Two stories on the Hunter Biden investigation today, one from Politico and the other from the Washington Post.

The Investigation

Politico’s post is a medium length read that goes over the history of the investigation.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers either threatened to put President Biden on the stand:

“This of all cases justifies neither the spectacle of a sitting President testifying at a criminal trial nor the potential for a resulting Constitutional crisis,” Clark wrote.

The Justice Department came (and comes) under fire from both sides for being political.

First, it is worth remembering that Trump worked as hard as he could to stir the pot up against Hunter Biden — which included his first impeachment because he wanted Ukraine to announce an investigation into Biden corruption.

In light of Trump’s ceaseless demands for an investigation of the first son, charging the younger Biden with tax crimes would be “devastating to the reputation” of the Justice Department, his lawyers asserted. It would look like the department had acquiesced to Trump’s political pressure campaign.

Of course, when administrations flipped, anything other than a hard line looks like going easy on Biden.

 The Wall Street Journal reported that an IRS supervisor was ready to tell Congress that political calculations were infecting the investigation. But unlike Biden’s lawyers, who argued their client was being treated too harshly because of politics, the IRS supervisor would testify that the first son was getting “preferential treatment” from a Justice Department run by his father’s appointees.

It also isn’t clear if the immunity agreement signed on July 26th was executed and is still enforceable:

Before the [July 26th] hearing, Biden and Weiss signed the pretrial diversion agreement, which included the immunity guarantee.

Finally, it is clear to everyone that any plea deal is meant to protect Hunter Biden from executive overreach from the next administration. Effectively, eliminate the option to investigate Hunter Biden in the future for anything already covered by this investigation.

The Special Prosecutor

WaPo has a history of David Weiss.

Highlights: he began as a prosecutor in Delaware, he has worked with parties all over the spectrum, under presidents Obama, Trump and Biden, as well as with Beau Biden in 2010.

The general sentiment is that he is a hard-hitting prosecutor unswayed by politics. While unbelievable on it’s face, it is worth considering given that both parties think he isn’t being fair to Hunter Biden, but for opposite reasons.

Those who have observed Weiss for yearssay his professional intersections with the Biden family over the years will have no bearing on his work as special counsel. They insist he will follow the facts and tune out the partisan noise.

“He was appointed by Donald Trump, and now if he doesn’t do everything Republicans want, they denigrate him,” said Mullaney, the former chief of staff to Beau Biden. He said it was “inconceivable” Weiss would play favorites, saying, “Hopefully he is not paying attention to all the rhetoric.”

If you’re into this sort of thing, give both articles a read.