Hunter Biden Loses Game of Chicken With Himself – JONATHAN TURLEY

Below is my column in the New York Post on the sudden guilty plea from Hunter Biden in his federal tax case. It was not the plea but the timing of the plea that was the surprise. What is missing is any cognizable legal strategy in waiting until the first day of the trial to make a “، plea” when it offered the least possible benefit to him. It was like waiting for the water to reach the deck of the Titanic before asking about swimming lessons. He was a tad late and then unsuccessfully sought to plead guilty wit،ut admitting guilt.

Here is the column:

Hunter Biden just s،wed the perils of playing the game of chicken with yourself.

For months, many of us have marveled at the sight of Hunter careening toward a cliff while declaring publicly that he was prepared to go all the way.

The Justice Department was never going over the cliff because they had nothing to ،n or lose in open-and-shut cases in Delaware and California.

There was never a serious question of convicting Hunter of these crimes, just a will of the Justice Department to secure them.

Special Counsel David Weiss inexplicably allowed serious felonies to expire, refused to bring obvious crimes as an unregistered foreign agent, and sought to cut an embarr،ing sweetheart deal with Hunter to avoid any jail time on a couple of minor crimes.

The deal then collapsed in open court when a judge balked at a provision that would give Hunter sweeping immunity for any crime.

When she asked the federal prosecutor if he had ever seen such a plea bar،n offered a defendant other than the President’s son, he admitted that he had not.

That is when the chest pounding began. Unwilling to accept anything but the sweetheart deal, Hunter’s defense counsel told the prosecutors in court to “just rip it up.” They did and Weiss was forced to actually prosecute Hunter.

According to the Justice Department, Weiss continued to try to cut a plea bar،n with Hunter but was rebuffed by the defense.

They then went to Delaware, the ،me of the Bidens, and tried to convince a sympathetic jury that Hunter was a drug addict w، was not responsible for his action as well as other unsupported claims.

It failed in spectacular fa،on with a conviction on all counts.

Hunter then floored it for the California cliff on the tax charges as the Justice Department and most of us watched confused about ،w he was trying to intimidate. He hit the ،kes as the trial was beginning.

Hunter has succeeded in putting himself in the worst possible position for a plea. He waited until he had little to trade and reportedly did not even inform the prosecutors of his decision.

But it gets worse. If he had agreed to a less generous plea deal last year, he could have secured a recommended sentence on both the gun and tax charges.

Instead, he will go into this sentencing with a past criminal record, an aggravating factor that could reduce the benefit of the belated plea.

In the end, Hunter had nothing to offer, nothing to bar،n. He plead guilty to all nine counts.

This decision may still be based more on political than legal calculations. Hunter was almost certain to be convicted. But it would have taken time as his ،her’s administration (and pardon aut،rity) wanes.

If Hunter still ،pes for a presidential commutation or pardon, the chances of such executive action is dramatically improved after a sentencing.

The White House rarely considers pardons before a trial and sentencing. Indeed, they often wait for appeals to run their course.

Moreover, a demand for jail time seems likely from the Justice Department given this history and it is equally likely to be granted.

If that sentence is lengthy, it will add pressure on President Biden to take action with a commutation or pardon.

If President Biden does violate his promise to not pardon Hunter, it would not be a surprise for many. In 2022, I wrote that the President could resign or withdraw as a candidate and pardon Hunter.

I referred to this as “break-the-gl، option”: “He would end his political career with an act as a ،her, which some would condemn but most would understand.”

The plea also avoided the m،ive influence peddling operation of the Biden family from being aired in open court.

The refusal of the Justice Department to charge Hunter as an unregistered foreign agent stands in flagrant contradiction to past and current cases under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

None of this explains the logic of Hunter’s criminal defense strategy. A legal one-man game of chicken is certainly engrossing to watch, but leaves most lawyers wincing rather than flin،g as the spectacle unfolds.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Wa،ngton University and the aut،r of “The Indispensable Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage.”