Hunter Biden's Indictment & Trial (Consolidated Thread)

[ExquisiteGerbil]

House Investigators Demand Records Related to Hunter Biden’s ‘Sweetheart’ Deal

Frank Bergman
September 6, 2023 - 7:49 pm


House Republicans are demanding records related to the “sweetheart” deal Hunter Biden’s attorney negotiated with the Department of Justice (DOJ).



Biden’s legal team has been urged to turn over all records of communications with the DOJ related to the collapsed plea agreement for the president’s son.



The records, which reported details of the negotiations, appeared to later be leaked to media outlets after the deal fell apart.



House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) warned in a letter that noncompliance could result in the panels seeking testimony from Hunter Biden and his attorneys.



A letter Jordan, Comer, and Smith sent to Hunter Biden’s attorneys Chris Clark and Abbe Lowell Wednesday demanding documents and communications related to the “failed settlement negotiations.”



The lawmakers argued that because the documents have been publicly disclosed and reported, “no basis exists to withhold these documents and communications from the Committees, including on the basis of any purported duty of confidentiality, work product, or other privilege interest.”



Jordan, Comer, and Smith are conducting a joint investigation into alleged politicization impacting the years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden. As part of that investigation, the GOP chairmen are probing the failed “sweetheart” plea deal initially granted to Hunter Biden.



Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge.



But Judge Maryellen Noreika of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware declined to accept the plea and pretrial diversion agreements with Hunter Biden during his first court appearance related to federal tax and gun charges he faces.



She described the DOJ’s deal as unconstitutional, “not standard” and “different from what I normally see.”



Hunter Biden was forced to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.



Jordan, Comer, and Smith reminded Biden’s legal team of news articles that were published less than a month after the plea deal fell apart, which they said provided “detailed accounts of the failed settlement negotiations between the Department and Hunter Biden’s lawyers based on nonpublic information, including previously undisclosed documents and communications.



“The information contained in these articles reinforces serious concerns regarding whether the Department has handled a case involving President Biden’s son in an impartial manner that is consistent with other prosecutions,” they wrote Wednesday.


The lawmakers noted that there “are a limited number of people who would have access to the documents and communications discussed in these articles,” and argued that it is “highly likely” that the materials “were provided to the media “by or at the direction of the Biden legal defense team.”



Jordan, Comer, and Smith are now demanding Hunter Biden’s lawyers turn over to the committee a 32-page letter Clark wrote to now-Special Counsel David Weiss regarding a potential gun charge against the president’s son; a 100-slide PowerPoint presentation regarding potential tax charges against Hunter Biden; and all emails between the Biden legal team and the Justice Department.



They are also demanding communications between Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf and Hunter Biden’s attorneys which included a list of “must-haves for a potential deal” and emails with “sample immunity language and emails from June 2023 that included “final immunity language.”



The lawmakers are also demanding the July 31 communication from prosecutors to Hunter Biden’s attorneys regarding “suggested changes to the plea agreement and pretrial diversion agreement.”



The documents being requested by the House committees were all referenced in explicit detail in articles published by Politico and the New York Times in August.



Jordan, Comer, and Smith are demanding all communications between members of the Biden legal defense team and all news organizations related to the materials listed.



“Should you refuse to provide the Committee with the requested information because of purported privilege, the Committee may need to seek testimony from you and/or Hunter Biden regarding the disclosure of these documents to the New York Times and Politico,” they wrote.



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[maybetoday]

Report: Joe Biden ‘Plunged into Sadness and Frustration’ About Potential Hunter Indictment

WENDELL HUSEBØ
11 Sep 2023

Joe Biden was reportedly “stunned” and “plunged into sadness and frustration” after hearing that special counsel David Weiss intends to indict Hunter Biden.



A court document filed last week by Weiss revealed that he plans to indict Hunter Biden before the end of September.



The intention to indict the president’s son drew immediate criticism from legal experts and lawmakers, who viewed the filing of a potential indictment as another mechanism Weiss might use to shield Joe Biden’s son from justice.


Hunter’s plea deal broke down in August upon scrutiny from a judge, throwing a wrench into the agreement Weiss and Hunter crafted.



The agreement afforded Hunter the ability to plead guilty for not paying taxes on more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, receiving probation rather than jail time. In addition, Weiss devised a separate diversion agreement that gave Hunter Biden immunity from potential future charges, including a provision to essentially wipe a felony gun violation from his record.



After the irregular deal, the prosecutors said they expected the case to go to trial, indicating they wanted to try the case outside Delaware. On September 6, Weiss filed a status report indicating a potential indictment of Hunter.



“The possibility of a federal indictment of Hunter Biden stunned the president,” according to several people close to the president, the New York Times reported Sunday.



“He plunged into sadness and frustration,” the sources said of the court filing. “Since then, his tone in conversations about Hunter has been tinged with a resignation that was not there before, his confidants say.”



“The saga reflects the painful dynamics of the first family, shaped by intense ambition and deep loss, along with anger and guilt,” the report added.



Despite the senior Biden’s alleged “frustration,” legal experts criticized the timing of the potential indictment, noting Weiss’s unusual plea deal with Hunter.



“So here’s the question for Weiss: What the hell have you been doing for the last five years?” Andrew C. McCarthy, former assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, questioned. “The answer, of course, is: burying the Biden investigation.”



Mike Davis, founder and president of the pro-Trump Article III Project and former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley, warned voters not to be fooled by potential charges.



“Don’t be fooled. Both Democrat senators picked Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss,” he posted on X, describing Weiss’s history. “Protected Bidens for years. Let statute of limitations expire on tax charges. Buried credible evidence of Bidens’ foreign bribery. Tried to give Hunter secret immunity.”

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[maybetoday]

Can’t Make This Up: FBI Agent in Hunter Biden Investigation Who Disputes IRS Whistleblower Over Key Meeting With Weiss Warned Gun Criminals Last Year: “Gun Crime Equals Federal Time. Which Means No Parole”

By Kristinn Taylor
Sep. 12, 2023 6:20 pm


A senior FBI agent assigned to the Hunter Biden investigation being conducted by now-Special Counsel David Weiss disputed a key allegation by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapely in closed door testimony given to House lawmakers last week, according to a leak of the transcript of the interview given to the Washington Post. The Post reported on the leaked testimony given by Thomas Sobocinski, Special Agent in Charge of FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, in an article posted Tuesday afternoon.


In May of 2022, Sobocinski posted an FBI video warning gun criminals, “Gun crime equals federal time. Which means no parole.”

The Post report on Soborcinski does not mention if he commented on the sweetheart immunity diversion plea deal offered by Weiss to Hunter Biden for his drugs-related gun crime that gave no prison time for his federal crimes. The plea deal fell apart in court in July. Weiss has since said he intends to indict Hunter Biden on the gun charge by the end of September.


Excerpt from the Post article:



Key parts of Sobocinski’s interview with lawmakers focused on an Oct. 7, 2022, meeting that Gary Shapley, one of the IRS whistleblowers, had earlier described to the lawmakers.



Shapley said Weiss told FBI and IRS agents during that meeting that Weiss was not the “deciding official on whether charges are filed.” But Sobocinski, who was also there, said he did not hear Weiss say that and “never felt that [Weiss] needed approval” to bring charges.



Sobocinski, who is the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office, noted there was “bureaucratic administrative process” Weiss had to work through to bring charges outside Delaware but that his understanding was “that [Weiss] had the authority to bring whatever he needed to do.”



“I never thought that anybody was there above David Weiss to say no,” he said.



Pressed again on the issue later in the interview, he said, “I went into that meeting believing he had the authority, and I have left that meeting believing he had the authority to bring charges.”



…Sobocinski said he had no awareness of several other claims Shapley made about the Oct. 7 meeting, including that Weiss informed the group that U.S. District Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves would not allow Weiss to charge Hunter Biden with tax violations in the nation’s capital.



But he added that he while he had a “very high-level sense of IRS charges,” he was not tracking the “minutia” of tax law nor the statute of limitations that was set to lapse on Hunter Biden’s 2014 and 2015 tax returns. Sobocinski also said that he did not take any notes during the Oct. 7 meeting or send emails about it afterward. Shapley, in contrast, memorialized his takeaways from the meeting in notes and an email later that day.



