Hunter biden

At long last, Attorney General Merrick Garland decided to appoint a special counsel to continue the investigation of Hunter Biden, his family and associates. His choice: US Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, who has been on the case for several years. He was originally appointed as US attorney by Donald Trump, a point Democrats always highlight without noting that he was promoted by both Democratic senators from the state.  Being named special counsel gives Weiss some authority beyond that of a regular US attorney. In particular, he can bring federal cases outside his narrow territorial domain without consent from US attorneys in those other districts. That’s an important point, since Weiss was apparently denied the right to bring at least two other cases his office sought.

It’s hard not to weep for the Republic as trust in our institutions collapses — and collapses for good reasons. Washington cannot retain public confidence when the frontrunners in both parties represent the dregs of public life and are credibly charged with serious malfeasance; when those charges have surrounded both parties’ presidential nominees in every election since 2016 and do so again for 2024.

You may have forgotten about the White House’s resident coke fiend after weeks of headlines about Hunter Biden’s various court battles, but now the story of drugs in the Executive Mansion is back in the news. A publication is claiming that Joe Biden knows whose dime-bag it was — and it’s not Hunty.  “The Secret Service told President Joe Biden the name of the person who brought a packet of cocaine into the White House last month, according to three security sources with direct knowledge of the incident," Susan Katz Keating of the relatively forgotten Soldier of Fortune magazine wrote Monday. "All three sources independently told Soldier of Fortune the same name, which arose from an investigation into the incident.

Devon Archer, a former friend and business partner to Hunter Biden, testified Monday as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation into the Biden family business dealings and alleged foreign corruption. Archer made several key claims, including that Hunter was brought on to the board of Ukranian energy company Burisma because of his familial connections and that Hunter put then-Vice President Joe Biden on the phone his business associates at least twenty times to demonstrate his access to US government power. Archer's testimony complicates the insistence from President Joe Biden, the White House and their friends in the media that President Biden was oblivious to his son's business dealings taking place abroad in places like Ukraine and China.

Donald Trump has now been indicted enough times for there to be a sense of routine around the news of a fresh batch of charges. The former president warns that an indictment is coming. Then it arrives, it’s unsealed, and he’s arraigned. Trump’s Republican primary rivals respond, their choice of words assessed for signs of obsequiousness and defiance (the former are usually easier to find than the latter). The jurisdiction and likely make-up of the jury is debated. As are the prejudices of the judge, when the name becomes known.  And so yesterday when Trump was indicted for the third time this year, in relation to January 6, there was a familiar, inevitable, almost unremarkable feel to what is, by any reasonable measure, a grave moment for the country.

The Biden administration has repeatedly told the public that Hunter’s lucrative consulting business doesn’t matter unless it is directly connected to his father. That’s true. Moreover, they add, that connection is not just unproven, it cannot be proved because it didn’t exist. That’s false, although the mainstream media has repeated it faithfully. But even the most feckless are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain this awkward lip-syncing with the White House press office. Actually, the Biden grifting operation extends well beyond Hunter to include multiple family members. It always centered on Joe’s public position and the political access it ensured, first as the sitting vice president and then as a prospective Democratic nominee after Hillary Clinton’s defeat.

Most observers (myself included) expected Hunter Biden’s appearance in a Delaware court today to be a fairly routine affair. The president’s son would show up, plead guilty and get off with a slap on the wrist for tax and gun offenses that deserve far harsher punishment. Instead, a chaotic day ended with the plea deal falling apart, a judge issuing an eyebrow-raising opinion on the terms offered to Hunter, and a not guilty plea from the president’s son.

Hunter Biden will appear at a Wilmington court on Wednesday to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes. These charges are the result of the prolonged investigation that has been the subject of serious claims of political interference from two IRS whistleblowers. Along with a pretrial agreement relating to a felony gun charge, the misdemeanors make up what many in Washington see to be a sweetheart deal for the president’s son.  Assuming Hunter’s lawyer can concentrate between bong rips, and Hunter himself manages to tear himself away from Nobu Malibu and make it to court on time, it should be a fairly routine appearance.

