Legal expert warns that KJP’s error could seriously jeopardize Biden’s legal standing
Did Karine Jean-Pierre Just Put Biden in Serious Legal Trouble?
As press secretary for the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre’s job is to keep President Joe Biden out of trouble — a not-insubstantial task, at least when one considers the verbal incontinence our 46th president has shown in the role.
However, regarding Hunter Biden’s refusal to comply with a House GOP subpoena to appear, one constitutional scholar contends it’s not the notorious KJP’s words bailing the president out of trouble, but getting him into it, instead.
On Wednesday, Biden refused to appear for a private deposition before the House, saying he would only appear in public testimony instead.
“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said during a media briefing outside the Capitol, according to The Associated Press.
“What are they afraid of? I am here.”
The key questions, of course, are what Hunter Biden is 1) currently afraid of and 2) should be afraid of.
In terms of what he’s currently afraid of, it has to be something — since it’s worth noting that House Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer of Kentucky agreed he should have his chance to testify in public, but only after he testified on Wednesday.
“Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else,” Comer said in November.
As for what he should be afraid of: a contempt of Congress charge, since “subpoena” isn’t a synonym for “suggestion to appear.” What’s more, conservative legal scholar Jonathan Turley said in an Op-Ed on Thursday, his father now has something to be afraid of, too — all thanks to Karine Jean-Pierre.
In the column, published at The Messenger, Turley blasted Hunter for his media briefing, saying that “Biden and his legal team committed another unforced error.
“This one could prove as costly as pushing for an obscenely generous plea agreement and then telling prosecutors to ‘rip it up’ in July,” Turley wrote. “The evidence against him is overwhelming, as shown in his second federal indictment on tax charges. … Hunter simply could have done what prior witnesses have done: Go in and take the Fifth. That is what attorney and former IRS official Lois Lerner did — twice — when House Republicans wanted to ask her about the Obama administration targeting conservative groups.
“It was a no-brainer that someone appears to have radically over-thought on the Hunter Biden legal team,” Turley added, noting that “Hunter can now be held in contempt of Congress. That will force the hand of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who aggressively pursued Trump figures for contempt, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.”
That overthinking extended to the White House, where Turley said that “[t]here is another possible cost to this move.”
On Wednesday, after Hunter’s ersatz media briefing, Jean-Pierre was asked about it at her press conference. Her response? “Look, as you know, Hunter Biden is a private citizen. And so, I certainly would refer you to his representatives.
But then: “The president was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say. And I think what you saw was from the heart from his son. And you’ve heard — you’ve heard me say this; you’ve heard the President say this: When it comes to the president and the first lady, they are proud of him continuing to rebuild his life. They are proud of their son.”
In between all the stuff you’ve heard before — Hunter’s a private citizen, the first couple is proud of him for transitioning away from spending millions of dollars on prostitutes, cocaine and sports cars, etc. — there’s that one problematic sentence: “The president was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say.”
Whoops, Turley wrote, given that the comment “suggests that the president spoke with his son before his act of contempt and discussed his statement.
“If that is true, it was a breathtaking mistake,” he continued. “One of the four most obvious potential articles of impeachment that I laid out in my prior testimony was obstruction. There already are questions over special treatment potentially being given to Hunter in the form of alleged felonies being allowed to expire, warnings about planned federal raids, and sweetheart deals.
“In addition, President Biden has enlisted White House staff to actively push challenged accounts of his conduct and attack the House Republicans’ investigative process. Such acts could legally bootstrap prior misconduct into his presidency under abuse-of-power allegations.
“If this latest allegation is true, the president was speaking with his son about committing a potentially criminal actof contempt,” Turley added. “Hunter was refusing to give testimony focused not on his own role but on his father’s potential role in the alleged influence peddling. The House can pursue evidence on that conversation and how the president may have supported his son’s effort.”
Again, this is unforced stupidity of the most astounding sort.
Hunter and his attorneys refused to take an extremely generous plea deal if it didn’t involve a novel, atypical clause which his attorneys contended exempted
What role could Attorney General Merrick Garland play in deciding whether to pursue charges against President Biden’s son if he is held in contempt of Congress
Rel=”noopener”>his past troubles—there is an admission that would catch the attention of any legal scholar.
As Turley pointed out, Jean-Pierre essentially confirmed that President Biden was aware of what Hunter was going to say during his media briefing. This is significant because it raises questions about potential coordination and communication between the father and son regarding their public statements.
According to Turley, this could be an issue because if Hunter was subpoenaed to testify before Congress, any coordination between him and the president could be considered witness tampering or obstruction of justice.
This is a serious legal problem for President Biden, as witness tampering is a federal crime punishable by imprisonment. And considering the supposed evidence against Hunter in his ongoing legal battles, any evidence of coordination between him and his father could further complicate the situation.
Turley also highlighted the potential involvement of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has aggressively pursued contempt charges against Trump figures, including Steve Bannon. If Hunter is indeed held in contempt of Congress, Garland will have to decide whether to pursue charges against the president’s son.
In conclusion, Karine Jean-Pierre’s words during the press conference may have inadvertently put President Biden in serious legal trouble. The confirmation of coordination between the president and his son regarding Hunter’s media briefing raises questions of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. It remains to be seen how these developments will unfold and what actions will be taken by the attorney general. But one thing is clear: Biden’s verbal incontinence has once again landed him in hot water, this time potentially with severe legal consequences.
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