FBI press release announcing Director Christopher Wray’s appointment of Sobocinski on July 14, 2021:



Director Christopher Wray has named Thomas J. Sobocinski as special agent in charge of the Baltimore Field Office. Mr. Sobocinski most recently served as deputy assistant director of the International Operations Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington.



Mr. Sobocinski joined the FBI as a special agent in 1998 and reported to the Fayetteville Resident Agency of the Charlotte Field Office in North Carolina, where he worked violent crime. His focus shifted to counterterrorism cases after the 9/11 attacks. In 2005, he was promoted to supervisory special agent and assigned to the Counterterrorism Division at Headquarters to work in the International Terrorism Operations Section.



In 2007, Mr. Sobocinski was appointed the FBI’s senior liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. He transferred to the Washington Field Office as a counterterrorism supervisory special agent in 2008.



Mr. Sobocinski embarked on a the first of a series of foreign assignments in 2009, when he was appointed assistant legal attaché in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was promoted to legal attaché in Cairo, Egypt, in 2011, then moved to London in 2013 to serve as the deputy legal attaché.



In 2016, Mr. Sobocinski was appointed as the assistant special agent in charge of the Intelligence Branch at the Washington Field Office and was promoted to section chief in the Counterterrorism Division at Headquarters in 2018.



In 2019, he was appointed the deputy assistant director of the International Operations Division.



Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Sobocinski was a police officer and special agent with the U.S. Secret Service. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science from the Purdue University and a master’s degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland and Defense Security.

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[schwartzie]

White House: Biden Will Not Pardon Hunter If He’s Convicted of Crimes

David Lindfield
September 17, 2023 - 10:11 am


White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has claimed that Democrat President Joe Biden will not pardon or commute his son Hunter if he’s convicted of crimes.



The comment comes after Special Counsel David Weiss filed federal charges against Hunter Biden this week.



The charges stem from a firearm-related incident in 2018.



The indictment charges the first son with three crimes related to false statements made on a federal application to purchase a firearm.



The charges relate to a time when, in October 2018, Hunter claimed he was clean of drugs to purchase a handgun.



He later wrote in his memoir that he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time.



“Would the president pardon or commute his son if he’s convicted?” a reporter asked.



“So, I’ve answered this question before, it was asked of me not too long ago, a couple of weeks ago,” Jean-Pierre responded, expressing clear resentment for the question.



“And I was very clear, and I said, ‘no.’”



WATCH:

Two of the counts carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to NBC News.


The third charge carries a max sentence of five years.



The stiff sentences are a sharp contrast to the agreement worked out under the sweetheart plea deal that was blown up in federal court by a judge.



The cushy plea agreement would have excused Hunter from jail time and instead put him in a diversion program.



If he completed the program successfully, it would have wiped the gun charges from his record.



The plea deal also quietly included a clause that would have given Hunter Biden blanket immunity from future charges.



The indictment says:



Hunter, “knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance … did knowingly possess a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver.”



Weiss signaled earlier this month that he was looking at charges against Hunter related to lying on a federal firearm registration form and owning a gun illegally.



In a notice to Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware, the special counsel wrote that he was considering charging the Biden heir with gun charges.



However, Weiss did not mention other charges related to Hunter’s overseas business dealings or taxes that are the subject of an ongoing corruption investigation by House Republicans.



Hunter’s failed plea deal struck with Weiss included two misdemeanor tax charges as well.


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[Midnight]

Hunter Biden Expects to Plead Not Guilty to Gun Charges

WENDELL HUSEBØ
19 Sep 2023

Hunter Biden is expected to plead not guilty to three federal gun charges, his lawyer told the judge Tuesday.



Special Counsel David Weiss charged Hunter Biden on Thursday with one count of false statement in the purchase of a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and one count of false statement related to information required to be kept by federal firearms licensed dealer.



Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine, though his lawyers claim the charges against him will be dismissed before trial.



“Mr. Biden also will enter a plea of not guilty, and there is no reason why he cannot utter those two words by video conference,” Abbe Lowell stated.



“Hunter Biden possessing an unloaded gun for 11 day [sic] was not a threat to public safety, but a prosecutor, with all the power imaginable, bending to political pressure presents a grave threat to our system of justice,” Lowell said. “We believe these charges are barred by the agreement the prosecutors made with Mr. Biden, the recent rulings by several federal courts that this statute is unconstitutional, and the facts that he did not violate that law, and we plan to demonstrate all of that in court.”



Lowell also asked the court for permission for Hunter Biden to appear before the judge via video:



…to minimize an unnecessary burden on government resources and the disruption to the courthouse and downtown areas when a person protected by the Secret Service flies across the country and then must be transported to and from a downtown location.



“We respectfully request that the Court hold Mr. Biden’s initial appearance in this matter by video conference,” Lowell said.



Biden “is not seeking any special treatment in making this request,” Lowell added. “He has attended and will attend any proceedings in which his physical appearance is required.”



Moving forward, Hunter Biden could stand trial if Weiss does not offer him a plea deal, as he previously did in July when the “sweetheart” deal fell apart under judicial scrutiny. Charges could be dismissed before trial.



Authorities previously fingerprinted and mugshot Hunter Biden in July when his plea deal collapsed, CNN reported. The photo was not made public because it was in federal court.

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[maybetoday]

Federal Judge Shuts Down Hunter Biden's Big Request, Saying He 'Should Not Receive Special Treatment'



By C. Douglas Golden

September 21, 2023 at 8:53am


Well, here’s a refreshing change: Hunter Biden is being treated like any other citizen alleged to have committed a crime, for once.



According to CNN, federal Magistrate Judge Christopher J. Burke denied a defense request for the president’s son to appear virtually to enter a plea in his federal firearms violation case when he’s arraigned on Oct. 3.



The initial date for arraignment in the case was supposed to be Sept. 26, according to United Press International. However, it was pushed back at the request of his attorneys.



Abbe Lowell, one of Biden’s many members of counsel, urged the court to let him appear via video link in a Tuesday filing.



“No matter whether in person or virtual, he will waive reading of the indictment, which is merely a few pages and could easily be read at a video conference,” the filing read.



Trending: Christians Beware: 'Sparkle Creed' Openly Mocks God in Most Blasphemous Way

However, special counsel David Weiss pushed back on the move, saying it was unprecedented.



“Hunter Biden does not contend he is injured or indigent,” wrote the special counsel, initially a Delaware U.S. attorney investigating the Hunter case, in a court filing.



“If ‘convenience’ was a legitimate basis to warrant virtual proceedings, every defendant would ask for them in every case.”



Weiss also said the in-person court appearance would “promote the public’s confidence” that the fix wasn’t in for the president’s son.



“An in-person hearing is important to promote the public’s confidence that the defendant is being treated consistently with other defendants in this District and in other Districts,” Weiss’ team said in its court filing.



“Moreover, the previous arraignment held in connection with this matter was anything but routine because the defendant and his previous attorney were not prepared to answer the Court’s questions.”



The Delaware judge sided with the special counsel.



“In the end, the Court agrees with both Defendant … and the Government … that Defendant should not receive special treatment in this matter – absent some unusual circumstance, he should be treated just as would any other defendant in our Court,” Judge Burke wrote in his ruling on Wednesday.



“Any other defendant would be required to attend his or her initial appearance in person. So too here.



“Therefore, Defendant’s Motion is DENIED,” the ruling concluded.



The gun charge could be just the beginning of Hunter’s legal woes, depending on how serious the special counsel is regarding the tax and gun allegations the president’s son faces.



Mind you, this was all supposed to be settled quietly via a plea agreement arranged by the Department of Justice in which Hunter would plead guilty to the tax and gun violations so long as he completed a diversionary program designed for offenders who had drug issues.



However, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika found the agreement dubious, particularly since 1) it offered Hunter wide immunity for crimes not even covered under the plea agreement and 2) the prosecution and defense argued in court over how wide the immunity being offered was. She called the plea “confusing,” “not straightforward,” “unprecedented” and “atypical,” refused to accept the deal, and ordered attorneys to go back to the bargaining table to hash out something more conventional.



It failed, and Weiss was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland. While there has been some skepticism from Republicans about Weiss’ appointment — he had handled the case previously, after all, including the botched plea agreement — Weiss has taken on arguably the easiest case to convict Hunter on, the gun charges.



