Select Page

Hunter Biden tries to pull a fast one in court … and still is

Hunter Biden tries to pull a fast one in court … and still is

It was the first day of jury selection in the Hunter Biden tax evasion trial – but that is not what happened.  In a surprise move, the Biden defense team told the court that the defendant wanted to take the Alford Defense.  What?

It is a rare but not unheard-of defense strategy – rarer in federal courts, where it is invoked in only five percent of the cases.  It is essential – and officially – a guilty plea BUT with an assertion of innocence. (I will give you a moment to get your head around that bit of legal mumble-jumble. Da dee da dee da.  Ready?)

In a sense, what the defendant – in this case Hunter Biden – was asserting that he is innocent of the charge (although it is technically taking a guilty plea) but the evidence provided by the federal prosecutors is likely to get him convicted.

What is even more unusual in this case is the timing.  In virtually every other case on record, the defense attorneys would advise the prosecution of how the defendant intends to plead ahead of time.  In this case, there was no warning – and a change of plea was in court at the time the trial was beginning.  At least the jury selection phase. 

Prosecutors strongly objected – and it was left to U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi to decide whether to accept the new plea or not. Hunter’s attorneys requested an immediate decision, but Scarsi said he would take the matter under advisement.  With no immediate decision – and the likelihood that Scarsi would ultimately reject the Alford Defense – Hunter again changed his plea to a simple “guilty.”  Sentencing was scheduled for December 16, at which time Hunter could get 17 years in prison — but will not.

While it seems the Alford gambit failed, the larger strategy has succeeded.  That was to stop the jury trial and push the entire matter past the election,

As is the normal procedure, the prosecution read the 52-page indictment in court.  Scarsi then asked Hunter, “Do you agree you committed every element of every crime in counts one through nine in the indictment?”  Hunter responded with a simple, “Yes.”

At one level, this avoids a long, embarrassing and potentially politically damaging trial for the entire Biden family – with possible impacts on the Harris campaign.  The trial would bring out all the lurid details of Hunter’s Ukrainian and Russian business dealings – and any potential involvement of President Biden and his brother, Francis.  A trial would distract from the Harris campaign messaging.

There would be no testimony from Hunters sister-in-law and one-time paramour, who testified in the gun trial that Hunter got her hooked on cocaine following the death of his brother Beau.  There will be no testimony from the mother of his love child who he denied repeatedly.  No testimony from a business partner on the source of the millions of dollars he dishonestly shielded from taxes – all that Burisma money and the Russian money.  The guilty plea is a huge win for President Biden – personally and politically.  

More importantly, it pushes the entire matter to a time when a presidential pardon will have no negative impact on President Biden or Vice President Harris — who will either be President-elect at the time or not.  A pardon would seem natural for “dad” — and a payback for taking the guilty plea and preventing the high visibility trial.  The defense team says they have not ruled out an appeal.  Really?  On a guilty plea?

Methinks, that a delay to a pardon IS the strategy.  Avoid a politically damaging trial … delay sentencing past the election … and pardon Hunter.  A pardon means no jail time and no criminal record – other than the gun charge.  And I would not be surprised if “the big guy” does not pardon Hunter on that one also.  Papa Biden will claim humanitarian interests.  His son was a victim of his own drug addiction.  He is now a rehabilitated person. He deserves a second chance.

Without a pardon, jail time is a real possibility on two bases – the nature of the crime and a past felony record.  Although 17 years is out of the question.

A pardon would come sometime between Election Day and December 16 – before sentencing.  Papa Biden would face more criticism for pardoning a person that the justice system believes should be in jail.

We can see that pardon coming from Hunter’s own statements following his guilty plea.  While Hunter admitted full guilt for every one of the prosecution’s charges, he offered his excuses – generally his drug addiction.  (It should be noted that some of the tax fraud charges occurred AFTER he was alleged to be sober.)

In his post-plea statement, Hunter said, that addiction was the “explanation” for his criminal behavior.  He added, “When I was addicted, I wasn’t thinking about my taxes, I was thinking about surviving.”  Hmmm.  I have found that the last thing drug addicts think about is “survival.”  By its nature, drug addiction is a self-destructive habit.

Hunter issued a statement blasting the federal prosecutors, accusing them of being “focused not on justice but on dehumanizing me for my actions during my addiction.”

He further said that he didn’t want to “subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment.”

To the extent anyone is interested, a lot of the particulars are in the indictment, but in fact, there will not be much coverage.  But I believe the pardon is inevitable.  Yes, Papa Biden has said he will not do that – and he will continue to lie about it until after the election when – in my judgment – he WILL do it.

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

5 Comments

  1. Darren

    Everything Hunter did was for 1 Reason ( THE MONEY )
    So the real question is Larry, How much money is the Biden Family,
    ( Hunter ) making for this Guilty Plea?
    Yes , nothing in the news, no one to testify, and he will throw
    his rear under the Bus!
    The Pay off must be very very large!
    And of coarse, any debt the judge throws his way will be paid by
    the supporters of this deal.
    Biden White Privilege’s to the rescue!

    Reply
  2. Roger

    Can the prosecution reject the guilty plea and make the case to go to trial?

    Reply
  3. Tom

    This article gets a Stop The Spin rating of STS – 3. Here is why:

    1) Along with all of the other things Larry is a self proclaimed expert on, we now know he also proclaims expertise in the mental state of drug addicts! I guess Larry cannot imagine surviving from “fix to fix”? LOL Whatever happened to a person being addicted and realizing their addiction as self destructive and leading to death while being concerned that they are out of control and need to survive because they do not want death???

    2) Larry is already calling Biden a liar when he says, “and he will continue to lie about it until after the election when – in my judgment – he WILL do it.”. I guess Larry should know! I mean from one liar to another!! LOL What ever happened to “Innocent till proven guilty”? With Larry, if you are a Dem, then it is the opposite.

    3) If Hunter learned anything from Trump it was how to delay your criminal convictions until after the election!! Trump IS the expert!!! Of course Larry will not mention this!!

    Personally, Hunter Biden is a creep. Few people care about what happens to him thus few people will care about this article. All in all, the article was a “yawner” but it was nice to see Larry taking a break from bashing Harris.

    Reply
    • larry Horist

      Tom .. You just cannot give up you old man bitterness and. Once again, you deal more with me than the subject. You are on a permanent “what’s wrong with Horist” rant. You are are pathetic old soul.

      Reply
  4. frank stetson

    Hearing Horist talk pardons and delays is a hoot. Guess he found some Trump policies he’s not in love with :>)

    Gee, he tried to pay the piper with no guilt and go shot down
    So he agreed to pay the piper and plead guilty at the last second.

    Seemingly has happened almost that same way in the few cases I have witnessed first hand.

    My best was raping, robbing, burning, murdering, guilty as sin, pleads innocent and they bring in 200 prospective jurors. Yeah, it was a biggee. I did the math, figure 50% worked, that’s 100 man days for that day alone —- what $30K salary at $100K a year. We did a survey. A week later, 50 come in and we spend 4 hours each there for 15 – 30 minutes alone, in the box, for voi dire, one at a time. Figure that’s 50 more man days, $15k. Then we are 30, and it’s bingo time to select the jury. I was like 7 in the box, but my voi dire showed a thinker, defense guys like feelers, so after a couple more selected, they pulled me. I figure an easy $75K in salary alone and about 200 man days of production lost.

    After the jury was selected, the night before the trial, he pled out for life.

    Not unusual, just a footnote on a tax cheat. And tying Hunter to Joe to Kamala is getting real old, real fast. Will be weird soon if folks keep chasing Hunter.

    Reply

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *