Things are looking bad in Bidenworld. The wayward First Son, Hunter Biden, was all set to get a sweetheart plea deal for tax evasion from Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors.
That is, until the presiding judge decided to wade into the issue and nix the entire plea deal.
Of course, there is still time for the Hunter’s defense attorneys and the federal prosecutors to submit explanatory briefs to the presiding judge to save the unconventional plea deal.
But that is unlikely, now that the public spotlight has been shone on this most dubious of plea deals.
A Major Discrepancy
At the core of Judge Maryellen Noreika’s opposition to the deal was the fact that neither the prosecution nor Hunter Biden’s defense lawyers could agree on how the plea deal would impact any future court cases that the wayward First Son would be involved in.
It is a well-known fact that Hunter Biden is under intensive investigation by Congress for a multitude of alleged crimes. The First Son has already found himself in the middle of a nasty alimony fight with his baby mama, the former Washington, D.C.-based stripper, Lunden Roberts.
Because neither the prosecution nor defense team could concur as to how the proposed plea deal in the tax evasion and illegal gun possession federal case would impact Hunter Biden’s legal future in subsequent investigations, the judge denied the deal.
After the judge refused the initial plea deal, Hunter Biden was forced to reverse course.
Rather than cop to the charges in exchange for not having to serve any jail time (when you and I would definitely be punished under the same circumstances), the First Son changed his plea to “not guilty.”
Under sentencing guidelines, if Hunter Biden is found guilty of tax evasion (which he is, without a doubt, guilty of these charges), he will receive the maximum punishment (whereas if he were to plead “guilty”, very often there is a degree of leniency as most courts take such a plea as a sign of penitence on the part of the defendant).
An Unexpected Development
Hunter Biden is going to have to fully fight the prosecution.
This was an unexpected development, and it will be hard for him to overcome the case that the DOJ prosecutors have against the First Son.
It should make for a very interesting event, seeing as Hunter Biden (and his family) were anticipating this legal problem to have simply gone away by now. Kudos to the presiding judge for not simply rolling over and accepting what was a blatantly corrupt deal designed to insulate Hunter Biden—and, more importantly, his father—from greater scrutiny.
Would Joe Biden Pardon His Son?
Enter the prospect of President Biden, who has insisted he was not involved with his son’s business practices (although the White House has had to modulate those claims in recent days), having to issue a pardon for his son.
Republicans have argued that Biden would do exactly that for his son. Now, the president has explicitly said that, in light of the judge’s refusal to accept the plea deal for Hunter Biden, he would not issue a pardon if his son were found guilty.
You can assume that, just as with his now-changed claims that he had nothing to do with Hunter’s allegedly illicit international influence-peddling schemes, the forty-sixth president would ultimately sign a pardon for his accused son.
Of course, such a move would be fraught with severe political ramifications—especially if it had to be done shortly before or during the contentious 2024 Presidential Election.
In fact, the probability that President Biden would issue a pardon for his clearly guilty son might generate such a political firestorm that the powers behind the Biden Administration might opt to push the forty-sixth president out as the next nominee for the Democratic Party and replace him with a more viable candidate with less baggage.
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (Encounter Books), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
From 19FortyFive
The Second American Civil War Has Begun