In 2018, Hunter bought a Colt Cobra .38 Special through a gun dealer. As part of a federal background check form, he asserted he was drug-free, a precondition to legally purchasing a firearm. According to Hunter’s own memoir, however, he was on a wild drug bender at roughly the same time he purchased the weapon.



While these cases — lying on federal background check forms — often aren’t prosecuted, that’s because they’re called “lying and trying”: i.e., the individual in question got caught lying and was unable to purchase the gun. Hunter succeeded in purchasing the firearm — and, lo and behold, the gun ended up in a Delaware dumpster thanks to Hunter’s girlfriend and widow of his dead brother Beau, Hallie Biden.



Suffice it to say, it’s a bit complicated, but the point is that anyone who came across the gun in the dumpster could have used it in nefarious ways — or Hunter could have, considering his mental state at the time.



Apparently, the White House — and specifically, the president — is in a tizzy over the fact the first son is finally being treated like any other person.



“The emotional toll continues to weigh heavily on the president and first lady, who approach the most sensitive family matters as a father and mother above all else, according to a source familiar with their thinking,” NBC News reported Saturday. “But the recent shift in their outlook has been dramatic, the source said.”



Michael LaRosa, Jill Biden’s former press secretary, told the network, “Every day, this president wakes up and thinks about his deceased son and probably cries every day. And the weight of [Hunter’s legal troubles] is equally emotionally taxing.” He added that the Bidens are “incredibly protective of Hunter.”



Yes, and that’s how we got here. Now, the most enabled prodigal son in recent Washington history will have to eat the same carob pods the rest of the ordinary swine that go through the legal system are forced to swallow.


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[Midnight]

Third IRS Agent Says Joe Biden’s DOJ Blocked David Weiss from Charging Hunter


WENDELL HUSEBØ
21 Sep 2023

A third IRS agent reportedly told House investigators last week that President Joe Biden’s Justice Department blocked now-special counsel David Weiss from charging Hunter Biden, seemingly contradicting Attorney General Merrick Garland’s assertion that Weiss had complete authority to charge the president’s son.



“He was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own,” Garland said in June of now-special counsel David Weiss.



Weiss investigated Hunter Biden for five years for tax, gun, and Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations. The probe came to a head when IRS whistleblowers alleged in April that two Biden administration political appointees within the DOJ worked to block charges against Hunter Biden for tax violations against recommendations.



The president's son is reportedly under investigation for tax fraud, money laundering, and gun and foreign lobbying violations by Trump-appointed United States Attorney David C. Weiss.

United States Attorney David C. Weiss. (Screenshot/CBS News)



IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf told the House Ways and Means Committee on September 12 that the DOJ’s tax division opposed charging Hunter Biden during a June 2022 meeting with IRS officials and Weiss.



“DOJ Tax would have to authorize charges prior to David Weiss recommending an indictment or prosecution,” Batdorf said in a transcribed interview, the Washington Examiner reported.



“So, I mean, my understanding is that, I mean, he can’t make that decision without DOJ Tax authorization,” Batdorf, who was IRS agent whistleblower Gary Shapley’s senior in the IRS chain of command, said.



Notes from Shapley show he quoted Weiss as saying he was “not the deciding person” on charging Hunter Biden with tax, gun, and FARA violations.

Shapley’s subordinate, Joseph Ziegler, the second IRS whistleblower, supports Shapley’s allegation. The claim is also backed by Shapley’s boss, Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon, who confirmed Weiss did not have the authority to charge Hunter Biden.



In two letters to Congress, Weiss contradicted himself about whether he was the deciding authority to charge Hunter Biden. Weiss ultimately reversed his position to agree with Garland, as both claimed Weiss was the sole authority to charge Hunter Biden.

Batdorf also told investigators he believed his team was frustrated that Weiss found opposition to prosecuting Hunter Biden. “I was frustrated,” he said. “[Weiss] was probably a little frustrated … because he now had to make some decisions on what he was going to do.”


“David Weiss made his decision to go forward in May. I’m not sure what drove that decision,” Batdorf added.



In addition, Batdorf confirmed that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf was taken off the case in May or June, the Examiner reported. According to the New York Times, Hunter Biden’s lawyers worked with Wolf to draft the sweetheart plea deal that collapsed under judicial scrutiny.



Shapley and Ziegler claim Wolf refused to allow investigators to ask about Joe Biden being “the big guy.” Wolf also allegedly cautioned the investigation team not to search Joe Biden’s guest house in Delaware for evidence against Hunter Biden because of “optics.”



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[maybetoday]

IRS Whistleblower Exposes DOJ's Attempt to Stop Special Counsel from Charging Hunter Biden



By Randy DeSoto

September 22, 2023 at 2:46pm


A third Internal Revenue Service whistleblower came forward to confirm that U.S. Attorney David Weiss, before being named special counsel, faced roadblocks from the Justice Department in seeking to prosecute Hunter Biden.



“IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf told the House Ways and Means Committee in a closed-door interview on Sept. 12 that he felt ‘frustrated’ by the refusal of the Justice Department to approve tax charges that IRS agents viewed as well-supported by evidence, according to a transcript of the interview,” the Washington Examiner reported Thursday.



Further, IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, who testified before the Ways and Means Committee in May, was removed from leading the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son because of tension with Weiss over the lack of charges being filed, Batdorf said.



Shapley told the committee that Weiss said during an Oct. 7, 2022, meeting that he could not bring charges outside his Delaware district without the approval of the DOJ tax division in Washington or a U.S. attorney in California, where Biden lived at the time, and that approval was not forthcoming.



“He surprised us by telling us on the charges, ‘I’m not the deciding official on whether charges are filed,’” Shapley recounted in his May 26 testimony.



“He then shocked us with the earth-shattering news that the Biden-appointed D.C. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves would not allow him to charge in his district,” he said.



That means Hunter Biden would not face tax charges related to “foreign income from Burisma” in 2014 and 2015, and therefore the statute of limitations would expire for those years.



“All of our years of effort getting to the bottom of the massive amounts of foreign money Hunter Biden received from Burisma and others during that period would be for nothing,” Shapley said.



Batdorf, who is above Shapley in the IRS chain of command, told the Ways and Means Committee that during a June 2022 meeting with Weiss and IRS officials, the DOJ tax division opposed bringing charges against Biden.


“DOJ Tax would have to authorize charges prior to David Weiss recommending an indictment or prosecution,” Batdorf said, according to the Examiner.



“So, I mean, my understanding is that, I mean, he can’t make that decision without DOJ Tax authorization,” he said.



GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas questioned Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing about the authority a U.S. attorney has to prosecute tax crimes.



“Do tax cases, as a general matter, require approval by Main Justice, no matter what district has venue? Yes or no?” Roy asked.



“Most of the time, but not when the attorney general has granted authority to a U.S. attorney to do what he thinks is best,” Garland responded.



In other words, he was in effect refuting the assertion that Weiss could not have brought the charges against Biden without D.C.’s approval.







The New York Post reported that IRS Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon, who was present at the Oct. 7, 2022, meeting with Weiss, also testified before the Ways and Means Committee in September that Weiss did see himself as the “deciding person” in the Biden case, as Shapley had told lawmakers.



Waldon also recounted that Weiss separately told him in conversation that “he was not going to be responding to Mr. Shapley’s emails anymore” due to “a conflict around discovery.”



“The US Attorney’s Office was no longer working or talking with Mr. Shapley. And there was no immediate — I didn’t think that that would be resolved quickly. And in order to move the investigation forward, I recommended that, you know, he be removed,” Waldon said, referring to Shapley.



Batdorf verified that Shapley and his IRS team were removed from the Biden case due to friction with Weiss over the lack of charges.



“I mean, the decision to remove Mr. Shapley was made by Darrell and I in December [2022], when we knew there was an issue — potential issue going forward,” Batdorf testified, according to the Post.



In August, Garland named Weiss special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation to give him “full authority” to bring his investigation into other jurisdictions, CBS News reported.



The move came after a sweetheart plea deal fell through in late July when the judge presiding over the case questioned the terms of the agreement.



Biden was to receive blanket immunity from future prosecution regarding any of his overseas business deals in exchange for pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax evasion charges.



Further, under a diversion agreement, an illegal gun possession charge stemming from 2018 would not be filed if Biden remained drug-free for two years and agreed not to possess a gun again.



