Is Hunter Biden a criminal? 50% of voters believe the president’s son did something illegal related to his foreign business dealings
New polls suggest that the House Republicans’ aggressive investigation of the Biden family’s dealings and the imploding of Hunter Biden’s plea deal is seeping into the American psyche: More than ever believing the president’s son is a criminal.
Fifty percent of voters responded to Fox News bearing from August 11 to 14 said they felt the first son engaged in illegal activities related to his foreign business dealings, up from 44 percent in April 2023 and 37 percent in February 2023.
Democrats are now twice as likely to believe Hunter did something wrong as they were before — 19 percent now believe it, up from just 9 percent in February. Suspicions of illegal activity are up 20 percent among Independents, from 30 percent in February to 50 percent today, and 11 percent among Republicans, from 69 to 80 percent.
Even more Americans think Trump, who is now facing four separate charges, has committed crimes: 53 percent. Trump was last charged this week by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in connection with his attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
New polls suggest the House Republicans’ aggressive investigation into the Biden family’s dealings and the imploding of Hunter Biden’s plea deal seeps into the American psyche: More than ever believing the president’s son is a criminal
In a dramatic turn of events, Hunter rejected a plea deal weeks ago that would have given him light repercussions for allegedly not paying taxes and lying on a gun form.
He slammed the love deal when the judge told him he could still be prosecuted for future wrongdoing, specifically mentioning crimes related to failure to register as a foreign agent.
And as House Oversight Republicans try to tie Joe into his son’s business dealings, 38 percent of Americans now believe the president did something illegal, about the same as in March, when 36 percent believed so.
Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer recently testified that Joe Biden interacted with Hunter’s business partners about 20 times over 10 years. He did not claim to have heard Joe talk specifically about business, but said that for Hunter, having his father, the then-Vice President, on the phone was enough to sell the Biden “brand” to foreign executives.
Meanwhile, Special Counsel David Weiss on Tuesday criticized Hunter Biden’s defense team in a lawsuit, saying his lawyers were wrong in saying the administration had “reneged” on a plea deal.
Tensions between the two lawyers escalated further this week with ill-tempered lawsuits. And it comes after Weiss was elevated to the role of special counsel, complete with additional powers.
On Sunday night, in his final appearance as Biden’s attorney, Christopher Clark accused Weiss of having decided to “waive out of the previously agreed plea deal.”
Weiss hit back barely a day later. “First, the government has not “reneged” on the “previously agreed plea agreement,” as the defendant falsely alleges in the first substantive sentence of his response,” he wrote.
Special counsel David Weiss (left) accused Hunter Biden’s defense team in a lawsuit on Tuesday, saying his lawyers were wrong in saying the government had “reneged” on a plea deal
“First, the government has not “reneged” on the “previously agreed plea agreement,” as the defendant falsely alleges in the first substantive sentence of his response,” he wrote.
Instead, he said the US Probation Service had refused to approve the proposed “diversion agreement” – which would include immunity from prosecution for potential crimes under investigation, such as the tax charges – allowing the two sides to continue negotiations.
That got stuck, he said.
“Seeing that the parties were deadlocked, the government notified the defendant in writing on August 9, 2023 that it was withdrawing the most recent version of its proposed plea and diversion agreements,” he wrote.
The final twists come after the investigation seemed to close.
The two parties announced in June that they had reached a deal.
But it fell apart at a hearing last month that was expected to end with Biden escaping prison in exchange for a plea for not paying taxes on more than $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018.
The two sides seemed to have different views on how the deal would work, and the judge refused to sign without further clarification.
Weiss said one of the problems was that Biden and his attorney seemed to say he was pleading guilty over promises not included in the deal.
“This was a problem of their own making and not a result of drafting the proposed plea or diversion agreements,” he said.
In a separate filing, Biden’s longtime attorney Christopher Clark asked for the case to end because he may now be a witness in the special counsel’s appointment.
Biden arrived at court in Wilmington, Delaware, last month. He was expected to plead guilty to two felonies, but the plea deal collapsed in spectacular fashion
Instead of going away, it means the case now hangs over the president as he campaigns for re-election next year.
In a separate filing, Clark asked to withdraw from the case because he could testify following the appointment of special counsel.
“Based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea agreement and diversion agreement will be contested, and Mr. Clark is a perceptive witness to those issues,” said Hunter’s attorneys.
On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Weiss’s promotion to special counsel, a move intended to undermine claims by Republicans and IRS whistleblowers that Weiss did not have full authority to act in the First Tax and Guns case. son.
Most Republicans were outraged, claiming Weiss’s nomination was an ongoing cover-up.
“This action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or condone the corruption of the Biden family,” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“If Weiss negotiated the love deal that didn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a special prosecutor?” McCarthy asked, saying, “House Republicans will continue to push the facts for the American people.”
Hunter allegedly lied about a firearms report (above) needed for his gun transaction. A photo of the form shows that he answered “no” when asked if he was an “unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotics or other controlled substance.”
A Trump spokesperson said the special counsel “appears to be trying to move the case to a more Democratic-friendly venue,” amid indications the case will eventually be tried in Washington, D.C. or Los Angeles, rather than Wilmington .
Ron DeSantis said in Iowa, “I also just saw the news about the Hunter Biden Special Counsel — it just seems to me that they’re going to find a way to give him some kind of soft glove treatment.
“And I don’t understand why you’re appointing this man as Special Prosecutor.
“But we’re used to that, and so I think there was a lot he’s done, especially with the corruption, that really needs to be emulated.
Senator Chuck Grassley — an Iowa Republican who previously led an investigation into Biden’s business deals — initially responded positively to the development.
“It’s about time,” he told DailyMail.com as he toured the Iowa State Fair on Friday.
When he heard that Weiss had been elevated rather than a new person appointed, Grassley became more skeptical.
“Did they specially appoint him so he wouldn’t have to testify before the United States Congress?” he mused. “If that’s your game – then I’d say there are ulterior motives.”
He also pointed out that the way the Senate confirms U.S. attorneys from each state is that the state’s senators must sign, meaning two Democrats gave the go-ahead for Weiss’ nomination during the Trump years.
“What I know today, I don’t want to say what he did in his job, but you can see this plea deal that the judge didn’t accept raises a lot of questions about him,” Grassley said. “Didn’t you have the government and the guilty on the same side of the table?”