Jonathan Turley, a professor at the George Washington University Law School, believes that President Joe Biden needs to take action fast if he wants to keep his son Hunter out of jail.
In a commentary for The Messenger, Turley presented the president with a “break the glass” alternative in the event of a conviction. The analysis follows Hunter’s court appearance on Wednesday, where he was only required to enter a guilty plea to two tax-related misdemeanors and accept a two-year deferral and eventual dismissal of a third gun-related charge if he maintained his drug-free status.
However, the plea agreement’s sweetheart fell in a federal courtroom in Wilmington, Delaware after U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the agreement’s broad immunity from any subsequent prosecution.
Under questioning from Noreika, federal prosecutors denied the deal contained any immunity from future prosecution provisions, such as violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, notwithstanding U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ recommendation for probation without any jail time.
Hunter Biden’s counsel were alarmed when federal prosecutors informed the judge that additional charges pertaining to alleged FARA violations may be filed in the future.
Say it loudly, “Rip it up!” According to ABC News, Christopher Clark, the attorney for Biden, made a statement regarding the plea agreement.
According to reports, he then said, “As far as I’m concerned, the plea agreement is null and void,” drawing audible gasps from the jury room. Then, Hunter Biden said he would not pay the taxes.
After that, The Western Journal listed the effects on the first family should the case proceed to trial:
Conceivably the case could go to trial and Biden could be convicted. And during the course of the trial, many embarrassing revelations about President Joe Biden could emerge, particularly given recent whistleblower testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
The president and Hunter Biden have each been accused of taking $5 million bribes from the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma while the elder Biden was vice president, according to an FBI whistleblower form viewed by the Oversight Committee.
Joe Biden could use his presidential pardon power to make all this go away.
Even while Biden would never be found guilty in the Democrat-controlled Senate, that won’t prevent an impeachment by the GOP-controlled House. However, Turley noted in his column that Hunter’s faults will burden his father politically.
The “break the glass option,” then, becomes this, Turley noted: “Joe Biden could pardon his son and then announce that he will not run for reelection.”
“Facing an impeachment inquiry, low public support, and a son in the legal dock, Biden could use the case to close out his political career,” Turley noted.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stated earlier this week that an impeachment investigation is more likely as a result of what he claims is an increase in the quantity of corruption information provided to GOP-controlled committees by federal whistleblowers from the FBI and IRS. One of the charges against Biden is that he accepted a bribe from a Ukrainian official when he was vice president; the Constitution expressly lists bribery as an impeachable felony.
A Biden pardon “would be what I consider another abuse of the pardon power for personal benefit,” Turley claimed. He continued by drawing a comparison to the day, January 20, 2001, when then-President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, Roger Clinton, for drug charges.
“Biden could do the same by acknowledging that the pardoning of his son is a form of raw self-dealing. However, as he has said throughout the scandal, he loves his son and blames his crimes on his struggle with addiction and grieving,” Turley said.
“With that, Biden could bow out of the election without admitting (as many on both sides are saying) that old age has taken its toll on his mental and physical capacity. He would end his political career with an act as a father, which some would condemn but most would understand.”
The law professor pointed out that Biden could even give Hunter a “preemptive or prospective pardon” that “would effectively end any federal investigation.”