Weiss had recommended probation with no jail time.



After coming under intense criticism from Republican lawmakers regarding the unequal application of the law, the special counsel’s office last week indicted Biden on federal felony firearms charges.

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[schwartzie]

Feds Considered Trafficking Charges against Hunter Biden, Document Shows

Frank Bergman
September 29, 2023 - 7:17 pm


The House Ways and Means Committee has released a legal document that reveals the criminal charges that federal investigators were considering against Democrat President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.



According got the document, feds floated sex trafficking charges against Hunter Biden.



The committee obtained the document as part of its investigation into the first son.



Congressional investigators released a large batch of documents this week to coincide with the House Oversight Committee’s first impeachment inquiry hearing against President Biden on Thursday.



The document shows that, in October 2020, IRS tax crimes prosecutor Jack Morgan sent nine cases regarding Hunter Biden and prostitutes to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf.



According to the Washington Free Beacon, Morgan highlighted several examples of Hunter Biden paying escorts to journey from New York and Boston to Los Angeles for sex.



Wolf sent the list to her associates, but the matter mysteriously ended there.



The House Ways and Means Committee included the document within the release of hundreds of IRS whistleblower records.



The documents were released shortly before the first impeachment inquiry.



The House Oversight Committee held its first impeachment inquiry hearing Thursday.



The hearings are delving into President Biden and his alleged involvement in his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings.



Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) revealed that investigators have uncovered a “mountain of evidence” indicating that President Biden had previously leveraged his public office for personal gain for his family.



“The bottom line is that the committee has shown the Bidens alone brought in over $15 million in their foreign influence peddling, over $24 million if you account for their associate’s earnings from the schemes,” Comer said.


“We have established in the first phase of this investigation where this money has come from: Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan, China; it didn’t come from selling anything legitimate,” he continued.



“It largely went unreported to the IRS.



“It was funneled through shell companies and third parties to hide the Bidens’ fingerprints.”



“This deserves investigation,” he added.



“This deserves accountability.



“The American people expect this committee to investigate public corruption.”



Comer also outlined the committee’s next steps in the inquiry.



“Now we know much of the money goes. Hunter Biden, Haley Biden, James Biden, Sarah Biden, other Biden family members and their business entities,” Comer said.



“What we need to understand is where it goes next.



“That is the question this committee has to answer.



“And the evidence supports that next step.”



On Thursday, Comer issued subpoenas for the bank records of Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden, and their affiliated companies.

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[schwartzie]

Hunter Biden Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Gun Charges

Frank Bergman
October 3, 2023 - 2:35 pm


Hunter Biden appeared in the District Court for the District of Delaware Tuesday morning where he pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges.



The charges were brought out of Special Counsel David Weiss’s years-long investigation.



Democrat President Joe Biden’s son appeared in person in court for his arraignment Tuesday.



He is being charged with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.



The total maximum prison time for the charges could be up to 25 years with all counts combined.



Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.



The younger Biden pleaded not guilty to all three charges.



Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke presided over the hearing and laid out the conditions for Hunter Biden’s release.



The president’s son is required to seek employment and communicate all international travel plans.



He also is prohibited from possessing a firearm and using alcohol and drugs, and he is required to get drug tested randomly and participate in a substance abuse counseling program.



Burke said the conditions are “appropriate,” and both the government and defense agreed.



Burke explained that both the government and the defense have a deadline of November 3, 2023, to file any motions.



Hunter Biden’s defense attorney Abbe Lowell notified Burke that the defense plans to file a motion to dismiss.

The motion is due to the diversion agreement on the gun charges, which he said he believes is still in effect.



The diversion agreement was included as part of the original plea deal that collapsed in July.



Biden was set to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, which would allow him to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge.



That deal fell apart during his last court appearance.



After the “sweetheart deal” collapsed in July, Hunter was then forced to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.



The federal gun charges are the first charges Weiss has brought against Hunter since being granted special counsel status by Attorney General Merrick Garland in August.



Lowell also said the defense’s motion to dismiss would include an argument regarding the constitutionality of the statutes that, he said, have been discussed.



Lowell added that he will also be making a request for an evidentiary hearing.



The government was represented by federal prosecutors Leo Wise and Derek Hines.



Weiss was not present.



According to the indictment, “on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver with serial number RA 551363…knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm…in that the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, provided a written statement on Form 4473 certifying he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.”



The indictment also states that “on or about October 12, 2018, through on or about October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant Robert Hunter Biden, knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance…did knowingly possess a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver with serial number RA 551363, said firearm having been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.”



In 2021, it was revealed that police had responded to an incident in 2018 when a gun owned by Hunter was thrown into a trash can outside a market in Delaware.



The police report indicated that Hallie Biden, who is the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, and who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, threw a gun owned by Hunter in a dumpster behind a market near a school.



A firearm transaction indicated that Hunter purchased a gun earlier that month.



On the firearm transaction report, Hunter answered in the negative when asked if he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.”



Hunter was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.



He also openly discussed drug abuse in his book.



His attorneys, who initially requested for the court appearance to take place via video conference, had signaled last month that he would plead not guilty to the charges.



Burke rejected Hunter’s request, saying he should not receive special treatment.

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[Honoria]

DEVELOPING: Hunter Biden’s Defense Lawyer Abruptly Quits

By Cristina Laila
Oct. 6, 2023 7:00 pm




An attorney representing Hunter Biden in his gun charge case brought by Special Counsel David Weiss abruptly quit on Friday.



Richard Jones filed paperwork to withdraw from Hunter’s case on Friday just days after Hunter Biden arrived to the federal courthouse in Delaware for his arraignment on felony gun charges.



Hunter Biden was indicted on federal gun charges last month.



Biden was indicted in a Delaware court on three counts related to his possession of a firearm while using drugs. He is facing up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.


Hunter Biden was charged with “one count of False Statement in Purchase of a Firearm, one count of False Statement Related to Information Required to be Kept By Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person who is an Unlawful User of or Addicted to a Controlled Substance.” ABC News reported.



Special Counsel Dave Weiss indicted Hunter Biden after the sweetheart plea deal fell apart in August.



Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all three charges on Tuesday.



“Mr. Biden has been advised of, and consents to, our withdrawal,” Jones said in his filing.



FOX News reported:



Richard Jones, an attorney representing Hunter Biden in his federal gun charge case, filed paperwork Friday to withdraw himself from the matter.



The president’s son had pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Tuesday morning after being charged in an indictment stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation.



“Mr. Biden has been advised of, and consents to, our withdrawal. He also agrees this withdrawal will cause no material adverse effect or prejudice to him and remains completely satisfied with Messrs. [Abbe] Lowell’s and [Bartholomew] Dalton’s continued representation of him,” reads the document filed by Jones.



“Accordingly, our withdrawal as counsel will have no material adverse effect on Mr. Biden’s interests,” Jones added.



Last month’s gun-related charges aren’t the end of Hunter Biden’s legal problems. Weiss previously withdrew Hunter’s tax-related charges in Delaware and said the venue for the offenses are either in California or DC.



Prosecutors say the venue for Hunter Biden’s tax-related charges lies either in California or DC, not Delaware.



“Venue for these offenses does not lie in Delaware. Rather, venue for these offenses and any other related tax offenses lies either in the Central District of California or in the District of Columbia. The information was filed in this District because the parties had previously agreed that the Defendant would waive any challenge to venue and plead guilty in this District. However, during the July 26, 2023, hearing that the Court set on this matter, the Defendant pled not guilty. Since that time, the parties have engaged in further plea negotiations but are at an impasse. The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial,” the filing said.



This isn’t the first time a lawyer representing Hunter Biden abruptly quit.



In 2019, Hunter Biden blew off a court hearing in Arkansas over his child support payments to his baby mama Lunden Roberts.



Dustin McDaniel, an attorney for Hunter Biden abruptly quit in the Batesville, Arkansas courtroom after Hunter was a no-show!



Who is paying for Hunter Biden’s team of super lawyers that are costing him close to $1 million a month according to some estimates?



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[PurplePuppy]

Hunter Biden Seeks to Subpoena Donald Trump, Bill Barr, Claiming Bias in Gun Case

WENDELL HUSEBØ
15 Nov 2023
3:06

Hunter Biden’s lawyers asked the judge presiding over his criminal gun case on Wednesday to subpoena former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and two other Trump administration officials.



