Do I want to talk about Hunter Biden? No, I don’t. Kind people will say that Hunter Biden fell apart when his brother Beau died in 2015, but it seems like Hunter has always been a huge embarrassment, a terrible husband, a terrible father and a terrible son. President Biden loves Hunter and refuses to cut ties with his only living son, regardless of Hunter’s many problems. This is why the Republicans are so obsessed with Hunter, a man who has never held office, never been employed by his father or the federal government – Hunter is Joe Biden’s “weakness.” Since I don’t speak Wingnut, I have no idea what kind of hyper-involved conspiracies those people have around Hunter and what he’s been up to. It’s clear that man has long battled with his addictions and inner demons.
After a years-long federal investigation, all they could come up with is “Hunter did coke, Hunter had an unlicensed gun and Hunter failed to pay some taxes.” That’s IT. That’s all they have after a huge, expensive, years-long investigation. Well, Hunter thought he reached a plea deal in those charges, only the judge didn’t accept the plea deal yesterday so now this sh-t is still happening.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal misdemeanor charges of failing to pay federal income tax after a judge said she was not ready to accept a plea deal he had initially struck with prosecutors, which would have allowed him to avoid a felony gun charge.
The first plea deal that Hunter — the son of President Joe Biden — had reached with prosecutors would have seen him plead guilty to two tax charges and reach an agreement on the felony gun charges. But that deal fell apart in court on Wednesday, when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she had concerns about linking the tax plea agreement to the deal prosecutors reached on Hunter’s gun charge.
The plea deal came in the wake of a five-year investigation by federal prosecutors, the FBI and the IRS, which saw Hunter charged with two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay federal income taxes, as well as a felony charge of illegally possessing a weapon.
As NBC News notes, Hunter’s initial plea deal was struck with U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, a Trump appointee who was kept on the case by President Biden. But Republicans still took issue with the initial deal, arguing that it was too lenient and, citing an I.R.S. whistleblower, arguing that the Justice Department intentionally meddled in the case. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has rebutted this assertion.
I’m sure this is red meat to a certain class of moron, but honestly? Who cares? It feels like Republicans are convinced that screaming “HUNTER BIDEN” about every single thing will win them elections. I’m not so convinced, especially since it doesn’t even feel like the average American is paying attention to all of the ridiculous conspiracies and melodrama? Anyway, it sounds like this judge is trying to extend everything for the 2024 election – why accept a low-drama plea deal and effectively end this five-year investigation (with little to show for it) when the GOP needs Hunter Biden as a campaign issue?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- United States President Joe Biden, son Hunter Biden and grandson Beau Biden Jr. arrive at Fort Lesley J. McNair Featuring: Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Beau Biden Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 25 Jun 2023 Credit: Julia Nikhinson/POOL via CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- Hunter Biden arrives at Fort Lesley J. McNair Featuring: Hunter Biden Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 25 Jun 2023 Credit: Julia Nikhinson/POOL via CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- United States President Joe Biden, First lady Dr. Jill Biden, and family watch fireworks on the Blue Room Balcony during a Fourth of July event on the South Lawn of the White House. President Biden is hosting the event for military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors to celebrate Independence Day. Featuring: Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Hunter Biden, Beau Biden Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 04 Jul 2023 Credit: Ting Shen/POOL via CNP/startraksphoto.com
Agree to disagree.
I don’t think Hunter is a reflection of Joe Biden. Sometimes good parents end up with this type of horrible kids. Happened to my grandparents with my uncle.
However, he should absolutely not get to plead out the gun charges because he’s such a dangerous and irresponsible person to have a gun. One of the worst parts of living in America is the proliferation of guns so at the very least we should enforce the inadequate laws we do have. I just don’t believe that another person with this long of a history of ain’t shit-ness would get all these opportunities if his dad were not wealthy, powerful, and white. He’s also not a young man making mistakes, he’s super grown.
I’m with the Princess. That man is a hot mess and does not deserve these endless breaks. There’s only one reason he’s getting away with it all and it’s not a good look.
@Molly: Not a good look for who? President Biden never interfered in any way with this Republican led investigation. What more do you want him to do?
