(New York) This is not the end of the Hunter Biden soap opera, only that of a particularly long chapter.
Five years after its opening, the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into the affairs of the president’s son reached a conclusion on Tuesday that relieved the allies of the occupant of the White House and outraged many Republicans, including Donald Trump. .
Under an agreement reached between American justice and Hunter Biden, the latter will plead guilty to two minor tax offenses and will avoid prosecution for illegal possession of a firearm, according to a document filed by the prosecutor responsible for the case.
The conviction of Hunter Biden, 53, relates to the non-payment of his taxes for the years 2017 and 2018. As part of the agreement, the son of the American president will be placed on probation.
Hunter Biden will also be accused of buying a handgun in 2018 during a period when he smoked crack cocaine several times a day, which constitutes a violation of the law on firearms. But he won’t have to have a trial in this case if he stays off drugs for 24 months and agrees to never own a gun again.
A federal judge will have to ratify the agreement between the two parties. Hunter Biden will have to appear in federal court in Delaware to formulate his admission of guilt.
In the meantime, her parents reacted soberly to the news of the day.
“The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will make no further comment,” White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement released shortly after the deal was announced.
“Unfounded and far-fetched questions”
David Brock, founder of the Facts First USA group, whose goal is to counter congressional Republicans’ investigations into the Bidens, adopted a more combative tone.
“This case has been investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies and countless media outlets for over half a decade,” said the man who also founded the group. Media Matters. “Hunter will not be charged for any of the unfounded and outlandish questions that Republicans and the right-wing media have used to smear him for years. »
By reimbursing all of his unpaid taxes in 2021 – around $ 1 million – Hunter Biden had placed himself in a good position to negotiate an agreement with American justice.
Also, the illegal acquisition of a firearm by an addict rarely leads to criminal charges, especially when the addicted person undergoes rehab, experts say.
Nevertheless, the Republicans saw in the agreement announced by the Department of Justice an injustice.
“Biden’s corrupt Justice Department just erased hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a simple ‘ticket.’ Our system is failing, ”denounced Donald Trump on Truth Social.
“This is the epitome of the politicization and instrumentalization of Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, slapping the knuckles of President Biden’s son, a tax evader and corrupt criminal in the pay of power. “, declared for her part the Republican representative of New York, Elise Stefanik, number three of her party in the House of Representatives.
Prosecutor appointed by Trump
These denunciations ignore the fact that the investigation into the Hunter Biden cases was led by David Weiss, a United States Attorney in Delaware who was appointed by Donald Trump himself. Joe Biden kept him in his post so as not to be accused of interference.
Since the investigation began, Weiss and his team have examined Hunter Biden’s affairs over a 15-year period. They thus tried to determine if the son of the president had committed crimes in the countries where he worked or concluded transactions, including Ukraine and China.
Clearly, they couldn’t find any evidence that could back up the most sensational claims made by Donald Trump and his congressional allies.
This spring, the latter in particular insinuated that Joe Biden had received a bribe of 5 million dollars while he was vice-president. In exchange for this money, the future president had to help the energy company Burisma get rid of the then Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The Republicans backed their allegations with an FBI source that former US Attorney General William Barr, also appointed by Donald Trump, and David Weiss do not appear to have believed, in the end.
A “criminal family”
Never mind: after the announcement of the agreement between American justice and Hunter Biden, the Republicans in the House promised to continue their investigation into the affairs of the Bidens, whom they accuse of forming a “criminal family”. “.
“We will be restless until the full extent of President Biden’s involvement in the family shenanigans is revealed,” said Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer, chairman of the Oversight and Reform Commission. from the room.
Hunter Biden has pocketed millions of dollars from his work and dealings overseas, including in Ukraine and China. No one doubts the fact that he took advantage of his name to enrich himself, a fact which moreover troubled Barack Obama’s advisers at the time.
But no one has yet proven that he committed criminal acts in the conduct of his business abroad or that his father benefited. In the next chapter of the Hunter Biden soap opera, congressional Republicans vow to get the evidence out.