The request signals Hunter Biden’s legal strategy to accuse the Trump administration of political interference in his gun case, the same accusation IRS whistleblowers leveled against President Joe Biden’s Justice department in their probe of Hunter Biden for tax, gun, and potentially FARA violations.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika to issue several subpoenas to:


The filing claimed:



Mr. Biden seeks specific information from three former DOJ officials and the former President that goes to the heart of his defense that this is, possibly, a vindictive or selective prosecution arising from an unrelenting pressure campaign beginning in the last administration, in violation of Mr. Biden’s Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution.



“In the leadup to the 2020 election, IRS case files show certain investigative decisions were made ‘as a result of guidance provided’ by, among others, ‘the Deputy Attorney General’s office,'” said the filing by attorney Abbe Lowell.



The filing also highlights Barr’s recent book, in which the former attorney general alleged that Trump asked him in October 2020 about the status of the probe into Hunter Biden.



Barr claimed he said, “Dammit, Mr. President, I am not going to talk to you about Hunter Biden. Period!”



“These confirmations of communications give more than a mere appearance that President Trump improperly and unrelentingly pressured DOJ to pursue an investigation and prosecution of Mr. Biden to advance President Trump’s partisan ambitions,” the filing said.



The request also alleges House Republicans pressured now-Special Counsel David Weiss to indict the president’s son. Hunter Biden and Weiss previously agreed to a “sweetheart” plea deal until it fell apart under judicial scrutiny.


Special Counsel David Weiss leaves a closed door meeting with lawmakers surrounding the investigation into Hunter Biden during a break at the O’Neill House Office Building on Tuesday November 7, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty)



The agreement afforded Hunter Biden the ability to plead guilty for not paying taxes on over $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, receiving probation rather than jail time. In addition, Weiss devised a separate diversion agreement that gave Hunter immunity from potential future charges, including a provision to essentially wipe a felony gun violation from his record.



Lowell claimed that pressure “culminated in Special Counsel Weiss’s then changing course and bringing this Indictment on September 14 against Mr. Biden, charging three felony counts for the same gun and same facts that just a few months prior Mr. Weiss had agreed to divert under a pre-trial diversion agreement.”

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[schwartzie]

Republicans Threaten to Hold Hunter Biden in Contempt of Congress for Rejecting Subpoena

Frank Bergman
December 6, 2023 - 4:12 pm


Top House Republicans are threatening to hold Democrat President Joe Biden’s son Hunter in contempt of Congress.



House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) issued the warning on Wednesday.



The threat comes after Hunter Biden’s lawyer notified the panel that he will not appear to testify unless he can do so in a public setting.



Comer subpoenaed Hunter Biden to appear for a deposition on December 13 behind closed doors.



Last week, Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, notified the committee that the president’s son wanted to testify in a public hearing instead.



Comer and Jordan last week said Hunter Biden would not receive special treatment and was compelled to appear for a closed-door deposition.



They vowed to release the transcript of his testimony shortly after it took place and vowed to schedule a public hearing at a later date.



On Wednesday, Lowell, Bill Clinton’s former impeachment lawyer, sent a letter to Comer.



Lowell told the committee chairs that Hunter Biden will only appear for testimony in a public hearing setting.



“Mr. Biden has offered to appear at a hearing on the December 13, 2023, date you have reserved, or another date this month, to answer any question pertinent and relevant to the subject matter,” Lowell wrote.



“He is making this choice because the Committee has demonstrated time and time again it uses closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort, the facts and misinform the American public—a hearing would ensure transparency and truth in these proceedings,” Lowell said.



“We look forward to working out the schedule.”



Comer and Jordan replied, threatening to hold Hunter Biden in contempt.


“On November 8, 2023, we issued subpoenas to your client, Robert Hunter Biden, for a deposition on December 13, 2023,” they wrote.



“Contrary to the assertions in your letter, there is no ‘choice’ for Mr. Biden to make; the subpoenas compel him to appear for a deposition on December 13,” Comer and Jordan wrote.



“If Mr. Biden does not appear for his deposition on December 13, 2023, the Committees will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,” they wrote.



House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) responded by blasting Republicans.



“Hunter Biden will answer questions under oath in front of the world—but unless he testifies in secret so he can be misquoted, @repjamescomer will hold him in contempt? ” Raskin posted to X.



“What a joke.”



He added:



“Jim Jordan blew off HIS subpoena.



“Comer doesn’t want the truth—and can’t handle it.”

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[Berean]

BREAKING UPDATE: Justice Department Files 9 New Criminal Charges Against Hunter Biden – Tax Evasion – Faces Up to 17 Years in Prison

By Cristina Laila
Dec. 7, 2023 7:00 pm




The Justice Department on Thursday filed new criminal charges against Hunter Biden, CNN reported.



Update: Hunter Biden was hit with a 9-count indictment filed in California: Tax evasion, failure to file/pay taxes, and false/fraudulent tax return.



The indictment details a “four-year scheme” to avoid the $1.4+ million tax obligations he owed between 2016 and 2019 and to file false returns.



If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 17 years in prison.

In September Hunter Biden was indicted on federal gun charges.



Hunter Biden was charged with “one count of False Statement in Purchase of a Firearm, one count of False Statement Related to Information Required to be Kept By Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person who is an Unlawful User of or Addicted to a Controlled Substance.” ABC News reported.



The Gateway Pundit reported back in October 2020 that his then-lover and deceased brother’s widow tossed the gun in the trash. Hunter admitted this in an online conversation with his family when they accused him of inappropriate conduct in front of a child.



And on the next day, TGP published additional text messages from Hunter Biden that were devastating.



Hunter shared that his dead brother’s wife, Hallie Biden, whom he had an affair with, threw his gun away and the police, FBI and Secret Service got involved. Hallie claimed she did this because she was afraid Hunter would harm himself or the kids!



Plea talks related to Hunter Biden’s tax-related misdemeanor charges and diversion agreement blew up over the summer.



After the special counsel was announced federal prosecutors said that Hunter Biden’s plea negotiations are at an impasse and asserted the case is headed for a trial in a court filing.



link

[Midnight]

CNN: Hunter Would Have Resolved Felony Charges Carrying Prison with Misdemeanor if Judge Didn’t Ask Questions
IAN HANCHETT
7 Dec 2023

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Pérez and CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig noted that Hunter Biden would have been able to resolve his tax issues “with a simple misdemeanor deal” until the judge “asked him very, frankly, appropriate questions” and now he’s “into felony territory. It’s much more serious. If he gets convicted here, the guidelines will recommend a prison sentence of some nature.”



Pérez said, “For Hunter Biden, this has to be one of the most frustrating parts of this experience, obviously. He was minutes away from having this entire ordeal put behind him. And instead, he’s now facing these charges, all because a judge asked him very, frankly, appropriate questions. She simply asked whether Hunter Biden and his lawyers understood what the terms of this deal entailed and everything sort of fell apart after his lawyer said, essentially, we don’t have a deal anymore, your honor. And so, that’s how we are here. This was going to be put to bed with a simple misdemeanor deal.”



Honig stated, “[T]he stakes are much higher now with this new indictment than they were before, on the tax counts out of California. The original deal or near-deal that they had…that fell apart only would have charged Hunter Biden with failure to pay his taxes, which is a misdemeanor. Now, we’re into felonies, there [are] three felonies here because of evasion and fraud. And the difference is, if you owe taxes but you intentionally don’t pay, just a misdemeanor, you’re not going to jail in all likelihood. If you’re convicted of a felony because, as this indictment alleges, there was specific fraud they allege Hunter Biden intentionally took steps to try to fool, essentially, tax collectors. Now you’re into felony territory. It’s much more serious. If he gets convicted here, the guidelines will recommend a prison sentence of some nature.”

Videos at link

[Midnight]

Axelrod: Weiss Charging Hunter in CA Shows a Difference Between Initial Handling of Case



IAN HANCHETT
7 Dec 2023
2:06

On Thursday’s “CNN Newsnight,” CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod acknowledged that there were issues as to whether Special Counsel David Weiss could file cases in venues outside of Delaware before he was made Special Counsel and the new charges against Hunter Biden were filed in California, “So, that’s a difference between now and when he wasn’t the Special Counsel.”



