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President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has reached a plea deal with David Weiss, the Trump appointed U.S. Attorney for Delaware. Hunter has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of failing to pay taxes and filing a false document relating to a gun permit. And the Right has gone apoplectic. "President's Son Gets Sweetheart Deal From Feds on Gun, Tax Charges" declares the Free Beacon, echoing a phrase that has become the defining one for Republicans talking about the announcement. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy called evidence of a "two-tiered" U.S. justice system while Republican pundits have spent the day claiming that any other American would have faced jail time for what Hunter did.
But they have the story exactly reversed: If Hunter's last name wasn't Biden, he would never have been charged. His crimes would likely have been settled administratively with a fine.
Sorry MAGA world, but that's the truth: Most people who do what Hunter did don't get prosecuted. Both the tax and gun charges are rarely brought against first-time offenders and almost never result in jail time. This is the conclusion drawn by many legal experts, folks like Andrew Weissmann, a former FBI general counsel, and former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. People charged with the kinds of crimes Hunter is accused of tend to pay their back taxes, as Hunter arranged to have done, and then they are fined.
But that was never going to be an option for Hunter Biden—for the exact reason MAGA says he got off scot free. In fact, he faced a harsher sentence than probably any other American would have for similar crimes, no doubt because he is the President's son and it wouldn't do for the Right-wing conspiratorial fever dream to have even a whiff of truth to it.
Luckily, it doesn't.
Of course, that won't stop Republicans. They never let the truth get in the way of a good conspiracy theory. No doubt that as I write this, Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are plotting to hold hearings on the matter. They will drag Weiss before a committee so they can interrogate him in a vein attempt to pin this deal on interference from A.G. Merrick Garland or President Biden himself.
These hearings are for entertainment and political purposes only. The far Right won't believe Weiss unless he declares he was pressured by Biden or his team to make a deal. Spoiler alert: He was not.
In a healthy functional political environment, this plea deal would be the end of the Hunter Biden Saga. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives is dominated by extremists whose only goals are owning the libs. Speaker McCarthy won't stand in the way of hearings, having already made a statement denouncing the deal. Of course, he's still paying penance for the debt ceiling deal. And with prominent conservative commentators suggesting Hunter's crime is the biggest political scandal they've ever seen—far worse than Trump putting our military at risk by storing U.S. secrets in his bathroom—don't expect rational behavior to prevail.
But like so much these days, the Hunter Biden saga is a Rorschach test. You're either happy to learn that the DOJ didn't find anything new on the Bidens and ready for this to go away—or you're gearing up into full on hysteria over the corruption of the President and his son, and the unfair, "two tiered" justice system. If you're the latter type, there's nothing I or anyone can say that will alter your opinion.
I seem to be in my own category: I don't really care about the President's troubled son. Unless a family member has a desk on the West Wing or puts themselves out there politically, they should be off limits. What Hunter did or didn't do has had no impact on my life or yours.
At the end of the day, Hunter Biden had an addiction problem that has been weaponized by his father's political opponents. Addiction has impacted many American families—including my own. I can't imagine what it must be like for Hunter to be in recovery while dealing with the constant barrage of right wing conspiracy nonsense hurled his way. The lack of compassion by those who hold themselves out to be Christians never ceases to amaze me.
To me it seems like Hunter is doing his best at recovery. Hopefully the resolution of this matter will allow him to truly move on, even if the political world will continue to make him a target.
But brace yourself America: This isn't the end of this story. The summer will be filled with conspiracy theories dressed up as congressional hearings. I'm sure the illegally obtained laptop will have a prominent role too. We should all be sick of it.
Chris Hahn is the Host of the Aggressive Progressive Podcast and a NewsNation Contributor. Follow him on Twitter @christopherhahn.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
