden who, ironically, had a larger number of classified documents over a much longer period of time and never had been President as required by the Presidential Records Act to possess them. Thank you, Jonathan, for an excellent article.
Let’s face the facts. The biden crime family beat America. They beat the system. They won. Period. Go ahead and argue all the “double standards” of the justice system. Well, wake up america. The double standard IS the system. Biden knows it and he gottcha. And there ain’t nothin gonna happen to change that. This is the one “win” joe can show for his four years. So it’s joe 1-0 and America 0-1. Joe’s only losses are to Russia, China, and Iran. You lost BIG there, joe. You go to 1-3.
America goes to 0-4.
It’s shocking that Hunter hasn’t petitioned the court regarding his need to get a new lawyer, since Abbe Lowell has offered such inadequate legal representation.
I’m a little amused that suddenly, David Weiss is a hero who is getting tough with Hunter Biden. Weiss is the same lead prosecutor who was part of the “plea agreement” called out by the judge for its sweeping grant of immunity to Hunter for any prospective charges, and I believe Weiss is also the prosecutor who let the statute of limitations run, -only (ex post facto) to equivocally waffle over his authority to file charges in other jurisdictions. I think there is more to this story than meets the eyes or ears…
“What remained unclear from his [Weiss’s] testimony were the reasons behind his initial decisions not to pursue charges in the other districts and why – over a year later – Weiss ultimately decided he needed to be elevated to special counsel to continue his investigation into the president’s son. ‘I’m not going to discuss that. That’s a matter — those are privileged communications between myself and the executives at the Department,’ he said.”
https://news.yahoo.com/weiss-congressional-interview-transcript-says-030711716.html
Lin, maybe Weiss believes the Bidens are throwing him under the bus. He let the statute of limitations and other things go, but the Bidens want more, and he wishes to salvage a part of his reputation.
S. Meyer: Hi there, you may be right. I don’t know. The whole history just doesn’t sit on all fours for me…
S. Meyer, Lin,
I had similar thoughts.
Need to wait and see for additional actions, evidence of a change before can make a more concrete analysis.
Till then, things that make you go hhuuummmm.
Sybil Weiss
JAFO: Assuming you refer to the old “Sybil” movie (which I never saw) but associated with “multiple faces/personalities” connection to that name, if that is what you are referring to? What do you think, who’s pulling whose punches?
I suspect JAFO shares my opinion in that the likelihood of Weiss is now suddenly gunning it for Hunter is as probable as Doktur Jill Biden having any intellectual contribution to designing university curriculums given her “Ed. D. degree”, Joseph Biden confessing he sexually harassed multiple females under his wing and Hunter Biden showing a fatherly disposition to the several children his bimbos birthed.
I would be less surprised if the Tooth Fairy paid me my due, Santa Claus appeared with the 10 speed Schwinn I had wanted, or the Easter Bunny laid chocolate creme filled eggs. Heck, I would more readily believe Gigi is a woman than Weiss is now suddenly nailing Hunter for his crimes.
Estovir: That was funny. good to have you back, hope you did not get rained out on your vacation!
The lion cracks me up. Every. Time.
lin, what I think is…Weiss needs to get *some* of his credibility back if he’s going to continue a career in “justice”. Holding firm on procecuting Hunter, challenging Hunter’s outrages court filings, is the last chance *HE* believes he has in proving his worth as an attorney, and he’s probably right. He can’t afford to stop the procecution or drop further charges; no government office would ever trust him to lead another trial, nor would any private firm hire him as a defense attorney – for the same reason. Weiss’s credibility is the only item on the line in the Hunter case. Hunter’s isn’t (he has none). DOJ’s credibility isn’t on the line either (it also has none.) Who’s pulling who’s punches? Well, like the perverbial cheese, Weiss stands alone. He’s pulling and jabbing at the same time, hence, Sybil (yes, like the film).
Lin,
A Prediction: As Trump enters the White House for His second term, there will be a number of ‘Exits’ in the Executive Branch. I see the following going out the back door as trump comes in the front door.
I would think that the same would hold true in Biden case.
David Charles Weiss [1956 (age 67–68)]
Merrick Garland [1952 (age 71)]
Arthur Engoron [1948 or 1949 (age 74–75)]
Michael E. Horowitz [1962 (age 61)] NOTE An assumption that he will step down.
Re: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_E._Horowitz
Also a few Supreme Court Justices with in 2025
We’ll know in November-thur-January 2025.
So the only Republican with similar conduct in your essay – Manafort – received a full pardon for his crimes. So it is hard to say Hunter is being treated better than him.
So Turley instead tries to argue that Hunter is treated better than a Democratic Senator who has had multiple indictments over the years for various schemes. This flies in the face of Turley’s usual narrative that only Republicans are prosecuted while Dems walk free.
Hey Bubba, did the DOJ pardon Manaford? Does a president have pardon powers? Did Clinton pardon Marc Rich (look it up)?
Yes Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich a quarter century ago. More recently, about 3 years ago, Trump pardoned dozens of Marc Rich-types. And Bill Clinton was not elected to anything after the Marc Rich pardon.
No, he had already served TWO TERMS. Name the Trump pardon who was selling to Iran.
