Former federal prosecutor Doug Burns on Wednesday demolished the narrative that Hunter Biden should not have faced federal gun charges because of the unique circumstances of the defendant.
A jury convicted Biden on all three charges in the case brought in September, including providing false statements and knowingly possessing a gun while being addicted to drugs. Burns, on “Wake Up America,” acknowledged these gun purchasing cases are relatively uncommon, but said Biden’s “exposure for other criminal conduct” is why the charges should have been brought against him. (RELATED: ‘Every Angle… Hurts Joe Biden’: Hunter’s Latest Stunt May Have Thrown His Dad Into A Messy Tangle, Strategists Say)
“Interesting dynamic because the normal answer would be he would not have been charged, and so on and so forth,” Burns said. “But this isn’t a normal situation. He’s got exposure for other criminal conduct, not registering as an agent, taking in all kinds of money from foreign countries … And just throw into the recipe that you had a sweetheart deal that blew up in everybody’s face. The gun charge under that deal was going to be dismissed under what we call a deferred prosecution, you behave for a period of time and the case is dropped.”
WATCH:
‘This Isn’t A Normal Situation’: Ex-Federal Prosecutor Blows Up Narrative Hunter Biden Shouldn’t Have Been Charged pic.twitter.com/V5TBLooNGd
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 12, 2024
A July 2023 plea deal for Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion agreement for a felony gun charge crumbled under questioning by District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who expressed concerns about an immunity provision. The diversion agreement said Biden would not face criminal prosecution for any crimes included in the statement of facts, which listed the millions of dollars he received through foreign business ventures in China, Ukraine and Romania.
“So that all blew up because they tried to give him just vast, vast, vast immunity,” Burns continued. “So this case is actually a little different, a lot different because of those factors. But in general, you know, these cases are pretty rare, actually.”
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are among those who have suggested Biden only faced charges because of his last name.
“I just wonder, the prosecutor said that Hunter Biden shouldn’t be treated differently than anybody else. So why was he?” Scarborough asked. “Because he was. If his last name was Smith, these charges would have never been brought. If his last name was Jones, they would have never blown up the plea deal that they already had done.”
“I don’t think the average American would have been charged with the gun thing,” Graham said, according to The Hill. “I don’t see any good coming from that.”
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