After Wednesday morning’s announcement of Hunter Biden’s plea deal for his criminal investigation falling through, Andrea Mitchell discussed the issue on her on her eponymous MSNBC show. Along with guests MSNBC White House correspondent Mike Memoli and former attorney Paul Charlton, Mitchell fretted that the Hunter legal case would “be a significant complication for” President Biden’s bid for re-election in 2024.
First, Mitchell asked Memoli for his thoughts on the White House’s inability to “get the legal thing out of the way” in this case to clear the air a little bit for the President. She complained that, without an agreement on a plea deal to get this done and over with, “this thing is still gonna be hanging over their heads,” making the Biden 2024 campaign look a lot worse.
Memoli agreed, blaming the Republicans for “stoking” a “political fire” with the proposed impeachment inquiry:
Yeah, not only is it going to be a significant complication for this President as he runs for a second term and continues about the business of his administration, to have his son's legal woes, at least as it relates to the government itself, continuing, but it's only going to add more fuel to the political fire that Republicans were stoking on Capitol Hill as they move forward with a potential impeachment charge.
Of course, he made sure to remind the audience that the attorney that had been in charge of the Hunter investigation was “a Trump appointee,” thus trying to suggest the handling of the case was above board despite the under-oath allegations of whistleblowers suggesting otherwise. He also made sure to mention President Biden’s noble gesture of graciously allowing this attorney to remain in his post “because of his role investigating his own son.”
Then, Memoli began to whine about how this ongoing investigation “further complicates” the Biden campaign, just as it had in 2020:
But potentially more significantly, remember, Andrea, Hunter Biden was front and center in the 2020 campaign, the impeachment of the former President Donald Trump began with his efforts and the efforts of his allies to allege that Vice President Biden had engaged in some wrongdoing because of his son's involvement in business dealings. So, just as in 2020 when Hunter Biden was part and parcel of a discussion and legal potential overhanging then-candidate Joe Biden, this now further complicates that as we head into 2024, Andrea.
Mitchell then turned to Charlton, explaining how she had heard from several attorneys, including the prosecutor in this case, that “Hunter Biden on these tax penalties was actually facing a tougher legal procedure than another person not named Biden would.” She asked Charlton whether this meant “this deal and this whole issue is a lot more serious” than had previously been expected.
Charlton answered in the affirmative before beginning to bemoan the “extraordinary failure to communicate” between the two parties involved in the deal, resulting in the plea deal being called off. Although apparently, according to Charlton’s experience, “this happens from time to time,” he called this instance “extraordinary” in how “fundamental” this disagreement was in this case.
Overall, it was just funny to watch these journalists becoming so frantic over Hunter’s court appearance not going as planned or as hoped.
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Transcript of the segment below (click Expand):
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports
7/26/2023
12:04:45 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: And, Mike, just to follow up here, because the White House was hoping to finally get this out of the way, not that it would get it out of the way, because they are now talking about impeachment on related, unspecified issues.
But, even though there was gonna still be the political shadow hanging over all of this, certainly among House Republicans, they thought that they would get the legal thing out of the way. And now, if they can't come to an agreement, quickly, this thing is still gonna be hanging over their heads, Mike.
MIKE MEMOLI: Yeah, not only is it going to be a significant complication for this President as he runs for a second term and continues about the business of his administration, to have his son's legal woes, at least as it relates to the government itself, continuing, but it's only going to add more fuel to the political fire that Republicans were stoking on Capitol Hill as they move forward with a potential impeachment charge.
Remember, they wanted to see the U.S. Attorney here in Delaware, we should remind everyone, a Trump appointee who was agreed by President Biden to stay in his post because of his role investigating his own son, that they wanted to hear from him about why more serious charges were not being brought.
So this is only further, potentially even in the views of a Republican, legitimizes their investigation, their contention that this was a—a—a—an in—in—indication of interference by the president into the conduct of the Justice Department.
But potentially more significantly, remember, Andrea, Hunter Biden was front and center in the 2020 campaign, the impeachment of the former President Donald Trump began with his efforts and the efforts of his allies to allege that Vice President Biden had engaged in some wrongdoing because of his son's involvement in business dealings. So, just as in 2020 when Hunter Biden was part and parcel of a discussion and legal potential overhanging then-candidate Joe Biden, this now further complicates that as we head into 2024, Andrea.
MITCHELL: Paul Charlton, I’ve got so many questions. So, Mike and I both need a lawyer to understand all of the intricacies of this, but, all along, not only the prosecutor, the Trump prosecutor in Delaware, had been held over while the other U.S. Attorneys had been asked for their resignations, as is traditional when a new president takes over, as you know.
That prosecutor had said, and others have said, other outside attorneys have said, I should say, that Hunter Biden on these tax penalties was actually facing a tougher legal procedure than another person not named Biden would, you know, who had paid the back taxes, plus interest and penalty. This indicates that this deal and this whole issue is a lot more serious, or does it?
PAUL CHARLTON: It does, indeed, and it represents an extraordinary failing to communicate in some fashion.
MITCHELL: Right.
CHARLTON: Sometimes, Andrea, plea agreements fall apart. Sometimes you’ll be in court, and in my 16 years as a prosecutor, this happens from time to time, and there's a misunderstanding about exactly what the plea agreement is. There’ll be a recess, the parties will come back together, hopefully after having clarified that misunderstanding.
But the misunderstanding here seems very fundamental. Is this the end of the prosecution, or is there an ongoing prosecution?
Remember that in his press release, the U.S. Attorney in charge of this matter said that this matter, this case, this investigation is ongoing. For there to be a misunderstanding in court today is an extraordinary development.
The judge asked the right questions: “Is this the end of the investigation?” And when the parties had a disagreement, Mr. Biden's lawyers saying, “no, we believe this is the end of the investigation,” the prosecutors saying, “the investigation is ongoing,” there's a failure there, there's a fundamental misunderstanding that is in and of itself extraordinary, and whether or not the parties can ever bridge that disagreement, we’ll just have to see.
(…)