Princess Peach: I cannot agree more with you. I don’t believe Hunter’s issues are a reflection of the Bidens as parents. I empathize with Hunter’s addiction issues as I certainly have many members of my family suffering with the same addiction issues.
However, the gun charge is a serious one. He should not get a slap on the wrist for it. I wonder if a non-privileged, non-white person would be treated the same? My common sense tells me of course they wouldn’t. He needs to have a more serious consequence for the gun charge.
None of these charges are serious. He paid his taxes and all related penalties. The gun charge is for possessing a gun while being an addict. No one but Joe Biden’s son would be prosecuted for these crimes.
ITAWY!!
OT this is the first time I looked at photos of him and thought he’s a good looking man, go figure…
@princess, I agree with your comment save for it not being a bad reflection on Joe biden. Now, of course, Hunter Biden’s behavior in and of itself is not a bad reflection on the President; however, I think Biden’s putting Hunter front and center at public events does absolutely reflect poorly on him. I would have advised that Hunter not be allowed to participate in public functions with the President so as to avoid anyone inferring the President’s condoning of Hunter’s behavior. It is also the kind of public support that could lead (and it has led) to some believing that the President would try to help Hunter out of his jams, even if that is not the case. It’s a bad look.
I read that the issue with the plea deal had to do with an immunity for future prosecution for an investigation that is still ongoing – so it wasn’t as simple as the judge not liking the plea deal.
I think this is a case of multiple things being true – Hunter is being used by political rivals but he also is horrible and should face accountability.
I do think this is how most people see it. Hunter should not be protected by his wealth and privilege and needs to face consequences; he also has absolutely nothing to do with his father’s job. Imagine if everyone in powerful positions were judged/defined by their children’s failings. Trying to conflate a presidential candidate facing multiple indictments with a candidate’s (private citizen) son is a losing battle. Only the die-hard MAGAts are going to fall for that, and nothing is going to change their minds anyway.
But he is being investigated to this level solely because his father is a leading Democrat, was Vice President and is now President. Yes, you can point to powerless people who get prosecuted for these sorts of crimes, but the truth is that he is only being charged because of who his father is.
Yes he’s a mess, but he also survived a car crash that killed his mother and sister. Some get over that sort of thing, some don’t.
LOL I love how he Right is obsessing over this as if anyone of the left cares. I mean, some people probably do (as evidenced by the comments above), but most of us know that this is just a convenient way to distract from Trump’s crime-ing and the GOP’s descent into fascism.
And ten years ago I might have felt differently but the GOP and their lawlessness, their utter shamelessness has brought us to the point of no return. They made it this way by accepting and condoning the incessant crimes of their own party.
I care because it’s a terrible image issue for Dems. Dems have positioned themselves as the party of actual justice and holding people to account after 4 years of Trump’s lawlessness. But they need to hold themselves to that standard. You and I both know very well that if we did the things Hunter is accused of, we would not get the chance to cut such a deal. Republicans are awful, but that does not preclude them from being correct on this one thing – Hunter needs to face the same standards as any non-connected American. I appreciate that Joe Biden is in an impossible position here – some Republicans would scream no matter what happens to Hunter and would try to claim he got a sweetheart deal; there is no pleasing some people. But this deal does seem like it’s letting him off quite easy – especially given the gun issues. The Republicans view Hunter as a weak point because, well, he is. Biden has overall done such a excellent job that there is little they can critque, I feel like they are jumping on Hunter because he’s one of the few areas where Biden and Dems do fall down on their own standards.
But the Democratic party is no stranger to crime? I know we don’t like to talk about this but Mel Reynolds, Walter Tucker, Nick Mavroules, Bob Menendez, Mario Biaggi, Chaka Fattah…I can go on and on. And these are actual GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, not the president’s son, who were sentenced to federal prison.
Why didn’t the Right or the Left lose their collective minds over the child porn charges. the embezzlement, the theft from taxpayers, the racketeering etc?
It’s almost like, and here me out, the media frenzy surrounding Hunter’s violation of the law is a convenient distraction, “hey look over here while we continue to defund education, strip women of their bodily autonomy, suppress the vote, and legislate through our RW activist Supreme Court.”
