On Tuesday evening, MSNBC’s All In host Chris Hayes ranted about Hunter Biden’s trial, deciding that he was the target of a “draconian” prosecution. He also downplayed Biden’s alleged crime and sympathized with his “supportive” family, not even attempting to hide his partisan sentiments and presenting the whole situation as a great injustice.
Hayes began: “The current president of the United States, Joe Biden, and his First Lady, are quietly watching their last living son, Hunter, be prosecuted by the Biden Department of Justice.”
Questioning the legitimacy of the prosecutor, David Weiss, Hayes pointed to his position as a Trump Administration holdover and argued that he had overseen the case for far too long, i.e. five years. With this in mind, Hayes falsely depicted Biden as the victim of a vague and unsubstantial accusation: “The result is that Hunter Biden, who has been targeted for Republican conspiracy theories for the better part of a decade and endless hearings and the like, is now being prosecuted by the Department of Justice, in the person of David Weiss, for an incredibly arcane, alleged offense.”
In reality, the crime was quite straightforward and in Hayes’s own words, “Hunter Biden purchased a handgun in 2018, he lied on the federal form when he said he had not abused drugs.”
To support his claim of the ludicrous nature of the trial, he cited the supposedly disproportionate sentence Biden faced. “He possessed that handgun for, wait for it, 11 days. He lied on the form about his drug use. He had the handgun for 11 days. He now faces 25 years in prison,” Hayes scoffed.
The irony of his indignation as a host on MSNBC, which has been famously pro-gun control, was especially fascinating. Furthermore, Biden’s possession of the gun for a mere 11 days still exceeded the waiting periods in many states, including California, Washington State, as well as Washington, D.C., all of which seek to implement liberal pipe dreams for gun control.
Regardless of the length of time Biden had the gun, it would still be a crime. The Firearms Transaction Record specifically warns against lying on any section of the form, a crime punishable as a felony. In fact, the same Trump appointed prosecutor, David Weiss, was willing to dismiss this charge in a sweetheart deal that would instead require Biden to plead guilty to tax fraud charges. The deal fell through due to miscommunication with the judge who declined to accept the plea deal, forcing the DOJ to go through with the current trial.
Hayes continued to praise President Biden’s response, emphasizing the supposed stark contrast with a reaction expected from former President Donald Trump. For the second time in the segment, he professed his pity for the president and his wife, who were forced to undergo the pain of watching their “last living son” on trial:
As Joe Biden's last living son sits for a prosecution that was initiated under Donald Trump and that basically no one else is being prosecuted for, Joe Biden has said not one thing. He has not fired the prosecutor. He has not gone after the courts or the investigation. The First Lady, Jill Biden, is sitting quietly in court and supporting her son as the system plays out.
When it comes to Donald Trump, Chris Hayes believes nobody is above the law, but when it comes to Hunter Biden, he sings a different song.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes
6/4/2024
08:07:01 PM EST
CHRIS HAYES: The week after he became the first felony convicted ex-president in U.S. history, the current president of the United States, Joe Biden, and his First Lady, are quietly watching their last living son, Hunter, be prosecuted by the Biden Department of Justice. Now, the man running the prosecution against Hunter Biden, special counsel David Weiss, is a Trump administration holdover and he was held over specifically in that role, even though the president would have been well within his rights to not hold him over.
He was held over by Merrick Garland, right? New president, new U.S. attorneys. No. Specifically, he was held over just by the fact that he’s a Trump appointee, because he had overseen this case against Biden's son for too long. So long. Do you know how long this guy was overseeing the Hunter Biden case? Five years! Ok? Replacing him might have appeared to be political impropriety on the Biden administration's part. So David Weiss stayed. The result is that Hunter Biden, who has been targeted for Republican conspiracy theories for the better part of a decade and endless hearings and the like, is now being prosecuted by the Department of Justice, in the person of David Weiss, for an incredibly arcane, alleged offense.
The allegation is that when Hunter Biden purchased a handgun in 2018, he lied on the federal form when he said he had not abused drugs. He possessed that handgun for, wait for it, 11 days. He lied on the form about his drug use. He had the handgun for 11 days. He now faces 25 years in prison.
It is a prosecution that is so rare, so out there, so draconian, that even Trey Gowdy, ok, the far right ex-congressman and former federal prosecutor, has trouble believing it.
[Cuts to wrong video]
[Cuts back to live]
HAYES: Sorry, um, well, I’ll tell you what Trey Gowdy said. He said he had done gun prosecutions for years and he had barely seen any cases exactly like this, ok? Despite all of the Republican cries about the Biden crime family and the Biden DOJ doing the president's dirty work, as Joe Biden's last living son sits for a prosecution that was initiated under Donald Trump and that basically no one else is being prosecuted for, Joe Biden has said not one thing. He has not fired the prosecutor. He has not gone after the courts or the investigation. The First Lady, Jill Biden, is sitting quietly in court and supporting her son as the system plays out. This on the day that they’re screaming on Capitol Hill about the weaponized department of justice.
Take a step back for a second, ok, shall we? Can you imagine a universe in which Donald Trump allows the Department of Justice to prosecute Don Jr. while he’s president and just keeps mum about it? No. Well, gotta let it play out. As Republicans have ratcheted up the extreme lengths they would go to essentially tear down the entire notion of equal justice under the law, Joe Biden has gone to extraordinary lengths in the opposite direction and there is a real question as to whether any of this is getting through to voters.
(...)
