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As scrutiny intensifies regarding familiar allegations of corruption involving the Biden family, a federal judge blew up a controversial plea deal for Hunter Biden – son of U.S. president Joe Biden.
U.S. district court judge Maryellen Noreika of Delaware – an appointee of former president Donald Trump – said on Wednesday she was not willing to accept a proposed plea agreement between Hunter Biden and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over a pair of tax crimes, various drug charges and a gun charge.
“I don’t really understand the scope (of the plea),” Noreika told attorneys, referring to the “non-standard terms” of this “unusual” deal.
“It seems to me like you are saying ‘just rubber stamp the agreement, your honor,'” she added.
Noreika also questioned the “broad immunity” the proposed agreement would grant Biden related to possible future charges – including those related to business dealings involving his father.
With Noreika sending Biden’s attorneys and federal prosecutors (who work for his father’s administration) back to the drawing board, the president’s son has rescinded his agreement to plead guilty.
“Without me saying I’ll agree to the plea agreement, how do you plead?” the judge asked Biden.
“Not guilty, your honor,” he responded.
Just moments earlier, Biden had indicated he was pleading guilty of his own free will.
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Biden has been under investigation since 2020, but received a sweetheart plea deal that would spare him jail time on charges he defrauded the federal government out of more than $100,000, illegally owned a .38 Special Colt Cobra handgun and illegally used drugs. This plea agreement was reached, incidentally, at a time when his father’s DOJ was ramping up its war against Trump – raising allegations of selective enforcement.
As noted in the lede of this column, Biden family corruption is back in the news in a big way. This news outlet has written about it extensively in the past, but there was a great piece on it earlier this week in National Review by the magazine’s contributing editor, Andrew C. McCarthy.
McCarthy’s treatment detailed the basic framework of the Biden racket prior to offering several specific examples of how it worked in practice.
“The game works like this: You inveigh against corruption, ostensibly to encourage a corrupt but supposedly reforming regime to clean up its act,” McCarthy wrote. “That, of course, increases the pressure on the regime’s corruption targets (e.g., those who’ve bribed their way to fortune); those targets, already no strangers to paying off whomever must be paid off, become more willing to pay the anti-corruption poseurs.”
It wasn’t just Ukraine where the Biden’s ran this scam, either.
(Click to View)
“In 2014 and 2015, when not railing at officials in Kyiv about corruption, he was railing at officials in Bucharest about corruption,” McCarthy wrote. “At the time, one of their most high-profile corruption targets was Gabriel Popoviciu, a real-estate tycoon ultimately convicted of paying a bribe to acquire a highly desirable lot at a bargain price. While vice president Biden pressured Romania to ratchet up anti-corruption prosecutions, Popoviciu paid Hunter Biden to use his connections to fend off the Romanian prosecutors.”
The Ukrainian scams were among the most brazen, though.
Our audience will recall how Joe Biden bragged on camera in January 2018 about getting Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin fired from his post. Specifically, he discussed how he threatened to withhold a billion dollars worth of U.S. loan guarantees if Shokin wasn’t removed from office.
“I said I’m telling you, you’re not getting the billion dollars,” Biden said. “I said you’re not getting the billion – I’m gonna be leaving here … in six hours, if the prosecutor is not fired you’re not getting the money.”
“Well son of a bitch – got fired,” Biden added, pausing for dramatic effect.
At the time of his ouster, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company that was facing global scrutiny for alleged money laundering operations. Bursima had previously appointed Hunter Biden to its board and given him a huge payday.
All of this occurred, incidentally, after the Obama administration effectively staged a coup in Ukraine – collaborating with numerous groups (including actual Nazis) to overthrow the nation’s democratically elected government.
(Click to View)
Earlier this week, the U.S. House oversight committee published a timeline of what it referred to as “the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes.” This timeline revealed the Bidens and their associates had “created a web of over 20 companies — most (of which) were limited liability companies formed after Joe Biden became vice president.”
