Will Biden, facing impeachment, endure the pain of watching his son go to prison?, "Confessing guilt can lead to exemption from punishment" has caused a huge uproar in the United States | Hunter Biden | Biden

Amidst the "mutual harm" game surrounding the 2024 US election, it has been Democratic President Biden's turn to be the "target", with his second son Hunter Biden in the spotlight.

According to a report by ABC media on the 12th, Republican Congressman Stubb announced that he has submitted an impeachment clause against President Biden based on Hunter Biden's business dealings, although investigators have not yet linked Biden's legal issues with his son.

Stubb said in a statement, "It's long time to impeach Biden. He undermined the integrity of the Presidential Office, damaged the President's reputation, betrayed trust in him as President, and did things that overturned the law and justice at the expense of American citizens. More and more evidence suggests that the Biden criminal family sought personal gain from Biden's government position through bribery, threats, and fraud.";

On the same day, the investigation into the Hunter Biden case saw a significant escalation, with US Attorney General Garland appointing a special prosecutor to handle the case. Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two federal criminal tax charges in June and reached an agreement with prosecutors on one gun charge. However, the agreement broke down during the confession hearing in July, and the case reached a deadlock.

What impact will the lawsuit involving his son have on Biden's presidential election next year? Chao News interviewed renowned international experts and professor of international politics at Fudan University, Shen Yi.

Trendy news: What's going on with Hunter Biden's plea agreement?

Shen Yi: On July 26th, Delaware judge Norreka, appointed by the Trump administration, temporarily suspended the execution of a plea agreement. This is the plea agreement reached by Hunter Biden with the Department of Justice and the Department of Taxation in June, which is divided into two directions. One is called a plea bargain for probation, and he admits to two improper tax gains.

In 2017 and 2018, Hunter Biden had approximately $1-1.5 million in income that was not subject to federal income tax, resulting in an annual underpayment of $100000 in taxes.

We have always heard about how awesome the US tax bureau is and how serious the consequences of tax evasion in the US are, but he admitted to having problems with these two aspects and exchanged probation, which means he doesn't have to go to jail.

Another charge is that Hunter Biden concealed a very serious drug addiction while purchasing a gun, which is a felony in the United States and can be sentenced to 10 years.

Miraculously, according to this plea agreement, Hunter Biden promised to quit drug use, either during or after the confirmed rehabilitation period, in exchange for exemption from punishment. This is what is called "transfer execution".

Tidal news: It's unbelievable that as long as you confess, you can get away with punishment. Can the American people accept it?

Shen Yi: In the United States, there is a basic logic behind plea agreements, which is that through plea agreements, time and public resources can be saved in the judicial process, with higher efficiency and lower costs, while striving to defend justice to the greatest extent possible.

After reaching an agreement with the Department of Justice in June, these two agreements have already sparked widespread controversy in American society. Some intense Republicans are trying various ways to block the execution of the plea agreement. Of course, they will not emphasize their political affiliation, but rather believe that the plea agreement itself is too unfair.

On July 25th, the day before the trial, The Washington Post published a commentary stating that judges in the upcoming federal district court should block the plea agreement because it is unfair. The usual plea agreement is a plea bargain for lenient punishment, and this plea bargain involves Hunter Biden pleading guilty to two minor offenses in the tax field, and then exchanging for a "transfer of execution" in a lying, gun wielding, and drug related case to exempt him from punishment.

This is indeed unimaginable, and it is estimated to be quite difficult to defend it using general legal logic. Unless the judge fully adheres to the principle of 'free evaluation of evidence', that is, 'I believe this thing holds', and does not engage in any thinking during this process.

When blocking the execution of this agreement, Judge Norreka used a statement similar to a commentary in The Washington Post: "My hammer is not essentially a rubber stamp. Although I have the authority of 'free trial' as a judge, how can you convince me that this plea agreement is in the public interest and make me accept it?" This sentence can be called the "question of the soul.

Trendy news: Has Hunter Biden received special judicial treatment and sparked controversy in the United States before?

Shen Yi: This involves an issue, the Hunter Biden incident has sparked discussions about the weaponization of justice.

In the 2016 presidential election, when Trump and Hillary competed, some people felt that this differential treatment reached a certain boundary around Hillary's improper handling of confidential emails, including bringing them home to work and setting up an email server in their basement.

Later on, the Federal Bureau of Investigation brought significant partisan positions into the campaign process, most notably during the 2020 presidential election, when The New York Post reported that it had discovered a lot of strong evidence from Hunter Biden's notebook, including accepting bribes from foreign governments, and stated that the evidence was conclusive.

Even in a society like the United States where political capital can receive unfair special treatment, doing so also touches the bottom line of fairness. The Washington Post referred to the plea agreement tailored for Hunter Biden as "Sweetheart", which was too considerate and considered a violation of basic judicial principles.

Trendy news: Currently, the problem of social and political polarization in the United States is becoming increasingly serious. With the arrival of the election season, it can be expected that the Hunter Biden case will be firmly bitten by the Republican Party. What should Biden do?

Shen Yi: For the Biden camp, this is an awkward and delicate challenge.

If this agreement can continue and Hunter Biden is not subjected to any substantial punishment and still maintains personal freedom, then this will become the best material for the Republican Party to attack Biden during the election period. The Democratic Party's abuse of judicial power would be a great topic for the Republican Party to compete for votes.

However, for the Democratic Party, it is not difficult to resolve such a situation. They firmly argue that it is legal to handle it according to legal provisions. All accusations of weaponization and double standardization of the law are a conspiracy of their opponents.

It must be emphasized that this fanatical rhetoric can indeed resolve this situation, but it will bear the substantial long-term moral loss of the legitimacy of the US system.

Trendy news: So, is it possible for Biden to endure the pain of sending his son to jail for his own election prospects?

Shen Yi: If the final judge allows Hunter Biden to plead guilty without being released from prison and still be detained, then the Democratic Party can use this as an article to argue that this is an advantage of the American democratic system. When the president's father did not use his influence to help his son out of trouble, everything was done within the legal framework.

But even though Hunter Biden made such a "sacrifice", the Republican Party still has an attacking rhetoric, which is: Is Biden, as the president, governing his family recklessly, managing his own family poorly, and educating his children poorly? How can people believe that you can govern a superpower well? In addition, his series of poor performances during his first term will further raise doubts about his ability to govern the country.

Another point is that Biden's supporters are mainly middle-class people, who have a high sense of moral shame. Biden has also been carefully crafting and maintaining his image as a gentleman and upright person. If the law determines that the President's son has a criminal record of tax evasion, fraud, drug use, illegal gun possession, etc., can the President continue to be trusted politically and morally? Such questioning may have a chain reaction among voters.