The upcoming trial risks disrupting Joe Biden’s campaign next year. Hunter Biden, the son of the American president, was indicted on Thursday by the American federal courts for illegal possession of a firearm. He faces three charges of false declaration for concealing his addiction to various narcotics on the form he completed in 2018 to purchase a pistol.
This indictment comes seven weeks after the implosion of a guilty plea agreement that would have spared Hunter Biden a prison sentence for tax evasion and illegal possession of a firearm.
A magistrate considered that this agreement negotiated between Hunter Biden and the prosecutors was too broad, in particular because it protected Joe Biden’s son from future additional charges on these two cases.
Impeachment investigation against Joe Biden
Hunter Biden has not yet been charged with tax fraud, but a special prosecutor appointed last month continues his investigations, including into the affairs of Joe Biden’s son abroad.
It is on this last point that the American president is the target of an impeachment investigation launched this week by Republicans in Congress. Hunter Biden is accused of having monetized his last name when his father was vice-president, notably to sit on the board of directors of the Ukrainian gas giant Burisma.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said his party’s investigations launched in 2020 “identified serious and credible allegations about the conduct of President Biden”, accused of having participated in a “culture of corruption”.
Double-edged
So far, Republicans have provided no evidence that Joe Biden illegally profited from his son’s activities. Since his election by force, Kevin McCarthy has been under threat from the right wing of his party – and from Donald Trump – who were pushing to open hostilities by threatening him with a motion of censure.
While some moderate Republicans running for re-election fear that impeachment proceedings could backfire in public opinion, there is no guarantee that the preliminary investigation will go to a vote. Whatever happens, Joe Biden is not really threatened by impeachment: a vote of 67 senators out of 100 would be necessary, and the Democrats remain in the majority by a narrow margin.