Will Hunter’s pardon make thing worse for the rest of the Biden family?

While Papa Biden’s pardon of his son has shut the door on the prosecution of any federal crimes Hunter has been convicted of, it also prevents prosecution for any federal crimes he may have committed in the past 10 years that have not yet been discovered or fully investigated — even those activities that were currently under investigation by the Justice Department and Congress.  The pardon covers a LOT more than the gun and tax evasion cases.

Unless there are more pardons coming – and I suspect there are – other members of the Biden family are not immune from prosecution.  That includes Joe’s brother, James, other members of the Biden family who received foreign money through Hunter – and even Joe, if he is the “big guy” getting a share.

There is enough information in Hunter’s laptop and in the testimony of business associates and partners to warrant further investigation.  And IF (ß big if) those questions lead to formal investigations and court cases, Hunter would be the most important witness.

And here is where it gets dicey for the Biden clan.  Having now been removed from the possibility of prosecution for crimes committed over the past decade, Hunter has also been stripped of his Fifth Amendment rights.  Meaning, he cannot refuse to testify out of fear of self-incrimination.

Furthermore, the issues that can prompt and justify criminal investigations are matters that have occurred in the past ten years.

It is not some obscure legal maneuver.   Prosecutors often grant immunity specifically to force compromised witnesses to spill the beans.  It is routinely used to get lower level crooks to testify against associates higher up the criminal ladder.

Now … to be perfectly clear, we have not seen any smoking gun evidence tying James Biden or Joe Biden to criminal acts.  But there is sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation – and that is likely to be pursued by the Trump Justice Department UNLESS there are future pardons. 

Those on the left are claiming that Trump would weaponize the Department of Justice to “get” his political enemies.  Those claims, however, distract from the fact that there is enough evidence to suspect criminal activity regarding the Biden family’s involvement in the kind of activities that have prompted Papa Biden’s pardon.

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, addressed the issue when he said, “Democrats said there was nothing to our impeachment inquiry. If that’s the case, why did Joe Biden just issue Hunter Biden a pardon for the very things we were inquiring about?” 

The larger question regarding the Biden family is whether Hunter, James Biden and President Biden were engaged in a criminal conspiracy to solicit bribes or to peddle influence for profit.  The fact that Hunter can no longer be prosecuted means that he can be a very important witness for congressional inquiries for the prosecutors – if investigations lead to that.

There is sufficient evidence drawn from the laptop, personal communications and testimony of witnesses to warrant further investigation.  And there is only one way to dodge that bullet, and that is more pardons.

And as a postscript, Hunter could find himself in legal peril if he were to refuse to testify or provide perjured testimony.  We need to remember that Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon went to prison merely for failing to testify before the House January 6 Committee.

This is one opera where the fat lady has not sung yet.

So, there ‘tis.