Hunter Biden was hit with 9 felony charges related to tax evasion and tax fraud in California by Special Counsel David Weiss.
CNN credited Hunter Biden’s latest string of felony charges on the IRS whistleblowers who exposed the Justice Department’s preferential treatment of him.
CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson on Friday’s broadcast of “Early Start” reacted to complaints by Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell that his 9 felony charges related to tax evasion and tax fraud in California were politically motivated.
“I think the strategy is one that he’s trying to really suggest that this is a politically-motivated prosecution. We’ve heard that before, right? It comes from all angles. And so, the issue is, is there justice in filing a multi-count indictment, nine counts, with respect to taxes that [weren’t] paid in 2016, ’17, ’18, ’19? Is there a better way? Should this be criminal, or should it be assessed really in a — with respect to a civil type of proceeding?” Jackson asked.
“And so I think that, if it were not for the whistleblowers — and obviously, we also know that the Republicans released a statement with respect to their committee, saying that — just the opposite of this, right? That, because of the whistleblowers, we’re here, that he received favorable treatment from the Special Counsel, Weiss and they should have brought harder with him.”
“But, at the end of the day, it’s about justice. And we know, you harken back to Delaware, that all of this was supposed to be resolved with a misdemeanor, far different from a felony. So, why are we here? And so, I think the strategy is to suggest, look, enough is enough, the system has to be just to everyone, not just a person because you’re the president’s son, treating them differently,” he added.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified last summer that the DOJ was blocking financial investigations into Hunter Biden.
The DOJ was planning to let Hunter off the hook until the IRS whistleblowers came forward, the New York Times reported.
The cooperation between the DOJ and Hunter Biden’s legal team resulted in a sweetheart plea deal that imploded in August after the judge overseeing his case learned the deal included provisions that would prevent Hunter from being charged for other crimes.
Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter investigation despite earlier insisting Weiss already had broad investigative powers, a move critics claimed only confirmed suspicions of a cover up.
