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Friday, September 15, 2023

Hunter Biden: Only the Gun Charges?

This article first appeared in New English Review.

"We fooled 'em again, Son."


 Today, Hunter Biden was charged with three counts of violations related to his purchase and possession of a firearm while being addicted to drugs. This indictment comes from the office of David Weiss, US Attorney in Delaware, who was recently named as special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland. It also comes after the collapsed plea deal agreement that Weiss oversaw.

This, in my opinion, should not be greeted as good news or a sign that our justice system is truly working in a fair and unbiased manner. I would be surprised if Hunter Biden gets any jail time for this. My question is what happened to the more serious allegations related to Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings with Ukraine, China, Russia, and Kazakhstan, dealings that allegedly involved Joe Biden when he was vice president. The possible violations here would be influence peddling, money laundering, income tax evasion on millions of dollars he reportedly received from these countries, as well as possible violation of the Foreign Agent Registration Act. There is a strong indication, regardless of what hacks like White House Press Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre maintain, that Joe and Hunter Biden were using Joe's position as vice president to enrich both of them. The claims of Jean-Pierre and other Democrats that there is no evidence linking President Biden to any corrupt activities involving his son are ludicrous on their face.

What I want to know is what David Weiss and the Justice Department plan to do with Hunter Biden's overseas business and tax matters, which also pertain to his father and his involvement, if any. Even if you remove President Biden from all that, the question is why Hunter is not being charged with income tax evasion (at the very least). The criteria that the IRS generally uses in deciding whether to prosecute is the amount of money involved, and whether there were efforts to conceal the money received, which appears to be the case.  But when you throw in Joe Biden's involvement as vice president, the matter becomes all the more serious.

The big question is whether Weiss and Garland now intend to settle for just the gun charges and let all the other possible charges quietly die. This would be unacceptable. In my view, it simply takes us back to the collapsed plea deal. Whether Hunter Biden pleads out or goes to trial, it stinks. This underlines more than ever, the need for the House of Representatives to go forward with their impeachment inquiry.

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