A famous clip from recent history: “I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor’s not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a bitch, he got fired.” That was Joe Biden in 2016. He was relaxing among friends at a chummy event at the Council on Foreign Relations. Ha, ha, ha, tittered the appreciative audience. What a lark! Here was a former vice president of the United States bragging about how he (naughty word) blackmailed an official from a foreign government who was investigating the company on whose board Joe Biden’s son sat. This is old news, of course.

The Department of Justice denied agents investigating Hunter Biden’s taxes and foreign business deals access to evidence and witnesses, according to two IRS whistleblowers.   The House Oversight Committee heard testimony from Special Agent Joseph Ziegler and his supervisor Gary Shapley of the IRS during a six-hour hearing Wednesday. The two agents involved in Biden’s criminal probe expressed frustration at how US attorney for Delaware David Weiss and prosecutors within the DoJ handled the investigation.

Welcome to Thunderdome, where this week our podcast is all about cocaine and cocaine accessories as the guys discuss the latest speculation for a White House that seems out of control. If you’ve got bad news, you wanna kick them blues — so listen here, and subscribe here!So let’s get one thing straight: the betting odds on this White House cocaine thing are totally out of whack. BetOnline, an offshore gaming platform, opened up the bidding at +170 for Hunter, followed by +800 for... Travis Kelce? The Kansas City Chiefs tight end was at the White House a month ago — how often does BetOnline think the White House gets inspected? Kelce is at +800, followed by “One of the Jonas Brothers” at +1000, followed by a string of nonsensical celebrities.

After party at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? The New York Post reported Tuesday morning that a substance found in the White House’s West Wing this weekend tested positive for cocaine. Cockburn, who won't complain about this massive win for federal drug legalization, only wants to know who would leave such an expensive substance at the White House. It's a total mystery. Secret service agents found the white powder during a routine round of the White House on Sunday evening while President Biden and his family were away at Camp David. The complex was evacuated at 8:45 p.m. as fire and emergency crews were brought in to investigate the substance.  “We have a yellow bar stating cocaine hydrochloride,” a DC firefighter stated in a radio communication at 8:49 p.m. Sunday.

Hunter Biden has settled his long-running child support case in Arkansas. The president’s son has reached an agreement with Lunden Roberts, the mother of his illegitimate daughter Navy, that involves giving some of his own paintings to her. This makes Cockburn ask, hasn’t that child been through enough? Per the settlement: "Defendant additionally agrees that he shall assign to the child [redacted] of his paintings over the next [redacted] which shall vary in size with a minimum size of 24x24. The child shall select the painting which shall either be sent to the child or sent to a gallery designated by Lunden Roberts. The child shall select the painting which shall either be sent to the child or sent to a gallery designated by Lunden Roberts.

For years, it seemed as though nothing could stick when it came to the impact of Hunter Biden’s escapades on his father’s presidency. The White House could stick to its don’t-even-go-there denials. The press seemed determined not to do its job. The alleged crimes and shady business practices of the president’s son were not to be brought up in polite company.  Slowly, but perceptibly, that is changing. The sheer weight of evidence that has continued stacking up, the plea deal and the serious claims made by the IRS whistleblower this month have combined to push the Hunter Biden story into the foreground. The hand-wafting dismissals by Democrats of anyone who took the Hunter story seriously were always unpersuasive and dishonest. But that is more obvious now.

Confronted with devastating evidence of Biden family grifting, the president’s advocates are abandoning their old defenses and trying some new ones.  Some are attempting to change the subject. Nancy Pelosi offers a sterling example. Asked about the latest evidence connecting Joe Biden with Hunter’s corrupt schemes, she replied that she was too busy defending women’s reproductive rights. Not exactly a full-throated defense of the president. Still others are repeating the familiar refrain, “But Trump is worse.” (More on that in a minute.)  Finally, a shrinking band of Biden supporters are sticking with their old line: you may have caught everyone who shares Joe’s DNA, but you haven’t caught ol’ Joe himself.