The fix was in for Hunter Biden — until a hero judge stepped up
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
If you are trying to pull off a corrupt deal — one that is actually political theater, but that you are trying to masquerade as law — you'd better make sure the judge is in on it.
When it came to that little detail, the Biden administration dropped the ball.
Judge Maryellen Noreika instead did her job.
That is why Hunter Biden's sweetheart plea bargain blew up in Delaware federal court today.
Understand what was happening here.
In every normal criminal case, in every legitimate investigation, you have adversarial parties — the defense looking out for the accused's interest and, critically, the Justice Department looking out for the public interest.
That means government attorneys being appropriately aggressive in prosecuting lawbreakers.
Hunter Biden's sweetheart plea bargain blew up in Delaware federal court Wednesday.Daniel William McKnight
In fact, Justice Department plea-bargain standards generally call for requiring the defendant to plead guilty to, at a minimum, the most serious, readily provable charge.
The Biden investigation is continuing — even expanding — but we already know the Justice Department could have readily proved serious tax felonies (involving more than $10 million in income) and a gun offense carrying a potential 10-year sentence.
Justice Department plea-bargain standards generally call for requiring the defendant to plead guilty to, at a minimum, the most serious, readily provable charge.William J. Hennessy
Alas, there's nothing standard about the Hunter Biden case. That's because the parties are not adversaries. They are in cahoots.
Thus did the president's son and the president's Justice Department conspire to orchestrate a plea deal that would (a) allow Hunter Biden to escape prison and be given immunity from future prosecution over the Biden family business of cashing in on President Biden's political influence, and (b) allow the Biden administration to pretend that, with independence and integrity, the president had allowed his Justice Department to prosecute his own son.
On the egregious facts already known about Hunter's conduct and the Biden family business, there would have been no way to consummate such a deal unless the judge was in on the scheme.
Judge Noreika was not in on it. She is the one who acted with independence and integrity, declining to let the Biden family and the Biden Justice Department turn her into a rubber stamp for their corruption.
Part of what can make a plea bargain a sweetheart plea bargain is how it's framed. That's especially true in political cases.
Judge Maryellen Noreika is the one who acted with independence and integrity, declining to let the Biden family and the Biden Justice Department turn her into a rubber stamp for their corruption.
United States District Court for the District of Delaware
The point of plea agreements, by which the vast majority of criminal cases are settled, is to spell out in exacting detail the complete understanding of the parties. It's a contract.
If something goes wrong down the road, if one of the parties breaches the terms, the clarity of the agreement puts everyone on notice of the consequences.
Here though, because the defendant and the prosecution were not adversaries as in normal criminal cases, they could not spell out their one-sided agreement. Doing so would have been too politically damaging — and this was all about politics.
Both Hunter Biden and the Biden Justice Department wanted an arrangement that would give Hunter the maximum amount of immunity from prosecution for the minimum amount of criminal admissions they thought they could get away with.
But there would have been scandal if prosecutors had written an agreement that said: Hunter pleads guilty to two trivial misdemeanor counts for years 2018 and 2019 with the expectation of no jail time, and the government further makes a firearms felony disappear; in exchange, the Justice Department will not prosecute him for any other tax crimes, money laundering, felony failure to register as a foreign agent, bribery conspiracy, or any other criminal offenses arising out of his business dealings from 2014 to 2019.
So instead, with a nod and a wink, the Justice Department wrote a plea agreement saying merely that Hunter would plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges in satisfaction of the conduct covering all tax years from 2014 through 2019.
This would allow Hunter to walk away saying the case was over and claiming immunity for not only tax crimes but for any criminal offense arising out of his years of lucrative business dealings. For its part, the Justice Department would say, "The agreement settling the tax offenses speaks for itself. Beyond that, we, of course, cannot comment because that could compromise an ongoing investigation."
Both Hunter Biden and the Biden Justice Department wanted an arrangement that would give Hunter the maximum amount of immunity from prosecution for the minimum amount of criminal admissions.
