As the Biden administration winds down, many people will start wondering if the president’s son, convicted of multiple felonies, will escape prison time by being let off the hook.
Not necessarily by who you think, though. Biden has publicly said he won’t pardon his son (see story here). Trump is saying he might (read story here).
“I wouldn’t take it off the books,” Trump told a conservative radio host, before launching into the following rant:
“See, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they’ve done to me, where they’ve gone after me so viciously, despite what, and Hunter’s a bad boy,” the former president said. “There’s no question about it. He’s been a bad boy. All you had to do is see the laptop from hell. But I happen to think it’s very bad for our country.”
Trump’s claims, echoed by many Republicans, that Biden “went after” Trump is utterly false. The Biden administration had nothing to do with Trump’s prosecution in a New York state court, where he was convicted of 34 felony counts, and distanced itself from Trump’s alleged federal crimes by turning those cases over to an independent special prosecutor.
In all of Trump’s criminal cases, he was indicted by grand juries of ordinary citizens; and in the New York case, he was convicted by a jury of ordinary citizens.
By far the most partisan actor in his own criminal cases has been federal judge Aileen Cannon, who favored Trump at every step of his federal prosecution for stealing classified documents before dismissing the case entirely, and who might be rewarded by being promoted to attorney general if Trump wins the election (see story here).
Hunter Biden’s federal criminal cases also were handled by a special prosecutor: A Trump appointee who was kept on the job in order to avoid any appearance of partisanship or favoritism.
Trump’s comments about Hunter’s laptop also are wackadoodle. Although it’s been established that it’s his laptop, it has gone through many hands, and whatever value it had as evidence is hopelessly compromised. It’s virtually certain that files were added to it after leaving Hunter’s hands.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris hasn’t ruled out pardoning Trump (see story here). Is Trump’s suggestion he might pardon Hunter a tit-for-tat? And is pardoning either of them a good idea? This three-ring circus is worth watching.