So yeah, while I feel Hunter should get his just desserts, it’s just not something I care enough to focus my energy on, especially when there’s actual shit that drastically affects my life that the GOP is doing. I’m not a Dem but I see so many Dems playing right into the hands of the GOP: “Talk about the president’s son instead of talking about our descent into fascism.” Why give them what they want?
Totally agree, Sam. Trying to ignore this is not the right move. It’s a very bad look for the Democratic party… not interested in hearing the whatabout-isms of the GOP. If the best the left can do is to point to their rivals and say “But look at them! They’re worse, the bad things we did aren’t as bad as their bad things!” then we have a real problem. If the Dems want to be the party of equality and lawfulness, then the son of the president should be held to those standards… otherwise it is a red flag waving for Fox News to cry conspiracy and collusion.
LOL, how is Hunter Biden, a private citizen, “a terrible image on the Democrats”? Since whne did Hunter Biden start being the face of the US Democratic party? This way of Democrats’ thinking, always looking for a pristine, clean, perfect candidate is the reason Hillary lost the election and Trump came into power. Dems need to watch out, if you not careful, Trump and all his criminal self WILL be reelected to the WH. Hunter Biden is no image for any Democrats, just like any Trump Jr. is not image of any kind for the Republicans. Democrats need to elect into office a candidate based on their own merit, not based on the failings of their private son, a son that has never ever run for any office nor even ever expressed any interest in politics. I mean, Hunter Biden should be prosecuted because that is the law; because the US is a democratic country that should hold every single criminal accountable for their own crimes (even though the US is very notorious for doing quite the opposite, but I digress). That should be the only reason HB should be prosecuted, not because his father is a Democrat.
Pretty sure that if I did the same with my taxes and then agreed to pay them PLUS the large fine, that would be it. I would not be going to jail on the taxes. Neither would you, unless you had a long history of not paying taxes and refused to pay the amount owed plus the large fine. Still held accountable. Still the same punishment most others get for the same first time offense.
“If the best the left can do is to point to their rivals and say ‘But look at them! They’re worse, the bad things we did aren’t as bad as their bad things!’ then we have a real problem.”
But that’s literally what the Left always does..??? They’ve been counting on being the lesser evil for DECADES now. They run entire campaigns on it. It’s why Independents like myself are more likely than partisans to have negative views of both major parties. I vote Dem because the GOP is fucking insane, NOT because I love the Dem party or because I think the two parties are so drastically different—especially when it comes to things like dark money in politics, austerity, workers’ rights–to name a few–there’s a Venn Diagram there.
But the GOP is just so evil that they will never be an option for me. Never.
@ Lightpurple–Thanks for that clarification. Sounds like Hunter will be getting the same punishment that we all would.
Kitten, I am not arguing the Dems are not strangers to crime. However, it’s worth noting that most of the people you cited either actually WENT to jail on sentences that were fairly commiserate with the crimes committed or prosecutions were at least mounted (Menedez was prosecuted, jury deadlocked, etc.).
The issue for me is that Democrats need to be the polar opposite of the Republicans right now. The GOP has openly shown itself as lawless, willing to step over any law or institution it does not like, etc. The Dems ran in 2020, largely on a platform of restoring order and respect for institutions and defeating nepotism, etc. Well, now they have to do it.
As a lawyer, I am always reminded of the idea that something is inappropriate if it gives the appearance of impropriety. Not whether there was actual wrongdoing, mind you – it only needs to look like there is. And given Joe’s consistent and public strong support for Hunter, I worry that most Americans will view this through that lens. I wish the process had been allowed to play out in a more way transparent way and I especially wish the WH had gone to far greater lengths to distance Joe from Hunter, for Biden’s own good. The GOP right now can simply say “Well yes, we don’t respect the law, but the Dems don’t either, so how can you hold that against us?”
I agree. I really made me sick to watch Hunter’s book tour and chat show circuit, with everyone fawning about his bravery, when we know how many others, less fortunate, less connected, less White are sitting in jail for similar offences. It would be ludicrous to say that all the slack Hunter’s been given throughout his life hasn’t been because his father is a ranking politician. I’m not saying Joe Biden asked for the favors and I’m certainly not saying this is a reason to vote Republican, but it’s just incredibly and obviously unfair.
Hunter Biden is a private citizen, did not work in the administration, is not running for office. So how is this a “bad look for democrats “? And plea deals and fines are typical for non violent offenders. I wish people, including the media had this same energy to look into things regarding some other family members of some other family, ahem.