William J. Hennessy
Get it? Hunter quietly walks away with a complete pass, the Justice Department clams up, the "ongoing investigation" slips into the great black hole that it has been all along, never again to be heard of, and Joe Biden goes on the campaign trail bragging about how he fearlessly let his Justice Department prosecute his own son with — all together now — independence and integrity .
It didn't happen that way because, thankfully, one federal judge did her duty.
Judge Noreika didn't have to do much: just ask Hunter Biden's defense lawyers and the Biden Justice Department prosecutors what, exactly, they had agreed to.
The Biden Justice Department didn't dare say that publicly, so the sweetheart deal went up in smoke.
Andrew C. McCarthy is a former federal prosecutor.
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It was a rare victory for American Justice.
we'll be seeing a lot more real soon, maybe even today or tomorrow...
justice
the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.
rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.
Sure hope Hunter gets what's coming to him.
Unfortunately the US doesn't use the guillotine. Not even for treason.
How the hell did the DOJ and Hunter's lawyers manage to fuck up a plea deal when both sides were working for the exact same goal?
You would think they would have been smart enough to work everything out in advance knowing they have a by the books judge that charges to the letter of law.
Instead they came unprepared.
They didn't have any precedence for what they were attempting. Both sides should have found cases similar to Hunter's with plea deals worked out. Unless they did check- couldn't find anything even remotely close- and just said "Screw it. She won't have the guts to ask".
They also should have worked out in advance that there would be no further charges against Hunter. The DOJ, or Brandon for that matter, would have the brains to tell either Hunter or his lawyers "Take the deal. We will claim we are still investigating so we can obstruct Republicans in the House; but in reality we will be slow walking it into oblivion. This whole thing is for show. Play the hell along!"
Now they will go to trial (unless the DOJ really, really goes hard in the tank and accepts another plea deal). Where witnesses that neither side wants to testify will be on the stand. It will be funny watching which side will scream "objection" loudest the second one of the IRS, or FBI, witnesses jumps off script and offers information that should lead to more charges against Hunter. Better still that involves Brandon.
Guess Brandon is transferring his title of "Human Fuck Up Machine" to his whole administration.
Arrogance, nobody thought anyone would question them. How dare that judge question them.
If only they could have drawn a judge with the lack of fortitude of New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, maybe they would have gotten away with it. Instead they found themselves in front of a moral human being.
I'll leave that for our "critical thinkers" who are still waiting for the "facts" to come in.
Well they also had to continue with the "on-going investigation" line in order to continue to block the House Committee from certain records and people. And once the judge asked a couple of questions it was shown that Hunter did not have full immunity so of course the entire house of cards collapsed. I wonder what the next phase of this will be and when will it happen.
Hopefully the Biden JD was embarrassed enough by this shitshow they won't even bother to work out any deals and let Hunter have his day in court.
I bet Joe is terrified over that prospect.
He needs to be charged in line with doj standards too and indicted for his blatant FARA violations.
then his dad can pardon him once he’s convicted.
Maybe but after watching Watergate the only thing I really learned is that the people in power will continue to try to circumvent both the system and the law until there is finally no way out.
Yes, the Bidens managed to never register as foreign agents yet collected MILLIONS in payoffs!
I wouldn't even care if Joe pardoned Hunter---the damage would already be done.
And of course, that is assuming that Joe himself never benefitted from his son's influence-selling schemes.
The problem I see with that is that a pardon won't impact the "faithful" who will vote for Biden regardless. That's why I said the other day that the House Committee needs to ensure that all the evidence is provided to the voting public.
It would absolutely kill Biden's chances with independents.
Recent polling shows that only 30% of independents would consider voting for either Biden or Trump with 60% saying they would be looking at a third party. So I would think that Biden's chances with independents is already in the shitter. But getting the hard evidence out before any primaries might help the Democrat party pick a better person. Not that they have any better candidate right now but maybe the Party would consider to go looking for one. And IMO they can forget about Newsom as after what he has done to California, I do believe he's unelectable nationwide.
