Media manipulators shield Hunter Biden from legal consequences to protect Joe Biden’s reputation.

The evolution of ​how⁢ the media handle piling evidence of Joe and Hunter Biden’s involvement in a foreign‍ influence-peddling ⁤scheme is a⁤ master seminar in narrative shifting,⁤ playing out for us in real time.

First, ⁤they ​smeared anyone who asked questions about the Bidens’ dealings in ⁤Ukraine — specifically, Joe Biden’s public⁢ role‍ in getting rid of a prosecutor who had been investigating a company Hunter worked for —‍ as perpetuating a conspiracy theory. By ⁢2020,⁤ right before the presidential election, this tactic had expanded to flatly refusing to cover evidence of shady international deals involving Hunter and the⁢ “Big ⁢Guy,” sourced from a laptop Hunter had ⁢evidently abandoned‍ at⁣ a repair shop, by branding it “Russian disinformation.”

As more documents and testimony built the case ‍of‍ Biden‌ family corruption, the narrative forayed​ into, “This is actually just about Joe Biden’s love for his son,” and, “Did we ‌say Joe Biden wasn’t in contact with Hunter’s ⁣business ⁤partners? Actually, he was​ a lot but that was totally normal — and they just talked about the weather!”

As the Biden family business becomes indefensible, more media outlets and other Democrats are reallocating their resources to defending only one Biden — the Big Guy ‍in the White House. If they can show their love for defending democracy by ​saying a few mildly reproachful things about ⁤Hunter, then ⁤use ‍their shiny new credibility to self-righteously shut down questions about Joe, what’s the⁣ downside?⁣ Hunter knows the bagman always ends⁤ up thrown under the bus anyway, right?

The Washington Post editorial board, after initially praising the sweetheart plea deal brokered between Hunter Biden and ‍his father’s ⁤Justice Department — which⁤ fell apart under scrutiny from the judge — has since​ changed its ‍tune and⁣ admitted Saturday that the younger Biden “shouldn’t get special treatment,” which is‍ an understatement for what the plea deal ⁤was.

“[C]ritics might have been justified” in calling out the ⁤kid gloves with which the president’s son has been treated, the editorial board admitted. In the next breath, they lauded the appointment of U.S.‍ Attorney David Weiss as a special counsel to‌ investigate‌ Hunter. (Other “special ⁣treatment” the Biden family received, such as the alleged efforts by Weiss himself to slow-walk investigations into the family’s potential crimes, and free PR work from every legacy news outlet in America,‍ went unmentioned by the Post.)

It’s a tactical move for Democrats to ⁢praise the appointment of the special counsel. They can leave the same guy running ​the show but now use his new status as⁤ an excuse ⁤to shoo away pesky congressional​ Republican investigators, all the while ‌loudly proclaiming that “no one is above⁢ the law.”

Best of all, they get to keep Hunter and only Hunter in the⁣ hot⁢ seat. “One ⁣temptation in the Hunter‌ Biden case might be ‌to investigate⁣ the ​president himself, as many of his critics wish,” the editorial board continued, before dutifully lecturing readers to remember that Joe Biden’s ⁣behavior “so far” is “not criminal.”

Democrat Rep. ⁤Jamie Raskin evidently prepped similar talking ⁣points for a Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” “They haven’t been able to show any criminal corruption on [Joe Biden’s] part,” he insisted. “What they’ve got is Hunter Biden, and we ⁣all seem clear⁣ that ​this guy was addicted to drugs and did a⁢ lot of ⁤really unlawful ⁢and wrong things and we’ve said, let the justice system run its course.”

The problem with this new narrative ‍is⁢ that it’s completely bogus. Does anyone think‍ Joe Biden had 200-plus conversations ​with Hunter’s business partners⁢ about the weather? Does anyone believe foreign oligarchs were⁤ happily ‍forking over‍ cash to a washed-up ⁣druggie for empty promises? Are we to just ignore⁢ the evidence that millions of those foreign​ dollars ⁣went into⁤ not ⁤just Hunter​ Biden’s pockets but Joe’s?

There’s a scandal here, but it’s not chiefly about Hunter, any more than the “laptop” scandal was chiefly about the dirty footage of Hunter’s drug-fueled sexual escapades stored on the hard drive. The laptop story was about ⁢evidence⁣ of​ the Biden family’s influence-for-cash racket, and the scandal​ is about Joe’s role in it.

When Democrats promise you the ⁢justice⁤ system is “running its course”​ on Hunter, the demonstrable falsehood of such⁢ a statement isn’t even‌ the worst part. By pretending to discipline⁣ the deadbeat who apparently did Dad’s dirty work, they’re shutting you up about letting⁣ the justice system run its course on⁢ Joe.