For My Friends–Everything. For My Enemies–The Law!
This maxim of Peruvian dictator Óscar R. Benavides is now, alas, a fitting description of justice, such as it is, in the United States in 2023. The evidence is everywhere.
It is no more evident than in the contrast between the DoJ’s kid glove treatment of Hunter Biden and its Javert-like pursuit of Trump and anyone remotely in the Trump orbit, no matter how insignificant.
The DoJ negotiated a plea deal with Hunter that was, by the admission of the “prosecutor” himself, unprecedented. In a sneaky move, the DoJ entered into a plea agreement with Biden on tax charges (which were comically light, in view of his conduct), and a parallel diversion agreement on gun charges.
I say sneaky because (a) the diversion agreement was basically a get out of jail card for Biden on any charges, past, present, or future, and (b) the diversion agreement was not directly subject to the judge’s approval.
It was, however, contingent upon her approval of the related plea deal. When she asked whether the diversion agreement basically baptized Hunter, the prosecutor, clearly recognizing how absurd the deal would appear if he answered truthfully, said no. At which point Hunter’s attorney lost his shit and said the deal was off.
But for the judge’s curiosity, Hunter would have skated. He supposedly went home to LA “crestfallen.” Well, wouldn’t you be? After all, after the deal imploded like a Titan submersible and Hunter was forced to plead not guilty, the judge ordered Biden to abstain from drugs and alcohol. Oh! The humanity!
Hunter and his flacks apparently forgot the Chicago Way: for a fix to work, the judge has to be in on the fix! Duh! (Cf. Operation Greylord.)
Hunter should have hired a First Ward lawyer. Maybe he plans to sue for legal malpractice.
Speaking of legal malpractice, one of Hunter’s lawyers allegedly contacted the judge’s clerk, representing herself as the staffer of a Republican congressman who had submitted an amicus brief containing documentation of the true scale and scope of Hunter’s misconduct. The lawyer persuaded the clerk that the documentation had been submitted in error, and should be removed from the docket. The clerk complied.
When the congressman found out, he lost it. A kerfuffle ensued. The judge demanded an explanation. Biden’s defense team said it was a “miscommunication.”
Miscommunication my ass.
The judge has barred future communication with the clerk, but I guarantee if it had been your lawyers, and not Hunter’s lawyers from a white shoe firm like Latham and Watkins, disbarment proceedings would have commenced apace.
But it gets better! Saturday–yes, Saturday–DoJ lawyers requested that a judge execute orders to imprison Hunter’s (and TBH, Joe’s) former business partner Devon Archer. Why the haste?
Well, not to be all cynical or anything–heaven forfend!–but Devon is scheduled to spill the beans on Joe’s complicity with Hunter’s dirty foreign dealings before a House committee tomorrow.
How mafia-like is that? (I emphasized “Saturday” because off-hours work is not the DC way: I’ve often said the the most dangerous place in the world is in front of a federal office at 5:01 PM. At least it was pre-COVID when they actually did show up for work.)
The DoJ’s uncharacteristically generous deal to Hunter
and its haste to jail Archer are clearly intended to protect Joe. I mean, it is beyond obvious that Jose was at the center of the web of shell companies that Hunter wove over the years. And what did Hunter have to offer Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, and Chinese crooks other than access to Joe? Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles could see the connection.
Further, Joe miraculously received $9,490,857 from one LLC (CapriCeltic) during 11 months in 2017, and $557,882 from another (Giacoppa) in 9 months.
Mind you, 2017 was the first year of operation of these “companies.” Some startups! Unicorns for sure, right?
Please tell me why in the name of God no one can ask these simple questions of Biden or even his pathetic hacks, the clownish Karine Jean-Pierre and the oleaginous John Kirby?:
- What activities did Capri Celtic and Giacoppa engage in?
- What was the total income of these companies in 2017? In subsequent years?
- What did Joe Biden do to “earn” over $10 million from these “companies”? Did he invest? How much? When? Did he provide services? What services? When? (NB: this income was received almost immediately after his term as VP ended.). Who were the other beneficiaries of these companies? How much were they paid? For what?
This is not complicated. Just open the books.
But nobody in DC–least of all the “democracy dies in darkness” crowd in the media–is asking for this basic, basic information.
This whole charade has deeply, deeply discredited the DoJ, especially when it is contrasted with its zeal in other prosecutions. (Hint, hint: nudge, nudge.)
It is clear that the DoJ operates under the Benavides Rules. Everything for Biden, his family, and the Democrats: the federal law, in all its draconian terror, for its enemies.
A gerontocracy, if you can keep it. And a corrupt one at that.
