I had a thought today about the Hunter Biden trial. It's not at the level of a conspiracy theory or anything, just a thought experiment.
Hunter's trial happened soon after Trump's conviction and Biden was quite clear that he was not going to intervene in any way in the trial. (I'd suggest that making public statements about BOTH trials probably IS interference, but who cares.)
So, hear me out. The Trump trial was replete with actions that support the "lawfare" theory being bandied about. I've heard enough legal experts who seem confident that the verdict will be overturned (or at least has plenty of grounds for overturning), that I suspect that this isn't the final verdict. But if it looks like a duck...
What if Biden's strategists decided that one way to divert attention from the "lawfare" narrative was that Hunter would be convicted quickly of the few charged he's been charged with. That way Biden has the opportunity to talk tough, act like he won't get involved, and maybe pick up a few points in a poll or two. This way Biden can crow about not giving Hunter a pardon, not getting involved, and appear as someone who would never use the legal system to go after an electoral rival until the election. If Biden wins in November, as a lame duck, what possible negative consequences will he receive if he changes his mind and pardons Hunter. They'll leave Hunter in prison long enough to go through withdrawal, and hopefully his sister-in-law/wife to kick the crack as well. Then he'll quietly be pardoned or his sentence commuted or they'll find an appellate court that'll cut him loose.
It's a win-win for Joe, a minor inconvenience for Hunter, and maybe a tiny, short term boost in the polls.
Or It's just my imagination running away with me...
4 comments:
Neither a pardon nor a commutation of sentence absolves the convicted of guilt or of having been found guilty. The former, however, removes the verdict from the person's record as if it never happened. It's a form of legal forgiveness. The latter, of course, means the person found guilty doesn't have to serve whatever amount of the sentence is left to serve for having been found guilty.
To pardon someone doesn't suggest to me that Biden would have shown himself to be any more or less tough on crime and a slave to the concept of justice than he every had been...which is not at all. And to commute Jr's sentence merely means he doesn't want his kid in prison. Neither of these raises his polls except in the minds of those who play along with the charade. You know what would do it? Pardoning Trump, for at least in Trump's case a man undeserving of any guilty verdict in any of his trials would demonstrate compassion for the innocent and a true devotion for the concept of justice. At least it would project that, even if it's only for the sake of making the stupid believe he's a good guy.
As to his son, the only legitimate move is to leave him to pay his debt to society. My folks never let me get away with a damned thing, and none of it rose to this level of criminality and debauchery. But again, it relies on a father who cares about justice, the law, morality and is devoted to those concepts. That ain't Joe Biden.
Oh, I agree with you and you are soooooooooo on target!
Art,
That is correct, but it does end the punishment. It seems clear that Hunter has little or no concern with following the rules, and that a conviction won't hurt him in the least.
The pardon itself doesn't but the timing of the pardon does. If Biden get the maximum benefit electorally from Hunter's conviction and prison time, and gets reelected, then who cares what he does (among his supporters)?
But that's the point. Biden talking tough about Hunter and not pardoning him, is likely a charade. It is an act to project an image of himself that will appeal to some of his potential voters.
I agree that the right thing to do is to let him rot in prison. But we're talking about a president with failing faculties and declining health who's desperate to get elected one more time. Right and wrong isn't part of the equation.
Glenn,
All I will say is that this scenario makes sense on some level, and seems totally consistent with Biden's track record.
Post a Comment