Hunter Biden’s surprise bid on Thursday to avert a tax evasion trial could bring his legal saga one step closer to resolution — and also ease a burden that threatened to trail his father through the final days of the presidency. ”But that hasn’t made it any easier for the elder Biden to watch,” Politico reports. Biden pledged in June not to pardon or commute Hunter’s convictions, saying he was “satisfied” that the trial had been fair. “I am not going to do anything,” he said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy. “I will abide by the jury’s decision.” On Thursday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would keep his vow in the wake of Hunter’s latest plea.
Within the White House, Politico reported, “few believe the plea will have any impact on Harris’ surging campaign, especially after Republicans tried for much of the last three years to advance investigations into Hunter with little success. The congressional probes have fizzled out, even when Biden was in the race, polling consistently suggested most Americans didn’t care.” But Politico describe the legal issues as taking “a heavy toll” on the president. “Biden has long expressed frustration and worry over Hunter’s legal troubles and the impact that his role as commander-in-chief has played in intensifying the spotlight on his son. Those fears grew after a plea deal over separate gun charges against Hunter collapsed last year, resulting in a guilty verdict in June.” President Biden has largely refrained from weighing in on Hunter’s legal troubles beyond expressing pride in his son’s recovery from substance abuse and efforts to rebuild his life after years of addiction struggles. But should a judge accept the the changed plea, “it could offer the president a final five months in office largely clear of the investigations, court dates and legal wrangling that played out in the background of his administration,” according to Politico.
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