The October Surprise: Hunter Biden
Author: Greg Valliere
October 7, 2022
HERE’S WHAT WE THINK: Rogue agents in Delaware or at Justice or the FBI or the IRS are concerned that Biden may walk or be allowed to plead no contest. So some agents — who concluded months ago that there’s enough evidence to indict Hunter Biden — are angry. They want to get the case out in public, so they resorted to the Washington tradition of leaking to the press.
SPECULATION SWIRLED LAST NIGHT: Would the federal DA in Delaware, a Trump appointee, urge Justice to indict? Would officials wait until after the election? Would Justice indict the son of a sitting president? Would Biden’s admitted heavy cocaine abuse be cited as exculpatory? Plenty of question marks to keep cable TV very very busy.
THERE’S A LONG HISTORY OF BOMBSHELLS JUST WEEKS BEFORE AN ELECTION, and this appears to be a story with legs — we expect daily “will they/won’t they” speculation about whether Justice will actually indict Biden for tax avoidance and lying on a form to purchase a handgun (a felony that rarely results in jail time).
THE POTENTIAL TAX CHARGES are more serious, since they reportedly involve the younger Biden’s fees from China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries, which paid him millions. Whether he paid enough in taxes is a key issue in this potential case.
THE BIGGEST ISSUE, quite clearly, is whether President Biden had any knowledge of his son’s dealings; Joe Biden swears that he didn’t, although the Washington Post and others have reported about entries on Hunter’s laptop computer referring to
involvement by “the big man.”
THIS ONGOING SPECULATION won’t necessarily hurt Democrats running this fall; many have already distanced themselves from Joe Biden. But it hardly helps the party, especially as gasoline prices head higher after the embarrassing brush-off Biden got from the Saudis on oil output.
IN OUR OPINION, the Hunter Biden case has the potential to crowd out the Democrats’ messaging in the final month of the campaign, and it might possibly keep wavering voters at home on election day. Other than the abortion issue, Democrats may not have much motivation to turn out.
EVEN IF THERE’S NO INDICTMENT, the juicy details of the younger Biden’s business dealings with shady Chinese lobbyists will be fodder for endless hearings in 2023-24 if Republicans re-capture the House. Potential new Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised GOP hard-liners that he will relentlessly pursue both Bidens.
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