Hunter Biden cops pleas on taxes, gun law

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has reached a plea bargain with the federal government to avoid jail time on tax and gun charges, and apparently avoid further Justice Department investigation.

The Hunter Biden plea deal

The details of the plea bargain became public yesterday, according to Just the News. Under it, Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of not paying taxes on time. Those charges stem from late or nonpayment of $1.2 million in taxes for the tax years 2017 and 2018. The government was also going to charge him with possession of a firearm while using a controlled substance, namely cocaine. But a court could dismiss that charge if he completes a two-year rehabilitation program.

If a court accept this bargain, Hunter Biden avoids jail time.

One can read a one-page letter to the clerk of the U.S. District Court for the Delaware District here.

CNN had earlier reported that the Justice Department would recommend that a court sentence Hunter Biden to probation.

According to The Western Journal, the Biden family released a typical we-love-him statement after the announcement of the bargain.

Hunter Biden’s attorney spoke of the “resolution” of a “five-year investigation.” What else the Justice Department was investigating, is not clear.

Reaction, according to Just the News and The Daily Signal, was swift and furious. Jonathan Turley compared the Hunter Biden plea bargain to “ticket[ing] the getaway driver after a bank robbery.”

Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch wants to know for what other offenses Hunter Biden will escape punishment:

Relevance to the Congressional investigation

Mike Davis once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and worked on nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee. In this thread he observed that Hunter Biden would no longer be able to “plead the Fifth.”

He also contrasted the treatment of Donald Trump and the family of Joe Biden:

The Congressional investigation remains open. Rep. James Comey (R-Ky.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Accountability Committee, is pursuing it vigorously. Yesterday he called the plea bargain “a slap on the wrist.”

Let’s be clear: The Department of Justice’s charges against President Biden’s son Hunter reveal a two-tiered system of justice. Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery. These charges against Hunter Biden and sweetheart plea deal have no impact on the Oversight Committee’s investigation. We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden’s involvement in the family’s schemes are revealed.

Former President Donald Trump had this immediate reaction:

Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere “traffic ticket.” Our system is BROKEN!

Three hours later, he said this:

The Hunter/Joe Biden settlement is a massive COVERUP & FULL SCALE ELECTION INTERFERENCE “SCAM” THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN IN OUR COUNTRY BEFORE. A “TRAFFIC TICKET,” & JOE IS ALL CLEANED UP & READY TO GO INTO THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – AND THIS AS CROOKED DOJ, STATE, & CITY PROSECUTORS, MARXISTS & COMMUNISTS ALL, HIT ME FROM ALL SIDES & ANGELS WITH BULL….! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

Late yesterday evening, Trump quoted an article from Breitbart saying he had predicted just such an outcome.

Tucker Carlson made the plea bargain the subject of the fifth episode of his new Twitter show.

John Solomon separately suggested that, though Hunter escapes prison, his father has lost his credibility. The reason: for five years, beginning with the censorship of the first “laptop story,” friendly media said:

• Hunter Biden was innocent of wrongdoing, and
• Anyone who suggested otherwise was indulging in conspiracy theorizing.

His having to reach any kind of plea bargain at all, belies those five years of denial. In another piece, Solomon explores the further political perils of a President caught arranging sweetheart legal deals for his son. Worse: Hunter would no longer be able to avoid answering questions if self-incrimination is no longer a danger.

About the image

The portrait in the composite image is of David C. Weiss, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware.