Here’s what’s new: The lawyer for Hunter Biden’s first child, Abbe Lowell, claimed Monday that her client was being indicted for being close to power — not in spite of it.
“It’s because he’s the son of a president named Biden,” Lowell told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in response to the indictment last week against the 53-year-old handed down by a Southern California grand jury convened by special counsel David Weiss. “Republicans … have tried and tried to say that President Biden has done something wrong. They couldn’t find a shred of evidence.”
“What they managed to do … was basically say, ‘Well, I can’t get the president, so I’m going to scold his son in a way that shows that there’s something going on between the two of them,'” Lowell added.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they called back to when Hunter was in the stationery store when he was 11 and picked up a piece of gum and saw if they could charge him,” Lowell lamented about the accusation.
An indictment filed Thursday accuses Hunter Biden of nine tax-related charges, including three felonies, in connection with evading $1.4 million in payments owed to Uncle Sam between 2016 and 2019.
The eldest son also faces three charges in Delaware related to alleged illegal possession of a firearm while addicted to cocaine and two tax offenses that were previously featured in a plea deal that exploded in July.
Republicans argued, based on the testimony of two IRS whistleblowers, that the Justice Department showed favoritism against the first family by shutting down lines of inquiry and ignoring evidence that might implicate the president.
Abbe Lowell believes Hunter Biden didn’t get a fair shake because of his relationship with Joe Biden.
Lowell argued Monday that Weiss had elevated the charges against his client “no [because of] the change of fact, not the change of law, but the great pressure that the Republicans exerted from the former President [Donald] Trump to the chairman of the House committee to demand that something more be done.
“That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”
Lowell insisted that the first son was only late on his taxes and had a drug addiction that was catalyzed by the death of his older brother, Beau, in 2015 from brain cancer.
Hunter Biden has pinned many of his misdeeds on his addiction struggles. Reuters
“As everyone knows, [he was] at the bottom of the barrel of his addiction to crack cocaine, which explains a lot of his misconduct, and also addresses whether he was in what they call a ‘scheme,’” Lowell said.
Weiss was promoted to special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Aug. 11, shortly after a slap-on-the-wrist plea deal for Hunter collapsed in Delaware federal court.
Even some Democrats like Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) have suggested they believe Hunter Biden’s behavior warrants impeachment.
The White House has played down the possibility of the president pardoning his son. AFP via Getty Images
Lowell further complained Monday that prosecutors did not notify the defense ahead of time that new charges were coming.
“They didn’t say anything. Indeed, this is a complete shock to us, even though we have been in contact with them,” said Lowell before insisting that his client had suffered enough.
“He has incredible accountability,” the lawyer said. “Well first of all, he’s almost dead.”
Rep. James Comer is leading the House GOP impeachment inquiry. AP
“If the US attorney had followed through, and followed through on what should have happened in June, there would have been accountability,” he said. “It’s not on [Hunter] that anything bad happens after that day.”
House Republicans opened an impeachment inquiry against the president Sept. 12 to examine whether he improperly benefited from his family’s foreign business dealings.
Investigators have called Hunter and first brother James Biden for closed-door interviews this month, but have yet to agree on a date for a sit-down.
Abbe Lowell is a well-known defense attorney who has done work for the likes of Jared Kushner and Bob Menendez. Saquan Stimpson – CNP
Lowell has offered his client public testimony, but Republicans have pushed for a deposition first.
“We’ll see how that goes because we’re going to want Hunter because he’s shown every question relevant and relevant,” the lawyer said, “but he has to do that in a forum where the public can hear Republican tactics.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