Host Abby Phillip said, “f you’re a Republican and you’re trying to make the case that the Justice Department is going easy on Hunter Biden, that there is some hidden, nefarious thing that Joe Biden did related to Hunter Biden’s misdeeds, this indictment seems to lay it squarely on Hunter Biden and also seems to indicate the Justice Department is working. That might very well be something that the Biden administration doesn’t mind.”



Axelrod responded, “Well, pretty clearly there hasn’t been interference here, because the indictment was placed. And, in fact, David Weiss, the Special Counsel who was then not the special counsel, but was investigating this for five-and-a-half years, told Congress last fall that he had — there was no interference with him, with the case, and he was doing what he thought was appropriate. There were issues about whether he could file cases in different venues because he was in Delaware and so on, and this one is filed in Los Angeles. So, that’s a difference between now and when he wasn’t the Special Counsel. But, Abby, I expect that the Republicans are going to try — they will — you know there’s an impeachment move, the speaker said the other day that he’s ready to move to an impeachment inquiry. I think Donald Trump is very much encouraging that because he wants offsetting penalties. And it’s really important to keep in focus that what Donald Trump is — Donald Trump is on trial for things that Donald Trump did, and, apparently, the House of Representatives wants to impeach the president for things that he didn’t do.”



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[maybetoday]

“Have You Spoken to Hunter?” – Biden Shuffles Away From Reporters Like a Coward After Son Hunter Hit with 9-Count Federal Indictment (VIDEO)

By Cristina Laila
Dec. 8, 2023 2:00 pm

Joe Biden on Friday shuffled away from reporters like a coward after his son Hunter was charged with a 9-count federal indictment related to tax evasion.



The Justice Department on Thursday filed new criminal charges against Hunter Biden.



Hunter Biden was hit with a 9-count indictment filed in the Central District of California: Tax evasion, failure to file/pay taxes, and false/fraudulent tax return.



The new indictment was handed down by Special Counsel David Weiss after a sweetheart plea deal on tax charges fell apart over the summer.



Gold, Faith, and Financial Freedom — How A Faith-Based Company Is Transforming Retirement Portfolios



The indictment details a “four-year scheme” to avoid the $1.4+ million tax obligations he owed between 2016 and 2019 and to file false returns.



“Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant individually received more than $7 million in total gross income. This included in excess of $1.5 million in 2016, $2.3 million in 2017, $2.1 million in 2018, $1 million in 2019 and approximately $188,000 from January through October 15, 2020. In addition, from January through October 15, 2020, the Defendant received approximately $1.2 million in financial support to fund his extravagant lifestyle,” according to the indictment reviewed by The Gateway Pundit.



The indictment details Hunter Biden’s lavish lifestyle, drug use, and addiction to prostitutes.






screen image of Hunter Biden indictment reviewed by The Gateway Pundit



Biden departed the White House en route to Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday and ignored reporters posted up on the South Lawn.



“Have you spoken to your son? Have you spoken to Hunter? Any comment on the new charges against your son, Mr. President!?” reporters shouted at Biden.



WATCH:

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a gaggle aboard Air Force One that Joe Biden will not pardon his son Hunter.



“You’ve said before that the president would not pardon his son. Is that still the case?” a reporter asked KJP on Friday.



“Nothing has changed. That is still the case,” Karine Jean-Pierre referring to her previous statement on a potential Hunter Biden pardon.



AUDIO:

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[ExquisiteGerbil]

So now the dirtbag has the audacity to play victim? Gimme a break!  🙄


Hunter Biden: Attacks on Me Like Putin, Nazis, Won’t Let GOP ‘Motherf***ers’ Trying ‘to Kill Me’ Destroy Other Addicts




IAN HANCHETT
8 Dec 2023

During a portion of an interview with “The Moby Pod” released on Friday, Hunter Biden stated that he is “not going to let these motherf*ckers use me as just another example of why people in recovery are never going to be okay,” and that the attacks on his business dealings are akin to how Nazis attacked their opponents and Putin attacked his critics.



After relaying a story of a teacher who claimed that he was running a sex trafficking ring and imprisoning children, Biden stated [relevant remarks begin around 42:40] that “there’s not much difference from that than when Fox News went on a tear that I was, in some way, connected to funding the Wuhan lab that created COVID…but also, then it went to the entire Russian Defense Ministry held a two-hour press conference to explain how [George Soros and I] were funding bioweapons labs in Ukraine in order to release migratory birds infected with diseases over Russia or that I’m a foreign agent because I got paid for doing business with foreign companies or that I am a sex trafficker because I wrote in my book that I slept with prostitutes. … [T]hey have expanded it that I am, in one sense, a mastermind criminal running a global syndicate, and on the other [hand], that I am a degenerate that can’t tie my shoes and that I should never have been in business because I’m a moron and I wasn’t doing any business, I was just basically letting people — I was being a rain bucket and letting people — but that I’m running bioweapons labs with George Soros that are going to infect the Russian population.”



He added, “I [have] continued to be under investigation for now five years for all of these conspiracy theories and things.”



Biden later said, “I am not going to let these motherf*ckers use me as just another example of why people in recovery are never going to be okay, never to be trusted, they’re all degenerates.”



He further stated, “If you can’t look at some of these people like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) or Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and see someone that [has] been bullied, that are just absolutely suffering, they’re suffering people…I recognize that none of this is necessarily about me, they are trying to, in [the] most illegitimate way, but rational way, they’re trying to destroy a presidency. And so, it’s not about me. And in their most base way, what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle.”



He added, “Why do people show up at my door? Because the president of the United States was going to rallies with 8,000 people that he called 45,000 people and Fox News running it from the time he stepped on stage to the time he left the building saying, where’s Hunter? So, there you go, there’s your hate. And here’s why you hate him, the reason you hate him is because he is a pedophile. Which, by the way, this whole idea that — this may not in every aspect be a Russian disinformation campaign, but it has literally every earmark of what the Russians did. There’s…eliminationist rhetoric. Eliminationist rhetoric was something that the Nazis came up with as a tool to undermine their political rivals. And then Putin has fine-tuned it.”



Biden continued, “And what Putin did when he was coming to power in the early 2000s was, there were still some real, significant voices, and some with real money and intellectual public standing inside of Russia or living as expatriates that were speaking out against Putin. And so, what did he do? He didn’t argue with them on the merits. He didn’t argue with them about economic policy and democracy and the freedom to vote, because he knew he’d lose that argument. So, what did he do? He labeled them pedophiles. He planted child pornography on their laptops and their computers. And so, maybe only 10% of the people then in the public would believe this shit, but, then, when he would turn around after he got 10, 15, 20% of the people believing the worst thing you can possibly think about a human being and then, when he turns around and [says], and also, he’s a money launderer and he is against the Russian people, it’s a lot easier for them to believe that. And, all of a sudden, you have an entire state media, an operation that is able to focus all of that and they just keep flooding the zone and flooding the zone as Steve Bannon says, and flooding the zone, then, what do you have? You have your ready-made target for all of the things that are wrong with your life or all the rage that you feel.”



Biden further addressed claims about the “Biden crime family,” by stating that his father has been in public life for a while, released “decades” of tax returns, and “we have lived in the public life. We have gone through four presidential campaigns. My entire life has been before the public. It took until, oh, lo and behold, Donald Trump figured out that, somehow, this is a criminal enterprise. It begs credulity, but we sit here and we talk about it. And I turn on ABC, ‘Face the Nation’ this morning — or [CBS], and they’re talking about well, Hunter Biden’s plea deal and this that and the other thing and who knows what happens with Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and they may find — are you kidding me? … Okay, we’re going to talk about Ukraine, again, really?”

Full podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hunter-biden-part-1/id1661387401?i=1000637918781

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[schwartzie]

IRS Whistleblower’s Attorney Calls for Investigation into Hunter Biden Special Counsel David Weiss

Frank Bergman
December 9, 2023 - 3:21 pm


The attorney for IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley has called for a special counsel to investigate David Weiss, who is leading the investigations into Hunter Biden.



Special Counsel Weiss was appointed by Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the allegations into the first son.



Following the indictment of Hunter Biden on multiple tax-related charges earlier this week, many believe that Weiss is acting in the best interest of the White House, rather than seeking justice.



