President Biden‘s most ferocious critics are unsatisfied that his controversial son Hunter Biden will be charged by the U.S. Justice Department with at least three crimes and plead guilty to federal tax crimes — even if the prosecution was led by the Donald Trump appointee David Weiss.
But outside MAGA circles, the news of Hunter Biden’s prosecution is being interpreted as a win for the Justice Department, and evidence of its political independence. The Hunter Biden investigation — five years in the making — was begun under the Trump administration and continued under the Biden administration.
“Our system isn’t perfect,” writes former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti, “but it is a testament to the rule of law and the Administration’s non-interference in the Justice Department that the President’s son can be investigated, prosecuted, and convicted during his father’s term in office.”
Our system isn’t perfect, but it is a testament to the rule of law and the Administration’s non-interference in the Justice Department that the President’s son can be investigated, prosecuted, and convicted during his father’s term in office. https://t.co/1Tg6ClrRYo
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) June 20, 2023
Former President Trump assailed the Justice Department on hearing the news, writing on Truth Social:
“Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ [Department of Justice] just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere “traffic ticket.′” Trump also wrote, in his customary all caps, that “Our system is BROKEN!”
The misdemeanor tax crimes carried a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison; Weiss reportedly has agreed to let Biden receive probation for the tax crimes.
Biden will also reportedly enter a pretrial diversion agreement in connection with a federal felony charge for gun possession, a diversion agreement that will likely allow him to avoid jail time by complying with certain conditions set in the agreement.
.jpg){kind=link}