If we didn’t live in Doublestandardstan we would have seen Biden’t ghost writer indicted for obstruction when he deleted the tape of Biden telling him he had classified documents and then they would have turned the screws on the ghost writer to turn on Biden.
Who knows, maybe another useful idiot like Fani Willis would have brought a RICO case against Biden, the ghost guy, the staff that supposedly moved the documents many times and to many locations, staff at the many locations, Jill Biden, Hunter Biden, two or three neighbors, the mechanic who services the Vette, the Uber Eats kid etc etc etc.
Well, it seems to me that Senator Menendez can resolve his problems in a very old fashioned way. He just needs to convince good ol’ Joe to adopt him and his problems should get cut down to size. I mean the Romans found great success by adopting prominent or promising people to enhance their lines and clear the way to becoming emperor or giving away their fortunes. Octavian->adoption->Augustus Caesar (gained all his clients and fortune although Mark Anthony tried to make off with Caesar’s fortune first)
Certainly worth a try.
Careful though, the Ides of March are approaching. Stay away from sharp, pointy things.
And the exact same logic shows that Trump is not being selectively prosecuted.
OT as all get out, BUT fascinating! Is Brigitte Macron a man???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v81g1tldi4c&t=79s
OK, I am going back to bed now.
There are ways DoJ could greatly improve — for instance, when facts of a crime are presented by the FBI, the case file is “blinded”, redacting any identifying info. This same technique is used by many journal reviewers when selecting papers to publish, and blind auditions for symphony orchestras. The lawyers deciding whether to charge a case, and how, only need the facts of the crime — not who did it.
PbinCA’s idea involving organizations being “blinded” could make this a much more peaceful nation, but as we have seen, there is no ‘blinding.’ Instead, we see the FBI hiding Hunter’s computer, permitting Biden advance notice for his attornies regarding records he was NEVER supposed to have in his possession, not following up on many SARs that indicate the possibility of corruption, etc. On the other hand, the FBI did the opposite regarding Trump, who could legally hold those records, which is why so many actions against him failed. They were not true despite lying from officials and a lack of truthfulness from the FBI. Just look at the incarceration of those on Trump’s side and the hand slapping at worst for those doing the same while helping Biden.
Democrats, the media, the IRS, and the FBI, along with others in the deep state, have engaged in precisely what PbinCA wishes to prevent. I encourage her to be “blinded” and go after the bad guys.
Having so many legitimate questions about the honesty of our president is one bad enough . . . but, it’s their arrogance and gas lighting of the American public that makes Biden’s conduct so galling.
Yeah, because why are sending so much money to Ukraine? Does Zelensky have the goods on Joe Biden???
If it were not for President Trump, would much of this have come to light? President Trump was digging into the muck of the swamp and did churn up a lot. There is a video where V.P. Biden flaunted the money. There is evidence of classified papers that were in V.P. Biden’s possession. There are sealed boxes at UDel–what is in those? He didn’t actually teach a class at UPenn, did he? Sen. Menendez is a democrat–Who did he anger? What ever happened to the 2018 investigation into the IT people who had access to Sen. Wasserman-Schultz (and I think others) computers? How much information is leaking out of our country and how many loans have been repaid?
Floyd, our favorite noncompus mentis President, has now combined the Zelensky-Putin war with the war in the Middle East. Biden’s weakness is drawing more players into the fray, including the Egyptians. Nuclear bombers are now in the air.
S. Meyer,
Well said.
And that is why all our enemies want another Biden admin. Russia, China, Iran, Hama, the drug cartels. It benefits them the most.
Upstate, don’t forget the weapons industry. They are making out big time.
Floyd,
And the Russian oligarchs, the Chinese business men and . . .
Someone should turn on the FARA Faucet on Hunter! 🙂
Seriously, somewhere along the way, maybe in the Lewinsky years, talking points and spin, became out-and-out lying and making things up. But back up and ask a question – how do you bribe somebody, and get away with it? You can’t write the check to them, or just give them a thing because that would be too easy to trace. So, you simply give it to members of their family. Still bribing them, but much safer.
@Floyd – Agreeing with of what you said, and would add that as the times change the Bribes (Compensation) have changed as well. Cryptocurrency(s) have made it so that you can virtually Mint your own ‘Bribe’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency#Anonymity
Take your pick, and go Bribe a Senator, Congressman, V.P., or President ….
Little to none is said about Hunter Biden’s crypto stash (In his own Wallet), and the
Sam Bankman-Fried and his Mother Barbara Fried, paid out Millions to the Dem’s last election, and you can bet that more “Dark-Money’ is being used to fund this election’s slush funds.
Incidentally, Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks Lenient Sentence and to Appeal Conviction, for a reduction of 100 Years possible down to 6.5 Years. Lets see if paying off Politicians Pays-Off.
YouTube – Verdict with Ted Cruz | Ep.150 ~ Nov 21, 2022
… Crypto-corruption with Dems!
Sam Bankman-Fried and his Mother Barbara Fried
Start At: 33.39′ Marker
https://youtu.be/VghGAsZBJuY?t=2020
Despite Menendez’ obvious guilt, Chuck Schumer will drag out the case as long as possible so as to not threaten the 50 seats the Dems have in the Senate.
That can hardly be the reason, as the seat is safe Democrat.
DoubleDutch,
May I assume you are saying the seat is safe as in it is from deep blue NJ?