Looking back, doesn’t Nixon look like a giant of a statesman?
Comment by dearieme — July 30, 2023 @ 4:12 pm
@dearieme–There is a colorable case that Nixon was brought down by the Deep State.
Comment by cpirrong — July 30, 2023 @ 5:06 pm
It’s totally baffling to us on this side of the pond.
We had a prime minister who had just won a landslide election and who turned out to be a puffball, so we got rid of him PDQ on some technicality about cakes and ale with his staff.
Biden wins a narrow victory and is even more incompetent. And so gaga he thinks he’s an Irish patriot.
How he can think (well he probably doesn’t, but he has people thinking for him) that he should get a second term is… words fail me.
Comment by philip — July 30, 2023 @ 6:00 pm
@philip. You have company on this side of the pond.
Comment by cpirrong — July 30, 2023 @ 6:20 pm
Biden had his narrow victory stolen for him.
In other news, how did Barack Obama get all his millions?
Comment by Pat Frank — July 30, 2023 @ 10:36 pm
No mystery about CelticCapri and Giacoppa – these SCorps were paid for book deals and speaking gigs. This is all documented – https://www.businessinsider.com/bidens-earned-156-million-from-book-deals-speeches-since-2017-2019-7 – you’re dislike or hatred for Biden seems to be clouding your critical faculties – this stuff is easy to check.
Comment by derriz — August 5, 2023 @ 3:37 pm
Fair comment Derriz – I was thinking along similar lines!
Comment by [email protected] — August 6, 2023 @ 2:43 pm
“book deals and speaking gigs” are usually just post hoc bribery.
Comment by dearieme — August 7, 2023 @ 12:41 pm
@dearieme how so?
Comment by [email protected] — August 7, 2023 @ 3:17 pm
Because virtually no politician can write worth a hoot. Since 1945, for example, only two British PMs have been good writers. Of US presidents the score is probably lower. Since JFK used a ghost writer to churn out “his” prose I suspect the US score is precisely zero.
So why would anyone want to read their stuff? And why would anyone want to pay to hear them drone on in a public speech? Anyone, that is, who is not repaying a favour, or not attempting to curry favour with their political party, or not hoping the pol still has some residual influence with the Establishment?
Comment by dearieme — August 8, 2023 @ 6:38 am
Your opinion that what they write is trash / what they say in their speeches is trash doesn’t matter – and “hoping the pol has some residual influence” and paying him for a speech isn’t bribery as far as I know (or the law says).
Comment by [email protected] — August 8, 2023 @ 8:38 am
Devin Archer sat down with Tucker Carlson to talk about the Biteme “brand” – turns out, it involved an “advisory role” to navigate the DC swamp
as they used to say on SNL (a long time ago when it was funny) – I have a queery
how was the firing of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine by Biden in any way an “advisory capacity”?
Then VP Biden bragged about how he got Shokin fired – he was going to withhold loan funds from Ukraine
and then – son-of-a-bee – with 6 hours to go, Shokin got fired
Shokin was investigating Burisma, which gave Humper quite a bit of money
but the cover story that was put out all over Europe as the rationale for firing Shokin was that Shokin was “hugely corrupt” – even though he was investigating corruption by Burisma
“advisory role” for Humper and VP Biden, through the use of government funds going to Ukraine?????????????????
Comment by elmer — August 8, 2023 @ 9:19 am
…and paying him for a speech isn’t bribery as far as I know (or the law says).
You have to be wonderfully agile to miss the point that badly, Libte@rs
Comment by dcardno — August 10, 2023 @ 1:37 pm
Where is the bribery then ?
Comment by [email protected] — August 11, 2023 @ 1:30 am
Fascinating how liberals don’t see it. Is it because it is standard operating procedure for them, so it’s not considered rare?
If you can’t see how Hunter used his dad to enrich both of them, you should stay in, or go to academia. The real world cannot use you. If you cannot see how a deal post White House is a “pay off”, you need to go live in Chicago for a few years to understand how private-public partnerships really work.
Ask yourself, “Did all the people who used to head up federal agencies dealing with health care during Covid earn those CEO positions at Health Care companies? or did they get them for a different reason?
You can substitute Wall Street and the SEC in health care if you want to see how the charade is played.
Here is something that I hadn’t thought of before. No one understands why Trump came to power. How? Why? It’s because before Trump, all of the great unwashed saw the stuff happening but were powerless to change it. Trump made them feel empowered.
Comment by Jeff Carter (@pointsnfigures1) — August 11, 2023 @ 11:40 am
How is getting paid to give a speech considered bribery?
Comment by [email protected] — August 11, 2023 @ 3:08 pm