Looks like the Democrats' bench is really thin.
Harris is a buffoon, Newsome is toxic, far too many Dems don't like Kennedy, who else they got?
Surely not Bernie or Warren again.
Meanwhile back here in post-Trump reality...
Does anyone know what the meaning of that is?
And there it is. The required "but Trump" comment. More than likely photoshopped with as much fact and truth as any liberal could muster.
Well good for you. You found a poll that showed the love of your life Biden will win re-election next year. Like my grandmother used to say, wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one is filled first.
Time will tell.
Did you see pigs flying also?
the pigs were responsible for the temporary inflation and were off flying instead of working!
In the meantime, the great artist Hunter Biden has sold a "painting" or more likely some influence:
The publication Business Insider reported this week that Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, a Los Angeles real-estate investor and big-time Democratic Party donor, is one of the purchasers of Hunter Biden’s artwork. The amount Hirsh Naftali paid isn’t known, but none of the paintings by the president’s son is cheap. In 2021, a gallery listed prices ranging from $75,000 to $500,000 . As the New York Times gently put it, those prices were “high for a novice artist.” (You can virtually tour the Hunter Biden exhibition at the Georges Bergès Gallery here .)
It will probably not shock you to learn that the promise not to tell Hunter Biden who bought his paintings was broken.
Business Insider reported, “Hunter Biden did, in fact, learn the identity of two buyers, according to three people directly familiar with his own account of his art career. And one of those buyers is indeed someone who got a favor from the Biden White House. The timing of their purchase, however, is unknown.”
In July 2022, President Biden appointed Hirsh Naftali to a position on the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, which “identifies, protects, and preserves cemeteries, monuments, and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe that are associated with U.S. heritage.” It is an unpaid position, but it’s not like a wealthy Democratic donor such as Hirsh Naftali needs the money. A position like the commission offers prestige, a boast that the president of the United States thinks you’re the kind of responsible and benevolent person who can be entrusted with this duty.
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/painting-a-portrait-of-corruption-around-the-bidens/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=hero&utm_content=related&utm_term=first
That whole thing is a pile of bullshit. The WH actions contradict it's statements (like it's any surprise). Seems the Pay to Play policy is still going strong.
At the very least, the simple exposure of all this corruption is sure to influence the election:
With the collapse of his plea bargain, Hunter Biden is facing something that he has been able to evade for five years: a real prosecution. The plea bargain itself was widely panned as a sweetheart deal that offered Biden a chance to close out the investigation with no jail time and two minor misdemeanors. However, it is hard for a plea bargain to actually write "a wink and a nod" as a part of the formal factual description. The judge made a simple threshold inquiry on its meaning, and it immediately collapsed as the prosecutors and defense counsel struggled to explain.
If the Justice Department followed its past practice, a withdrawal of this kind would ordinarily result in the prosecutors pursuing every possible criminal count -- and serious jail time. However, Hunter's sudden exposure to equal justice could prove equally costly for the person who was not be mentioned in the case: President Joe Biden.
Starting with his campaign for the presidency and continuing until recently, President Joe Biden has maintained one clear and consistent position on his son's influence peddling schemes. As a virtual mantra, Biden — and the White House staff — have categorically maintained that he had no knowledge of any foreign dealings of his son.
That has been proven to be a lie, but Biden continued to maintain the position. Yet, on the eve of the testimony of a key Biden associate, the White House has changed its position. Now the president is only claiming that he was "never in business" with his son.
Some of us have written multiple columns over the last four years arguing that the president was clearly and knowingly lying in his denials of knowledge and discussions of these deals. Even when he made the statement, it was clearly untrue, but most of the media shrugged and happily walked away.
Then the evidence began to mount.