” The GOP right now can simply say ‘Well yes, we don’t respect the law, but the Dems don’t either, so how can you hold that against us?’ ”
Yeah I used to feel like that too until I realized that Dems holding their own accountable has literally zero effect on the GOP’s desire to do the same. It doesn’t persuade them and it never will. What does “holding moral high ground” mean when one party is wholly immoral and refuses to be anything else? It just makes the Dems suckers. We saw it with HRC and the emails bullshit. She was held accountable and the State Dept found no persuasive evidence of deliberate mishandling of classified information yet the narrative from the Right remains that HRC is a crook because she used a private email server as Sec of State. The Right knows this–they know that they cannot be shamed and they know that the best way to manipulate liberals is to play up the morality angle.
If Hunter Biden gets prison, will the Right denounce Trump? Will they denounce Clarence Thomas and ask him to resign? Will they suddenly be asking who paid of Kavanaugh’s debt? Will they say that Matt Gaetz *should* have been changed in sex-trafficking probe?
And that’s why I refuse to fall into their trap–because we lose either way. The GOP doesn’t care about morality, laws, equality, right and wrong and they never have…it’s all just political posturing to accrue power and gin up their base. If we play their game and obsess over every scandal related to the party, we give into their manipulation.
@samthepink: By why are you acting like President Biden personally negotiated the plea deal. He has stayed out of the whole thing. So I fail to see how this plea deal reflects poorly on the President or the Democrats.
@samthepink — Hunter Biden is not the poster boy for the Dems. His father has deliberately stayed out of the fray so as not to be seen as interfering with a legal investigation or being accused of nepotism. It actually reflects positively on the President and his party that they’re “not going there” and that this is Hunter’s battle to fight. His father has instead supported him with love through his recovery from addiction and that’s all. We tend to forget that Hunter went through a horrific car accident that killed his mother and sister, he sustained some bad injuries including brain trauma, and he spiraled into a deep depression after his brother Beau died of cancer. I’m not claiming he’s an angel, but he’s a deeply traumatized man who fell into the addiction trap more than once to drown his sorrows.
The GOP is deliberately using this as a distraction from the very real and serious criminality of Trump and his cohorts, crimes that have landed others in jail almost immediately. The GOP are spreading the most egregious and laughable lies about Biden and his family, and they are failing every damn time. There are enough legitimate whistle-blowers who, despite their early support of Trump, are coming out of the woodwork to rat him out, and the Rethuglicans are panicking because they’re losing and they know it.
@Kitten – Agreed, 1000000%. At this point, the moral high ground is basically a tidal island in Hell, but the Dems still hold it. I don’t know a single person for whom Hunter is going to be the deciding factor in their vote. The stakes are way too high to f–k around with this unicorn candidate shit now.
“I don’t know a single person for whom Hunter is going to be the deciding factor in their vote.”
Should have just said this and left it alone. God grant me your brevity, Miranda….
@lightpurple actually the average sentence for tax evasion and fraud is 3-5 years. So, unless you are yourself powerful, married to someone powerful, or related to someone powerful – you would not get a “slap on the wrist” for a million plus dollar tax evasion charge. And even if you are very connected, I still think you’d be on the hook for a lot more than house arrest and paying back taxes plus interest.
That said, while I think Hunter should be prosecuted just the same as any other person who committed a similar crime no matter who his father is, it’s an unnecessary distraction against what is most important for the state of our country. We have many more problems that need to be addressed, mainly the terrifying rise of violent crimes across the country.
Donald Trump Jr. Ivanka. Jared. Eric. Lara. The other wife/ girlfriend. Are. All. Right. There. And. Definitely. Are. Much. More. Suspicious. And. Criminal. Than. Hunter!!!
I feel so badly for Joe Biden. To lose two children and then have his son behave this way? Ugh.
I don’t know if Hunter has always been a bad person. I get the sense he struggled for years, but having Beau and Joe there for him helped him sort of keep it together. He went to Yale Law School, married fairly young and made a good living for a while there. I remember reading that Beau was the political heir and Hunter more the “breadwinner.”