These companies have “received over $10 million from foreign nationals’ and their related companies,” the committee alleged, accusing the Bidens of engaging in efforts to “conceal large financial transactions” and collaborating with companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party to hide their sources of income.
The committee also zeroed in on the Romanian allegations, saying the Biden family activities in that country “bear clear indicia of a scheme to peddle influence from 2015 to 2017.”
“While vice president Biden lectured Romania on corruption and ethics, the Bidens received over a million dollars from a company controlled by a Romanian individual accused of corruption, Gabriel Popoviciu, through a Biden family associate,” the committee alleged.
Committee leaders were pleased to see Hunter Biden’s plea deal blown up.
“Judge Noreika did the right thing by refusing to rubber stamp Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal,” committee chairman James Comer said. “But let’s be clear: Hunter’s sweetheart plea deal belongs in the trash.”
Will the mainstream press – which conspired with government and social media to suppress the Biden scandals ahead of the 2020 election – continue to follow its marching orders from the Biden administration?
One commentator, George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley, seems to think it won’t matter.
“While the media can continue to suppress the evidence and allegations within their own echo-chambered platforms, truth like water has a way of finding a way out,” Turley wrote earlier this week. “The scandal is moving forward with or without the media.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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8 comments
Shokin had previously investigated Burisma but was NOT investigating Burisma at the time of his sacking.
Shokin was corrupt. Period. Democrats, Republicans, the EU, and the IMF had been calling for his firing months before Uncle Joe delivered his ultimatum.
These are pesky little facts that Will Folks knowingly and repeatedly ignores.
If Hunter Biden did anything illegal he should be prosecuted for it. If anything he should be prosecuted for trading in on his name for peanuts instead of getting a big $2 billion deal like Jared got from the Saudi terrorists.
Another pesky fact Will leaves out is that the US Attorney who has been investigating Hunter since 2018 was appointed by Trump and kept on by Biden. Of course that wouldn’t go with his narrative that old, demented Joe is masterminding this deal for his son.
You forgot to mention the millions of dollars a year the Saudis spent at Trump Hotels while he was President. The fact the Saudis just bought the PGA so that Trump golf courses could get tournaments. The Chinese Patents Xi gave to Ivanka. The pardons Rudy and Trump were selling for 2 million each. I could go on and on but Maga Cult members don’t care about real corruption.
It’s about time the Teflon fell off of the Bidens. Both Hunter & Joe Biden need to be tried for treason against our country. Let’s go after the real bad guys.
The PGA may have sold to the Saudi’s but don’t give Trump credit. Money talks. Not Trump’s money. There is always greed. The Trumps made their courses first class, making them good venues.
At least we were energy independent for a few years.
Strange that the PGA never wanted to use Trump’s courses until they were bought out by the Saudis.
We have never been energy independent. The only oil “we” own is the national oil reserve. The rest of the oil is owned by multinational oil companies, who sell their oil to the highest bidder. If we seized control of the oil companies and refused to let them sell to foreigners, we could be oil independent, but that would be “socialism.” By the way, we are producing more oil today than we were producing when Trump was president. The reason we have to import more oil now than under Trump is because the economy is so better than it was under Trump. Of course, you would know that if you did not watch dumb downed right-wing media. Don’t believe me. Read it in the WSJ.
Gas sure was cheaper when Turnip was in. Did you do as you’re told and get the Wuhan jab and the endless boosters. Trump caught the Wuhan and said he got the jab. I don’t think he did. Trump fibs now and again. The Bidens are such common trash. How in the fuck is the Biden boy going to pass a drug test. Best get two samples so one can be tested independently of Garland DOJ. make it a MAGA day!
The Biden family is the proverbial swamp from DC- they could give lessons to the cosa nostra. I’m thankful this judge made this ruling and threw out the sweetheart deal and Hunter may actually be held accountable for his actions. I’m guessing from the photos taken at the last “family” get together at the WH, even Jill is at the breaking point with Hunter.
Good ruling by the judge! The Biden family is just plain trashy.