During an appearance on Friday’s broadcast of “Ingraham Angle” on Fox News, Shapley’s lawyer Tristan Leavitt blasted the recent indictment of Hunter Biden.



Leavitt stated that the indictment vindicates Shapley and fellow whistleblower Joseph Ziegler.



The move “shows that that plea deal was nothing but a slap on the wrist,” Leavitt noted.



As Slay News reported, Hunter Biden was offered a cushy plea deal from DOJ prosecutors.



However, the deal fell apart when the judge discovered that a clause giving Hunter Biden blanket immunity on all future charges had been secretly snuck into the agreement.



After the sweetheart deal crumbled, Hunter Biden was forced to plead not guilty to the charges.



Leavitt is now arguing that there should be a special counsel investigation of the conduct of Weiss throughout the Hunter Biden case.



Ziegler said Shapley “feels vindicated, both he and Joseph Ziegler really took a huge risk in coming forward.



“They did it because, at the beginning of this year, it seemed like the case was dead, notwithstanding these very strong findings they brought forward.



“But this absolutely vindicates the claims that they made, which were doubted by so many, in part because they were released to the public right as the Justice Department announced the sweetheart plea deal.


“So, this clearly shows that that plea deal was nothing but a slap on the wrist.



“And the stunning facts that are in this indictment really also vindicate the investigative work of these agents.”



He added that “the allegations that the whistleblowers brought forward weren’t just about Hunter Biden.



“That’s not why the whistleblowers came forward.



“It was because the DOJ tried to cover all of this up.



“And so, David Weiss right now is a Special Counsel, but we still believe there needs to be a special counsel to investigate his office’s actions because he’s the one that completely turned around after interacting with Biden administration officials and tried to brush this under the rug.”



WATCH:
 



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[bloodbought]

Jonathan Turley Reveals One Major Problem in the Latest Hunter Biden Indictment

By Cristina Laila
Dec. 9, 2023 8:20 pm



Constitutional expert and noted attorney Jonathan Turley reacted to the latest federal indictment against Hunter Biden.



The Justice Department on Thursday filed new criminal charges against Hunter Biden.



Hunter Biden was hit with a 9-count indictment filed in the Central District of California: Tax evasion, failure to file/pay taxes, and false/fraudulent tax return.



The indictment details a “four-year scheme” to avoid the $1.4+ million tax obligations he owed between 2016 and 2019 and to file false returns.


If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 17 years in prison.



The new indictment was handed down by Special Counsel David Weiss after a sweetheart plea deal on tax charges fell apart over the summer.



David Weiss’s investigation into Hunter Biden is ongoing. The case was assigned to the United States District Court for the Central District of California Judge Mark Scarsi, a Trump appointee.



“Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant individually received more than $7 million in total gross income. This included in excess of $1.5 million in 2016, $2.3 million in 2017, $2.1 million in 2018, $1 million in 2019 and approximately $188,000 from January through October 15, 2020. In addition, from January through October 15, 2020, the Defendant received approximately $1.2 million in financial support to fund his extravagant lifestyle,” according to the indictment reviewed by The Gateway Pundit.



The indictment revealed  Hunter Biden was spending millions of dollars on hookers, drugs/rehab, ‘adult entertainment,’ fancy restaurants etc.



According to the indictment, Hunter Biden spent $683,121 on ‘various women.’

Jonathan Turley reacted to the latest Hunter Biden indictment and pointed out one major problem: Joe Biden, the unindicted co-conspirator, was not even mentioned.



“The steps taken by Hunter to evade taxes are impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the efforts of the Justice Department to evade any reference to his father. In that sense, the indictment itself is a marvel of evasion,” Turley said.



The Burisma-Ukrainian money



“First, the special counsel only indicts tax evasion that occurred in recent years,” Turley said. “That’s because the long “investigation” into Hunter inexplicably allowed the statute of limitations to expire on the most controversial payments starting around 2014 from Ukraine gas company Burisma.”



Hunter the foreign agent



“Also missing in the indictment is any charge against Hunter Biden as an unregistered foreign agent,” Turley wrote. “Recently, the Justice Department added a charge to the indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) that he ran afoul of FARA, the Foreign Agents Registration Act. FARA also was used to go after Donald Trump associates such as Paul Manafort.”



“The problem with charging Hunter with FARA is obvious,” Turley added.



The unindicted co-conspirator



“By focusing on tax evasion alone, Weiss again avoids any direct reference to the focus of the influence-peddling used to raise these millions of dollars,” Turley wrote. “Even without mentioning the president, the implications of the indictment are devastating for the narrative and denials of Joe Biden.”



“The president has continued to maintain that he had no knowledge or interaction with these dealings. Those statements are clearly and knowingly false,” he added.


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[schwartzie]

Hunter Biden Says He Won’t Testify Behind Closed Doors, Resisting Subpoena


WENDELL HUSEBØ
13 Dec 2023

Hunter Biden made clear during a press conference Wednesday that he will only testify under his own rules and will not comply with House investigators’ lawful subpoena that compelled his testimony behind closed doors at 9:30 a.m. the same day.



Hunter Biden’s failure to appear before House investigators will likely be a factor in formalizing the House impeachment inquiry vote Wednesday evening regarding President Joe Biden’s involvement in the Biden family business.



House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pointed to six cases of mounting evidence on Tuesday against Joe Biden that “cannot be ignored”:



Biden family members and Biden business-linked entities received more than $15 million from individuals in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Romania, and China.

Joe Biden spoke with Hunter Biden’s business associates at least 22 times.

Joe Biden lied about his involvement in the business.

Joe Biden received “direct monthly payments” from Hunter Biden’s “Owasco PC” business account, which received “payments from Chinese state-linked companies and other foreign nationals and companies.”

Investigators flagged the Justice Department’s “deviations” in the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden.

An FBI FD-1023 form alleges Joe Biden accepted a $5 million bribe while vice president.


“I’m here today to answer at a public hearing any legitimate questions Chairman Comer and the House Oversight Committee may have for me,” Hunter Biden told reporters behind the Capitol Building. “I’m here today to make sure that the House committee’s illegitimate investigations of my family did not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence, and lies.”



“My father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma, not my partnership with a Chinese private businessman, not my investments at home or abroad, and certainly not as an artist,” he claimed.






House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) previously threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress if he did not comply with both a public and private interview.



If prosecuted and convicted for contempt of Congress, the punishment is up to a $100,000 fine and imprisonment.



“He’s been subpoenaed. We expect him to show up. They don’t get to make the rules,” Comer previously told Politico. “I would expect Congress to hold the president’s son in contempt,” he added when asked what the next step would be if Hunter Biden does not meet with investigators.

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[ExquisiteGerbil]

Hunter Biden Plays Victim After Refusing Child Support While Spending $872K on Sex


JOHN NOLTE
13 Dec 2023

Hunter Biden played the victim before the national media Wednesday, just days after we discovered he spent $872,000 on hookers, porn, and sex clubs while fighting against paying child support for his baby daughter.



Because Democrats got it so good, Joe Biden’s whoremongering deadbeat of a son knew he could state the following to the national media with a straight face. And yes, Breitbart News has confirmed the video below is in fact Hunter Biden.



The confusion comes from the fact he’s wearing clothes:

For six years, MAGA Republicans, including members of the House committees who are in a closed-door session right now, have impugned my character, invaded my privacy, attacked my wife, my children, my family, and my friends. They have ridiculed my struggle with addiction. They’ve belittled my recovery. And they’ve tried to dehumanize me, all too embarrass and damage my father.



The infrequently clothed 53-year-old gangster grandstanded before the U.S. Capitol as the House of Representatives prepares to take an impeachment inquiry vote regarding His Fraudulency Joe Biden’s alleged financial corruption, as summarized by my colleague Wendell Husebo:



Biden family members and Biden business-linked entities received more than $15 million from individuals in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Romania, and China.

Joe Biden spoke with Hunter Biden’s business associates at least 22 times.

Joe Biden lied about his involvement in the business.

Joe Biden received “direct monthly payments” from Hunter Biden’s “Owasco PC” business account, which received “payments from Chinese state-linked companies and other foreign nationals and companies.”

Investigators flagged the Justice Department’s “deviations” in the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden.

An FBI FD-1023 form alleges Joe Biden accepted a $5 million bribe while vice president.

