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Ben Weingarten Federalist Senior Contributor; Claremont Institute Fellow
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Opinion

Charges against Hunter Biden are a head fake

Ben Weingarten Federalist Senior Contributor; Claremont Institute Fellow
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Republican inquiries into President Joe Biden have focused frequently on the activities of his son, Hunter Biden. While these inquiries are wide-ranging, the Department of Justice recently charged Hunter Biden with three federal firearm offenses following the collapse of an expected settlement.

Straight Arrow News contributor Ben Weingarten argues that these charges represent only the least serious allegations against Hunter Biden and concludes that this is nothing more than an attempt for the Department of Justice to save face and appear impartial.

Was this really the highest and best use of the resources of the Justice Department, bringing solely this case against Hunter — a case that could’ve been brought at any time in the years since the offenses obviously occurred? What’s going on here?

I’ll tell you: This is a continuation of the cover-up of the Biden family international influence peddling scheme, and the crimes associated with it.

Of all the alleged crimes Hunter has committed, the gun offenses are those least-related — totally untethered — from the corrupting and compromising conduct implicating Hunter’s father — the president presiding over this Justice Department. So this is the ultimate head fake.

Today Hunter Biden is set to be make his initial appearance in Delaware District Court and be arraigned.

 

For what?

 

Is it for tax fraud and evasion?

 

No.

 

Money laundering?

 

No.

 

Violating the Foreign Agent Registrations Act in his lobbying for Ukrainian, Chinese, and Romanian oligarchs and enterprises?

 

Please.

 

After five years of sabotaged investigations, spiked prosecutions, and a collapsed sweetheart plea deal, the long arm of the law is finally coming for Hunter on…felony gun charges?

 

That’s right. Two days after Republicans announced they were to open an impeachment inquiry into the alleged high crimes and misdemeanors of Joe Biden, and the alleged cover-up engineered by his Justice Department, on September 14th newly-minted Special Counsel David Weiss — the man who had all the authority he needed to bring cases against Hunter Biden…until he apparently didn’t – hit Hunter with an indictment.

 

He was charged with three counts of lying about his drug use and addiction in obtaining a gun, and his illegal possession of that gun while a user and addict.

 

Now these are serious felonies carrying sentences that could total 25 years in jail – at least for mere mortals.

 

That Hunter ever owned a gun was dangerous, and thank G-d he didn’t hurt anyone.

 

But prosecutors have discretion.

 

Was this really the highest and best use of the resources of the Justice Department, bringing solely this case against Hunter – a case that could’ve been brought at any time in the years since the offenses obviously occurred?

 

What’s going on here?

 

I’ll tell you: This is a continuation of the cover-up of the Biden family international influence peddling scheme, and the crimes associated with it.

 

Of all the alleged crimes Hunter has committed, the gun offenses are those least-related – totally untethered – from the corrupting and compromising conduct implicating Hunter’s father – the president presiding over this Justice Department.

 

So this is the ultimate headfake.

 

It’s designed to insulate the Justice Department, which can say it indicted the son of the president – “See, no one is above the law.”

 

It also will no doubt try and use the case to prevent oversight of its efforts by Congress – so that Weiss can whitewash everything prosecutors did to subvert this investigation and prosecution in a report he drafts, wherein he can harmonize what he said about what authority he had, and when he had it, with Merrick Garland – and perhaps so that Hunter won’t be forced to testify before Congress.

 

Relatedly, and perhaps most importantly, it’s also designed to maximally insulate Joe Biden by avoiding the alleged crimes emanating from Hunter’s monetizing of his name and office.

 

The purpose is to get people to focus on how he’s such a doting father, and how sad and gripping it is for one’s family to be dealing with an addiction. See, the Bidens are the real victims here. The president just loves his son. (Never mind that using your son as a bagman for an international influence peddling scheme isn’t exactly a show of love.)

 

Also, by focusing on Hunter’s addiction that’s an alibi – a defense – ludicrously, to justify that somehow Joe couldn’t say no to his son as he sold the family name all over the world for millions of dollars and flowed it through 20 shell companies down to his family members and didn’t report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income or pay taxes on them and recorded expenses fraudulently – and our worst adversaries gained leverage over us and perhaps all manner of beneficial policies too.

 

But this is a contrived and half-baked effort.

 

Because of the coming impeachment inquiry, it’s not gonna work.

 

Special Counsel Weiss, let’s not forget, asked for that authority after the plea deal collapsed supposedly to bring tax charges where there was actually venue for them – either in D.C. or California.

 

So where’s the beef?

 

What’s he waiting for?

 

Does he think this is all gonna blow over?

 

The statute of limitations on the D.C. charges – specifically the tax-related ones around the ill-gotten Burisma gains – the most material criminal behavior touching on perhaps the most cut-and-dry case of the corruption and compromise of the Bidens with the Quid Pro Joe to get the prosecutor pursuing Burisma fired – lapsed.

 

Hunter’s team by the way has maintained that the deferred prosecution agreement from that failed plea deal is still operating – which would imply he still has a global immunity get-out-of-jail free card that would shield him from the non-gun charges that actually impact the national interest.

 

 

Thursday, the House Oversight Committee is slated to hold its first impeachment inquiry.

That will be the start of the real Biden investigation, and the investigation of the investigators.

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