Ben Weingarten Federalist Senior Contributor; Claremont Institute Fellow
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Opinion

Biden’s pardon of Hunter leaves questions unanswered

Ben Weingarten Federalist Senior Contributor; Claremont Institute Fellow
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President Biden’s sweeping pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, has sparked controversy and debate among Americans across the political spectrum. While a father’s pardon of his only living son might be the humane thing to do, as The Economist notes, Biden’s pardon is also unusually broad in its scope, and it could set “a dangerous precedent” for future abuses of the pardoning power.

Some critics argued that no presidential pardon has been this broad since President Ford’s famous pardoning of President Nixon. Biden, for his part, asked Americans to understand “why a father and a president” would make the same decision, and has argued that the pardon was necessitated by what he perceives as a political witch hunt against his son.

Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Ben Weingarten argues against the president’s pardon and says that it leaves vital questions unanswered, and that inquiries and investigations should continue.

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The following is an excerpt from the above video:

Lies and omissions distract us from very live questions like: What related crimes have gone unproved and uncharged? Who else was culpable in the crimes and our cover-ups, and to what extent are they currently exposed to the detriment of U.S. national security at this very moment? To what degree are the Biden family’s dealings and the federal officials’ efforts to shield those dealings from the light of day looming over or influencing current policy with respect to the Ukraine, Russia and China? What leverage do implicated foreign powers have over us? How tainted are associated officials within the bureaucracy? Has a damage assessment ever been done? What steps have been taken in response to it?

Separately, are there plans to identify and sanction all investigators and prosecutors involved in covering up the Biden family’s efforts? Was the deep state’s knowledge of the Biden family’s dealings used as leverage over them? How, if at all, is that impacting policy?

Joe Biden’s pardon is meant to bury these questions. Instead, it should revive demands for answers to them.

President Joe Biden’s issuance of an unprecedented blanket pardon, immunizing Hunter Biden for a decade worth of crimes known and unknown, isn’t only disgraceful or norm of iserating It’s part of a continued cover up, transcending the First Family’s criminal national security, imperiling corruption. The Gambit aims not only to put to bed further probing of the Biden family international influence peddling scheme that Hunter evidently bag manned but to divert attention from deep state efforts to shield that scheme from scrutiny and from President Biden’s definitional role in both such efforts, beyond the fact the pardon in size and scope suggests Hunter committed uncharged crimes dating back to Joe’s vice presidency that the outgoing president wants to obscure. The cover up is made clear by the lies and omissions in the President’s statement announcing the pardon. Let’s start with the omissions to read the President’s pardon statement, you’d have no idea that Hunter Biden, who had little experience executing high stakes international business deals, spearheaded family efforts to monetize Joe’s name in office to the tune of $24 million from often government tied sources, Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh and Romanian. You’d have no idea that those monies often rolled in via seeming sham transactions and flowed down to Biden family members, including even a grandchild, through nearly two dozen shell companies, all apparently aimed at deceiving those who might follow the money, you’d have no idea that the taxes Hunter evaded came from these ill gotten earnings. You’d have no idea that Hunter has never made the government fully whole for unpaid taxes since while his CIA protected sugar brother, Kevin Morris covered Hunter’s tax tab from 2016 to 2019 authorities let him dodge taxes on the income earned from scandal plague Ukrainian energy company Burisma, beginning in 2014 that’s the first year covered by the pardon to read the pardon statement, you’d have no idea that the feds let the statutes of limitation lapse on the tax charges associated with the Burisma period. You’d have no idea that in connection with operating the family business and during the period covered by the pardon Hunter, allegedly also engaged in bribery money wandering Farah violations and human trafficking, but the prosecutors left these alleged offenses uncharged. You’d have no idea that prosecutors rushed to concoct a sweetheart, global immunity Get Out of Jail Free card of a plea deal akin to Biden’s ultimate pardon, only after IRS whistleblowers came forward with allegations that their colleagues, including at DOJ, were tanking the case, nor that the plea deal ultimately fell apart because the prosecutors themselves could not defend it under Basic questioning from a federal judge, the omissions underpin Joe Biden’s lies, big and small. In the pardon statement, the president claims that Hunter was selectively and unfairly prosecuted by his own justice department. Mind you, yet beyond the fact federal courts dismissed this nonsensical argument as the omissions illustrate, if anything, Hunter Biden was selectively and unfairly protected from investigation and prosecution, the Fed sabotaged and subverted efforts to pursue Hunter left uncharged and let statues of limitations lapse on myriad serious offenses and only sprung to bring cases that are removed from the Biden family international influence peddling scheme and Joe Biden when forced to to save face with the IRS whistleblowers coming forward to detail the Skulduggery. Relatedly, the president maintains that Hunter evaded taxes because of serious addictions, which should have led to a noncriminal resolution. Yet as District Judge Mark scarsi, who presides over the tax case, road in a scathing rebuke, Hunter admitted that he evaded taxes at times while sober and flush with cash, the IRS, whistleblowers have disputed the idea that similarly situated offenders would get off without criminal charges. Similarly, President Biden dishonestly maintains that a sweetheart plea deal, his DOJ, again, could not defend quote, would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of hunters cases. Last but not least among Biden’s lies is his claim that for my entire career, I’ve followed a simple principle, just tell the American people the truth beyond the dishonesty that has marked every aspect of Biden’s career, perhaps his biggest lies have concerned the pardon misconduct. Biden lied about his knowledge of and involvement in the Biden international influence business to get elected president and undermine an impeachment inquiry. Then he lied when he said he would never pardon his son for cases arising from our probe, in large part touching on the influence peddling the lame ducks. Lies and omissions distract us from very live questions like, what related crimes have gone unproved and uncharged? Who else was culpable in the crimes and our cover ups, and to what extent are they currently exposed to the detriment of US national security at this very moment, to what degree are the Biden family’s dealings in the federal officials efforts to shield those dealing from the light of day looming over or influencing current policy with respect to the Ukraine, Russia and China, what leverage do implicated foreign powers have over us? How tainted are associated officials within the bureaucracy? Has a damage assessment ever been done? What steps have been taken in response to it?

 

Separately? Are there plans to identify and sanction all investigators and prosecutors involved?

 

Involved in covering up the Biden family’s efforts was the deep state’s knowledge of the Biden family’s dealings used as leverage over them. How, if at all, is that impacting policy? Joe Biden’s pardon is meant to bury these questions. Instead, it should revive demands for answers to them. I.

 

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