The laptop includes pictures and appointments of Hunter’s foreign business associates with Joe Biden. There is also a recording of Joe Biden discussing a Times report on Dec. 12, 2018, detailing Hunter’s dealings with Ye Jianming, the head of CEFC China Energy Company. He assures his son that "I think you’re clear" after lawyers worked on the New York Times before the story ran.
There is also a recording of his uncle James assuring Hunter that he and his father were going to arrange for "safe harbor" for him as his world began to collapse.
Then there is the July 30, 2017, WhatsApp message from Hunter Biden to one of his Chinese associates, Henry Zhao, the director of Harvest Fund Management and Communist Party official. Zhao was funneling money to Hunter’s firm BHR Partners. Hunter is quoted as writing:
"I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father."
Nevertheless, the White House has maintained the total denial ... until this week before the testimony of Devon Archer .
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked by Fox News journalist Gillian Turner:
"Chairman James Comer today says that the Oversight Committee has evidence that the president in the past communicated directly with foreign business associates of his son Hunter Biden many times. Curious if the White House and the president still stand behind his comment that he's never been involved and has never even spoken to his son about his business?"
The response from Jean-Pierre was surprising:
"So, I've been I've been asked this question a million times. The answer is not going to change. The answer remains the same. The president was never in business with his son. I just don't have anything else to add."
It takes an utter contempt for the intelligence of the public to insist that "the answer remains the same" and then give an entirely new answer. However, that is only if most of the public is informed of the contradiction. None of the media in the White House press corps followed up on Turner's questions when Jean-Pierre immediately moved on.
If that is now the new spin of the president, it is about four years too late. The president assured the public repeatedly and consistently that he never discussed or knew of these dealings even as evidence mounted in contradiction.
He made this false denial part of his presidency in having his staff echo the same denials to the press and the public. As allegations of bribery and influence peddling swirl around the White House, this pattern of dishonesty and denial can become a basis for impeachment inquiries, as it was with then-President Richard Nixon.
It is tempting to say that the president is being too clever by half, but this was never particularly clever. Biden was counting on the media watching his back and hoping that he could hold both houses of Congress.
The problem is that the media blackout was not total and he lost the House. Now these denials and conflicting accounts are threatening the possibility that he could lose much more than his political standing. If the evidence continues to contradict his blanket denials, Biden could lose his office.
The dishonest media wants us to move on. The House Committees will not let that happen.
KJP is an accomplished liar but she is only doing what she is told to do and say.
How anyone can deny the influence-peddling Hunter did after the mountain of evidence presented defies logic, reason, common sense, and reality.
They put their blinders on because they don't care. They are indoctrinated fools determined to carry out their plans for Utopia.
Both Hunter Biden and the Biden Justice Department wanted an arrangement that would give Hunter the maximum amount of immunity from prosecution for the minimum amount of criminal admissions they thought they could get away with.
It was basically a pardon for Biden disguised as a plea agreement. Garland should be impeached.
Exactly right.
The sweetheart deal blew up by a judge with common sense, scruples, and morals.
It’s mind boggling when one considers the pressure that was exerted to appoint an unnecessary special prosecutor for russiagate, while the media sits back and watchs the Biden DOJ make a mockery of the justice system to protect the son of the president.
As much as Republicans talk about it I highly doubt they will impeach Brandon, Garland, Wray, or Mayorkas. Not they all don't deserve it; but Republicans are still smarting over their failed Clinton impeachment.
Even though Clinton was guilty as sin once impeachment failed in the Senate it was over for the Republicans. They were excoriated in the media; and began losing seats.
Things are even worse media wise this time around. Republicans are not going to win the narrative with the media no matter how much evidence they present. Democrats hold the Senate, so there is no chance of any impeachment making it out of there.
Republicans are better off repeatedly showing just how corrupt Brandon and his entire administration are by piling on the evidence until 2024. Keeping Democrats in power is not an option. And hope that enough of the electorate take notice.
That is assuming Republicans don't do anything stupid and shoot themselves in the foot. Trying to imagine anything topping the Rudd decision being leaked; and the fall out that created. Turned many into single issue voters.