Special prosecutor David Weiss announced his intentions. But it was this Thursday when he made history by charging Hunter Biden, son of the president of the United States, with three charges linked to the purchase of a firearm in 2018. The indictment specifies two accusations for false federal statements regarding that purchase and a third for possession while he was addicted and a cocaine user.
This criminal case, an extraordinary step by the Department of Justice of the US Government, means that the president's son can go to trial in 2024, and be sentenced to a sentence of up to ten years, right in the middle of the campaign to revalidate his mandate. .
Such an indictment is something that has never happened in this country and comes at a time when President Joe Biden, 80, is under enormous pressure. A relevant part of Democrats, both leaders and voters, consider that he should not run for a second term due to his age.
Added to this is that this Monday, the president of the lower house, Republican Kevin McCarthy, ordered the opening of an impeachment process or political process for Biden's alleged involvement in Hunter's businesses, despite the fact that there is no evidence that link it. The White House highlighted the lack of evidence and described that decision as "the worst expression of political extremism." However, people around him say that the father could pay the consequences for excessive protection of his descendant.
Weiss, who is still reflecting on whether to also charge Hunter Biden with tax fraud, launched this accusation after the judicial agreement that his lawyers agreed with the special prosecutor collapsed in July. Hunter agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses, while also admitting to illegal possession of a weapon. This only meant a couple of years of probation.
After a pressure campaign from the far right, capitalized on by the Fox network, the Delaware judge, Maryelle Noreika, showed reluctance and the agreement fell into limbo. Hunter then pleaded not guilty. His lawyers replied that he could not be charged with the gun issue because that part of the agreement remained in force.
Once the deal failed, Weiss, appointed by former President Donald Trump, required that he receive a special assignment in order to gain power, which was granted to him by Merrick Garland, Attorney General (equivalent to the Minister of Justice) appointed by President Biden.
Garland relented in part after two IRS leakers claimed that Weiss and his team had slowed down the Hunter investigation for months, frustrating those agents, who wanted harsher charges. This gave dynamite to the conservatives, who spoke of a two-tier judicial system, one for Trump, on which 91 charges weigh, many of which could put him in jail until eternity, and another for Biden's entourage. Weiss' decision breaks that theory. He had never accused the son of a president. The Republicans immediately celebrated it although they indicated that "it is only the beginning."
Prosecutors have spent years scrutinizing the life of the son of the current US president, both his businesses and his tormented private life. Weiss said in early September that he intended to seek charges in the gun matter before the grand jury. Everything indicates that they will not be the last, although he has not set a calendar for the criminal option for alleged non-payment of taxes. The future of United States politics is played out in the courts.
