SMT-8 | The back taxes have since been paid, but, if convicted, the president’s son could receive a maximum of 17 years in prison. The special counsel investigation is still ongoing.
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement that sounded not entirely unlike the daily lamentations from former President Donald Trump, who’s facing 91 criminal charges across four indictments.
And that’s precisely the problem – now more than ever – for the White House.
To be clear, President Biden is running for reelection – not his son. But with the 2024 presidential election less than a year away, with all signs pointing to a rematch between Biden and Trump, and with a devoted group of congressional Republicans and GOP strategists committed to connecting the current president to his son’s legal troubles and overseas business transactions, the new indictment is a boon for those trying to make the argument – legitimate or not – that Joe Biden has just as much baggage as Donald Trump.