Hunter Biden? Influence peddling? Biden Inc? Gee ... doesn't this feel a bit quaint now?

Apparently, it doesn't to David Weiss. The special counsel who convicted Hunter Biden on gun charges will prosecute him next for tax evasion. And when that happens, Weiss will bring evidence that Hunter collected millions of dollars from at least one Romanian figure with the express purpose of influencing government operations to his benefit. 

Hunter allegedly welched on the deal, but still ...

The prosecution will present evidence at trial that the president’s son “received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation” of the businessman, senior assistant special counsel Derek Hines wrote in Wednesday’s filing.

The special counsel's team also intends to target Biden's business dealings even more, saying in the filing that prosecutors intend to introduce evidence at trial pertaining to Biden’s business agreements with the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma and Chinese-led CEFC China Energy Company. 

“The evidence will not include evidence that the defendant performed lobbying activity in exchange for this compensation,” Weiss’ team wrote.

“Rather the evidence will show the defendant performed almost no work in exchange for the millions of dollars he received from these entities,” the filing added.

The filing comes in response to a motion from Hunter's attorneys to exclude this evidence as prejudicial. The charges in this case relate to income tax evasion, not fraud or FARA violations, and the defense doesn't want to open the door to Biden Family Influence Peddling. This may have been more of a priority in the White House before July 21, of course, but it's at least a reasonable tactic for Hunter's attorneys to pursue.

However, why Hunter got paid relates to motive in why he didn't declare the income properly in the first place. Weiss argues that point as well as its answer to Hunter's attempt to avoid responsibility for the crime by claiming diminished capacity as a drug addict:

Moreover, the evidence of what the defendant agreed to do and did do for G.P. demonstrates the defendant’s state of mind and intent during the relevant tax years charged in the indictment. It is also evidence that the defendant’s actions do not reflect someone with a diminished capacity, given that he agreed to attempt to influence U.S. public policy and receive millions of dollars pursuant to an oral agreement with Business Associate 1 in an arrangement that concealed the true nature of the work he was performing for G.P. See id. at Gov’t Proposed Instruction No. 29.1 (“Diminished Capacity”). ...

The government does not intend to reference allegations that the defendant violated FARA or improperly coordinated with the Obama Administration. However, as the defense is aware from the Jencks production it received on May 24, 2024, and exhibits in the government’s amended exhibit list it received on July 18, 2024, the government will introduce evidence that Business Associate 1 structured a business relationship in an effort to avoid having to register as a foreign agent, and that the defendant and his business partners did reach out to government officials, specifically the United States Department of State. That evidence is relevant because it establishes that the defendant received income, when he earned the income, and his state of mind was not consistent with someone with a diminished capacity. The introduction of that evidence, however, does not mean that the government will also reference allegations that the defendant violated FARA and that contacts with government officials were improper; such allegations are not relevant to the charges in this tax case. The defendant’s motion as to these issues is therefore moot.

Weiss also still plans to introduce evidence related to China and Ukraine, which would have given Joe Biden night sweats had he refused to withdraw from the election. Although Hunter's apparent fraud could have given Joe an out:

As alleged in the indictment, the government will also introduce at trial evidence of the defendant’s business dealings with CEFC China Energy Co. Ltd (“CEFC”), a Chinese energy conglomerate, and his compensation for his position on the board of a Ukrainian energy industrial conglomerate. This evidence will not include evidence that the defendant performed lobbying activity in exchange for this compensation. Rather, the evidence will show the defendant performed almost no work in exchange for the millions of dollars he received from these entities.

In other words, Hunter allegedly defrauded these companies by taking their money and then allegedly doing nothing in return. That's another reason why Hunter may not have wanted the IRS to know about his revenue stream, especially with the potential violations of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). That's certainly what Weiss will argue in court, assuming the judge sustains this motion. 

But it's not as simple as that. Hunter's business connections may not have needed any explicit quid pro quo directly from Hunter. They wanted to have a connection to Joe through Hunter, who would apply soft pressure on his dad to remain favorable to his partners' interests. Weiss is dodging the implications of this arrangement because it would be impossible to prove the quid pro quo in court -- which is why Hunter and his "clients" structured their business in this way. Especially after the McDonnell case, prosecutors have to prove an explicit exchange of benefits to prove corruption in this sense. 

Weiss won't bother to allege such transactions, mainly because it's not necessary to get a conviction here.  But the nature of these transactions matter, and they go to both motive and capacity, which is why the court will likely look favorably on Weiss' argument.

And if that's what will come up in court, then Joe has a decision to make. The trial begins in September, which means all of this will make headlines while his VP is running to succeed him. Does Joe ride this out past another conviction while the press reports on the influence peddling Hunter sold as a business -- or does he issue a pardon now rather than on November 6, as smelly as that will also look?