He was probably a functioning addict on some level until his brother got sick and then he just lost it completely. I’m not saying he didn’t act like garbage, because he did. I just think it was made worse by the tragedy of losing Beau. The older son seems to have been the Golden Child and Hunter the troubled one. At some point he just said “f**k it” and let himself completely spiral.
I’m so glad his children have the example of Joe and Jill to look to, and a close family. Their mother must be a pretty strong person to. She’s had to deal with a lot.
Didn’t Hunter already divorce the mother of his children and hook up his brother’s widow just a few months after his brother passed? He is a really messy guy TBH.
@tay, yes, he did. Hunter is a messy, pervy, disgusting ne’r do well and there are a lot of people who experience tragedies in their life who don’t go through the same kind of spirals that Hunter Biden did. I think it was not so much a matter of his life falling apart after the death of his brother but more his true personality coming to light.
It’s possible that Hunter suffered a traumatic brain injury in the auto accident that killed his mother and a sibling. His choices sure do look like those of someone with a TBI. It’s hard to fault a parent who chooses to overlook the foibles of their child but he has been coddled and protected by his father and he probably should not have been allowed to operate as “freely” as he has been able to. In any event Hunter did experience a major trauma as a child and we are likely seeing the sequilla of that trauma now.
He did experience a TBI. He was hospitalized for quite a while after the accident.
Sorry, I don’t know the ins and outs of the American legal system, I thought that if the defence and prosecution agreed a plea deal that was it
However I’m sick of the way the republican party use this as a stick to beat Joe Biden with and treat the criminal trump like the second coming, I have a feeling that Trumps trial is going to be after the election and if he wins he will take great delight in destroying America over the course of his term
Generally, yes, but before signing off on a plea deal, judges like to make sure both parties are clear on the terms. My understanding is that the plea was a bit sloppily drafted, especially with regard to the scope of how/whether/in what jurisdiction(s) Hunter could be immune from prosecution in the future. So the judge wants to see the plea spelled out more clearly. Shouldn’t be too difficult to fix.
I think a couple of things are true simultaneously here: obvs HB has long been a mess. And obviously he’s a child of privilege. At the same time, given the GOP’s insane fixation on HB in attempting to get to his dad, something that is straightforward turned into a globally broadcasted disaster, as both prosecution and judge acted outside of ordinary business with his plea deal. In their desperation to have *anything* to try to sell the “Biden Crime Family” narrative, the GOP is making certain HB is being treated differently than another would be in his situation. No one had a problem with the plea itself yesterday. The issue was around whether or not prosecution can endlessly dig around looking for more dirt, and that they set HB up walking into that courtroom. GOP has already had YEARS to comb through every centimeter of HB’s life. My lawyer friends (that is two lawyers) say this all stinks to high heavens, a GOP set up designed to own the news cycle, and CYA measures by the prosecution and judge not to get into the GOP dirt machine crosshairs, so most certainly treating HB differently than an ordinary citizen pleading on the same minor-in-context charges. Smelled entirely like an optics event. And it worked. MSM lemmings are breathless with excitement about having something other than weather and another endless indictment watch to report. If anyone is around to write the history of our time, the gaping maw of the 24/7 news cycle will be identified as the beginning of our devolution.
Hunter is dreamy 🤩
🤮 I know, I know, to each his or her own….. but Hunter Biden?
So many comments dragging Dems over Hunter Biden, it’s ridiculous and not the flex you think it is.
Thank you. What nonsense. His behavior doesn’t reflect on Dems. That’s not even how that works. Also this is how cases like this work for 99 percent of the time. A GOP USA said this was good.
Seriously this. They’re doing the Republicans’ work for them with this.
Just wanted to point out that the special prosecutor for this was appointed by Trump and so was the judge. Biden has stayed out of it. Now where’s the investigation into all the Trump “kids” and their shady dealings?
Hunter is no angel, that is for sure. But are you kidding me? He was never an elected, or unelected yet appointed government official like Ivanka and Jared were. So for every time they mention Hunter Biden, let’s talk about ivanka and Jared who have done so much worse. Let’s see an investigation and some headlines on that for a change. Sheez. Not fair, and not cool.
Hunter Biden was in the car accident that killed his mother and sister. He suffered traumatic brain injury. He was still a toddler.