The case is a private and household tragedy, however it’s also an indication of the energy of rule of regulation.
The federal case in opposition to Hunter Biden was not, finally, a very difficult one. Prosecutors mentioned that he’d lied about his drug use when filling out a kind to purchase a gun. The proof backed up the declare. And a jury took lower than a full day to deliberate earlier than returning a verdict of responsible on three felonies.
The Hunter Biden case is a private and household tragedy, however just like the latest felony conviction of Donald Trump, it’s also an indication of the energy of rule of regulation. One take a look at of the American justice system is {that a} former president could be tried and convicted. A second is that the son of a sitting president could be tried and convicted with out political interference.
The instances in opposition to Trump and Hunter Biden have a pair main similarities, because it occurs. Critics of each noticed the choice by prosecutors to deliver costs as politically motivated. As I wrote after the Trump verdict, it’s affordable to consider that politics have been at play—Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg is an elected official in a Trump-skeptical jurisdiction—however improper to conclude that this negates the case.
Equally, Hunter Biden would possibly properly not have confronted any costs in any respect if he weren’t the son of the president. Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor and Republican member of Congress, not too long ago argued on Fox Information that the case was doubtful and wouldn’t have been introduced “if this have been Hunter Jones or Hunter Smith.” Gowdy famous that instances of prosecuting drug customers for mendacity on kinds are extraordinarily uncommon.
Maybe some selective prosecution was at play right here; hardly anybody would argue that this was an important case for public security. Hunter Biden for years benefited from his proximity to energy, and now could be experiencing the flip aspect of that. (A lot of Hunter Biden’s most distasteful conduct is, in truth, authorized.)
The issue is that after the case was introduced, Hunter Biden didn’t have a lot different protection to supply. As with Trump, few of Biden’s champions have been ready to argue that he was harmless. (His attorneys contended that Biden was not utilizing medicine on the particular time he crammed out the appliance and that he might have understood the shape narrowly—an argument that jurors evidently didn’t purchase a few Yale-trained lawyer.)
Biden’s case went to trial solely after an try at a plea deal foundered, and he opted to struggle the costs; Trump declined to argue to a jury that he had dedicated misdemeanors relatively than felonies, preferring to take the chance of a felony conviction. Neither man has but been sentenced. Hunter Biden additionally will face a trial for separate federal tax costs in California in September.
The similarities between the 2 instances are restricted, although. As Kate Shaw famous in these pages one yr in the past, Trump has responded to being charged (and now convicted) with an outright assault on the justice system’s fundamental integrity. President Joe Biden, in contrast, has remained supportive of his son however defended the method and refused to intervene. He mentioned final week that he wouldn’t pardon Hunter if he have been convicted, and in a press release right now he mentioned, “I’ll settle for the result of this case and can proceed to respect the judicial course of as Hunter considers an attraction. Jill and I’ll all the time be there for Hunter and the remainder of our household with our love and help.”
Furthermore, Hunter Biden’s conviction reveals the vacancy of Republican accusations that Joe Biden is “weaponizing” the Justice Division in opposition to his enemies. Not solely did federal prosecutors cost and convict the president’s son; they’re additionally at present attempting Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, for corruption, and have introduced costs in opposition to Consultant Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat. In the meantime, Trump and his allies proceed to vow that he’ll truly use the Justice Division to get even together with his political opponents.
A system by which the rule of regulation is robust and valued doesn’t imply each citizen agrees with each verdict, or that each prosecution is righteous. Nevertheless it does imply one by which due course of exists and nobody is above the regulation, regardless of his political connections.