First son Hunter Biden got an early Christmas gift from Special Council David Weiss in the form of a brand new federal indictment on felony tax charges. That didn’t sit well with MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell, who opened her eponymous show on Friday by lamenting that Weiss “quoted gritty details from Hunter's own memoir to build his case,” how it was bad “optics” for White House, and that it could hurt President Biden’s 2024 chances.
“Good day, everyone. I'm Andrea Mitchell in Washington. The President's son Hunter now facing a second federal indictment and not the misdemeanor tax charge he thought he was being handed with the plea deal that collapsed in June,” she announced at the top of her show. “This time, nine charges with three felony counts on an alleged criminal scheme to avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars in income.”
Her initial concern was that House Republicans would “weaponize” the indictment as part of their efforts to impeach Hunter’s father and that it could hurt President Biden’s reelection chances:
The President himself is not named in the indictment, but it could help weaponize House Republicans with their upcoming vote to open an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden, with enormous political implications for the re-election campaign. The President ignoring reporters' questions about his son just moments ago as he left Washington for a campaign swing out west.
Mitchell also seemed to take issue with how “Special Prosecutor David Weiss quoted gritty details from Hunter's own memoir to build his case.”
“The filing also alleges that Hunter Biden misreported expenses on his returns, claiming a payment listed as a golf club deposit was actually a sex club membership. That’s alleged fraud,” she added.
Further in the show, while speaking to NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles, Mitchell vented that “this adds fuel to next week's expected impeachment inquiry votes to open that inquiry into the President of the United States!” She gave off the impression that impeaching a president was a terrible offense.
She didn’t make things better when she fumbled while trying to describe the relationship between President Biden and Hunter’s “entrainment lawyer” who was apparently a big spender in Democratic politics:
The indictment also highlighting the relationship between Hunter Biden and his entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris, who also happens to be a Biden presidential donor. Apparently, he did not know Mr. Morris very well. He’s a major Democratic donor and he came through with the tax payment belatedly.
“But the optics here are so troubling for the first family,” she bemoaned to New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker. And despite admitting that Hunter had put all the “salacious and embarrassing” details out himself, she reiterated that she didn’t like how the “special council is using his own memoir against him.”
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports
December 8, 2023
12:00:51 p.m. EasternANDREA MITCHELL: Good day, everyone. I'm Andrea Mitchell in Washington.
The President's son Hunter now facing a second federal indictment and not the misdemeanor tax charge he thought he was being handed with the plea deal that collapsed in June. This time, nine charges with three felony counts on an alleged criminal scheme to avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars in income.
The President himself is not named in the indictment, but it could help weaponize House Republicans with their upcoming vote to open an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden, with enormous political implications for the re-election campaign. The President ignoring reporters' questions about his son just moments ago as he left Washington for a campaign swing out west.
The indictment filed Thursday in California reads, “Rather than pay his taxes, Hunter Biden spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle,” including “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items of personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes.” That's a quote from the indictment.
And Special Prosecutor David Weiss quoted gritty details from Hunter's own memoir to build his case. The filing also alleges that Hunter Biden misreported expenses on his returns, claiming a payment listed as a golf club deposit was actually a sex club membership. That’s alleged fraud.
(…)
12:04:11 p.m. Eastern
MITCHELL: What about the reaction on Capitol Hill anticipated? Because this adds fuel to next week's expected impeachment inquiry votes to open that inquiry into the President of the United States! Hunter Biden's expected House deposition also that they are trying to demand and that's, I guess, still in dispute. The indictment also highlighting the relationship between Hunter Biden and his entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris, who also happens to be a Biden presidential donor. Apparently, he did not know Mr. Morris very well. He’s a major Democratic donor and he came through with the tax payment belatedly.
(…)
12:06:52 p.m. Eastern
MITCHELL: The White House is not commenting. We saw the President leaving today without commenting. And he has not commented at all about this case. So, that is going to be the practice. But the optics here are so troubling for the first family. The details are so salacious and embarrassing, frankly. Not that they haven’t been out. I mean, he wrote about it himself, I just want to put it out there. Now, special council is using his own memoir against him.
(…)
