For years, President Biden repeated the same mantra when asked about Hunter Biden’s influence activities and alleged crimes: “My son has done nothing wrong.” It was always incredible — as was his denial of any knowledge of these deals despite emails and pictures to the contrary.
So the President and the press moved on to a new defense. As the father recently pointed out to his son, “He’s been struggling with an addiction problem. He got over it. He wrote about it.”
The family and media have been cultivating the position for months as they anticipate possible criminal charges. Such allegations would not only be embarrassing for the President, but also for the media, which has been actively involved in covering up the multimillion-dollar influence schemes of the Biden family, including Hunter and his uncle James. Once the criminal behavior has been uncovered, all that remains is defense against addiction.
Hunter Biden’s autobiographical book laid the groundwork for this last line of defense. While the book didn’t sell particularly well with audiences, the media offered flattering interviews about his stories of addiction. The narrative has been intensified by much of the same media outlet that buried the scandal, including articles about how the family fought “to keep him alive”.
A photo of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop shows his addiction-ruined teeth.
Feds have been sitting in a criminal case against the first son for months.
Now, The Post reports that prosecutors are guessing charges given the addiction and how it could undermine any criminal process. While there’s no question that the defense would likely use such an addiction, it’s usually more of a concern to pursue a conviction than an indictment. Addiction may be brought before the court as a mitigating factor in determining the accused’s guilt.
The most obvious problem for anti-addiction is that Hunter didn’t appear to have had a chemical-based challenge in maintaining a multi-million dollar global influence trading system. The image of a crackhead holed up in high-end hotels with call girls is eroded by thousands of emails about international money transfers and complex deals stretching from Moscow to Kyiv to Beijing.
The fact is, you can be an addict or an alcoholic and still be a criminal. Addiction didn’t seem to stop prosecutors in cases like the murder trial of The Sopranos actor Lillo Brancato and the film A Bronx Tale. Brancato was addicted to drugs when he took part in a burglary that ended in a shooting. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years.
Indeed, in some cases, prosecutors use addiction as a motive for committing crimes, particularly for paying for or acquiring further crimes.
Not only would this possible charge not be based on a drug offense, it would also involve a high-functioning defendant who would have made millions through influence-peddling. Indeed, the now sober Hunter has repeatedly insisted that while his family name earned him many of his previous positions, he is a lawyer with experience useful in jobs such as serving on the board of Ukrainian energy conglomerate Burisma Holdings.
It will be difficult for Hunter to go from the privileged but capable defense to the hopelessly dependent defense. Most hopeless addicts are trying to hack property or rake in a few bucks for their next hit. Hunter flew around the world arranging meetings with his father and coordinating multiple global accounts.
The media has been complicit in the cover-up of the Biden family’s multi-million dollar influence schemes, including Hunter and his uncle James, above. AP
Furthermore, using addiction to defeat the gun and tax burden will only exacerbate questions about the allegations of influencing peddling. If Hunter was a hopeless addict incapable of criminal intent or reasonable decision-making, why were foreign prospects at his door offering him millions of dollars as a board member, attorney, or consultant? With no skill or ability to sell, you are left with raw and open corruption to gain access to or influence over his father.
For President Biden, defending the hopeless addict will also fall short with most people outside of the mainstream media. During this time some of his own bills were being paid by Joe, including accounts associated with his overseas operations.
Of course, the defense can be more effective as an excuse for the Justice Department to agree to a generous plea deal than in an actual trial. Attorney General Merrick Garland has already protected both Joe and Hunter Biden by refusing to appoint a special counsel, despite what the current regulations clearly require to do so. Congressional Democrats have continued to block any investigation into the Biden family’s influence schemes.
The best-case scenario is a plea deal that does not include Foreign Agent Registration Act fees. The Justice Department has used FARA aggressively in previous criminal cases such as that of Paul Manafort. However, such an indictment would likely reveal details about previous foreign dealings of Hunter Biden and possibly his uncle James. A plea for a gun registration count and tax counts would allow political and media allies to declare the matter closed.
This is why increasing addiction is both predictable and instructive. By implying that it would complicate a process, the family and their allies can present a plea deal as a good deal for the public. But there has never been a lack of criminal evidence, only an interest in exposing and prosecuting Hunter Biden’s corrupt practices
.Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor in the Law School of George Washington University.