Republican Chairman James Comer of the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Hunter to appear for a closed-door deposition Wednesday. Hunter refused but said he is prepared to answer questions in a public hearing where committee Democrats can play games and filibuster to ensure the questioning turns into a circus and protects both Bidens from their financial corruption.



“I am here to testify at a public hearing today, to answer the committee’s questions,” the racist N-word user said. “What are they afraid of? I’m here; I’m ready.”



Between 2016 and 2019, this is the same guy who spent $872,000 to get laid, another $397,000 on clothing and accessories (which he obviously never wore), and withdrew $1.6 million from cash machines. But when he was sued for child support, he claimed he was broke.



Hunter has five kids, but this particular daughter was born in 2018 while he was living the high life with top-flight hookers in top-flight hotels smoking crack. And then he fought to avoid his responsibility to support or even recognize her. A little, innocent girl. His own child.



But he’s the victim.


He’s also defying a lawful congressional subpoena. But he’s the victim.



Naturally, after Hunter finished his statement, he did not take any questions. Not that the media would have asked him anything other than, How does being a victim of MAGA Republicans make you feel about that Nazi Donald Trump returning to the White House after his insurrectionist white power gathering of Q Anon women-haters who torture puppies and refuse to get vaxxed while spreading conspiracy theories about PBS and we love you and your art Hunter.


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[Honoria]

REPORT: Biden Privately Frustrated and Anxious About Hunter Biden Investigation, Lashes Out at Aides When Questioned on the Subject

By Mike LaChance
Dec. 14, 2023 8:40 pm




According to people in the know, Joe Biden is much more upset about the investigation of his son Hunter than he reveals in public.



Joe is privately anxious and frustrated, and is even lashing out at his staffers if they ask him questions about it.



This is something that Republicans in the House and Senate should be aware of and one of the main reasons that they should keep the pressure on. Hunter Biden is a weakness for Joe. He is probably terrified of the idea of his son being found guilty of crimes and going to jail.



FOX News reports:


Joe Biden frustrated and anxious about Hunter, snaps at aides when asked about investigation: report



President Biden is privately anxious about the criminal investigation into his son Hunter Biden, according to a new report from Wednesday that talked to close White House allies.



“You can see it in his eyes, and you can see his shoulders slump,” one Biden confidant told Politico. “He’s so worried about Hunter. And we’re worried it could consume him.”



“I know when he hurts,” former Sen. Chris Dodd, a Democrat, told the outlet. “He doesn’t talk about it much, most of us don’t. He has a real human decency, and a lot of it is created by scarring. And he’s worried.”



“The White House has long stressed that the president does not interfere in matters before the Justice Department,” Politico wrote. “But privately, fears about the upcoming campaign and potential criminal trial have become an ever-present weight on the president, according to those close to him. The elder Biden has told friends he worries that his son could even backslide into addiction.”



Everyone knows that if the party roles were reversed, Democrats would work very hard to exploit this weakness and that’s exactly what Republicans should do. For years, Democrats have been telling us that no one is above the law. Republicans should make them prove that they truly believe that.



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[ExquisiteGerbil]

Jordan Questions Hunter Biden’s Comment On Father’s Financial Involvement

Martin Walsh
December 14, 2023


Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, claimed on Thursday that a recent statement by Hunter Biden sheds a different light on the House’s investigation into the president and his son. Jordan pointed out that the younger Biden clarified that his father was not “financially” involved.



“Financially involved” in his business dealings, including business deals with foreign nations like China, was President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who said on Wednesday. Jordan stated that the president’s previous statements—in which he claimed he was completely uninvolved—are different from the current one and that the difference between “no involvement” and “no financial involvement” is “important.”



“Again, remember the pattern,” Jordan said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “Initially, Joe Biden said, ‘I had no involvement whatsoever, none at all, with my son’s business.’ This summer, when we deposed Devon Archer, one of Hunter Biden’s business partners, the story changed: ‘Well, there were dinners, there were meetings, there were phone calls, but we just talked about the weather. There was no business talk.’ Now it’s to say ‘he wasn’t involved financially.'”



The Ohio congressman said that the “fundamental question” was what Hunter Biden was offering to his foreign business partners and that what the younger Biden had been offering was “access” to the then-vice president, “the guy who had influence.”



WATCH:




air.tv/?v=N8VW2NrfRmmMOzKNbKGNqg


First son Hunter Biden defied a lawful deposition issued by the Republican-controlled Congress to appear at a closed-door deposition, setting up a potential legal showdown as his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for a second term.



Fox News reported that Hunter refused to comply with the subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee and instead held a press conference where he offered again to testify publicly, which is not standard congressional procedure.



He also blasted Republicans while claiming that his father was not “financially involved” with his foreign business dealings. He ripped “MAGA” Republicans who have “invaded” his privacy, “attacked” his family, and “ridiculed my struggle with addiction.”



“They belittled my recovery, and they have tried to dehumanize me, all to embarrass my father, who has devoted his entire life to public service,” the president’s son said. “For six years, I have been a target of the unrelenting Trump attack team. ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Well, here’s my answer. I am here.”



He added that “my father was not financially involved in my business,” noting that Joe was not involved in his dealings with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings or his Chinese investments as well as others throughout the world and the U.S.



“No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen,” Hunter Biden said.

But Republicans disagree, saying frequently that they have seen what they are calling direct evidence of Joe Biden’s connections to Hunter’s deals via bank records and through the testimony of government whistleblowers.



Meanwhile, earlier this month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), along with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said they were both prepared to go to court to enforce the subpoena.



“Hunter Biden has received special treatment his entire life,” Comer told Just the News, No Noise TV. “Every government agency that should have caught the crimes the Bidens have been committing for years was told to stand down. And they think they can bully the Oversight Committee and set the rules. And that’s not going to happen.



“We’re going to treat this investigation like every congressional investigation in recent memory has been treated: you come in for a deposition, then you do the public hearing. All of our depositions are transparent. We released the transcripts,” Comer added. “….He is the key witness to all of the Biden crimes. So the subpoena called for him to show up in this office on Dec. 13 for a deposition. I expect to see Hunter Biden in this office for a deposition.”



When asked if he was prepared to go to federal court to enforce the subpoena and compel Hunter to testify behind closed doors, which is the norm, Comer said, “Absolutely.”



Comer mentioned that he had a meeting with House leadership on Friday and received assurances that the GOP conference would vote to officially endorse the impeachment inquiry. That is expected to enhance his committee’s position, enabling him to pursue legal action to enforce compliance with the subpoenas issued to Hunter Biden and other individuals, Just the News reported.



“I suspect that the House of Representatives will formally vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry. This is the same process that (former Speaker Nancy) Pelosi took during her impeachment,” Comer explained. “And they’re not going to be able to have a leg to stand on in court if they try to defy our subpoenas.”

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[Berean]

Hunter Biden Pleads Not Guilty to Tax Charges


WENDELL HUSEBØ
11 Jan 2024

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges in California on Thursday.



The controversial tax charges did not include Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations and did not implicate President Joe Biden in any wrongdoing.



“The steps taken by Hunter to evade taxes are impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the efforts of the Justice Department to evade any direct implications for his father, President Biden,” Jonathan Turley, an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School, wrote in the New York Post.



Special Counsel David Weiss indicted Hunter in December on nine charges, including three felonies: allegedly failing to file taxes, evading an assessment, and filing a fraudulent form.



The indictment alleges Hunter “willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes” and instead “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle.”



Legal experts criticized Weiss’s scope of the indictment for three reasons:



Weiss did not charge Hunter as an unregistered foreign agent.

Limiting the indictment to tax evasion avoids influence-peddling (implicating Joe Biden).

Weiss only indicted Hunter on tax evasion that allegedly only occurred in recent years.

Hunter could face a maximum of 17 years in prison if convicted. In total, he faces 42 years in federal prison for nine tax and three gun charges.



Hunter’s problems are not limited to indictments. He is a material witness in the House impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden.



House investigators announced they would probe the Biden family in November 2022. They revealed Joe Biden received money from James and Hunter Biden. They also showed that nine additional Biden family members received payments from the family’s foreign business ventures, including two of Joe Biden’s grandchildren.



More evidence against Joe Biden can be found here and here. (At the link)