The double standard with Hunter Biden's laptop is worse than you think

[Celerity]

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/30/opinions/garland-trump-hunter-biden-laptop-obeidallah/index.html



(CNN) "Attorney General Garland, do your job -- so that we can do ours," declared an exasperated Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia on Monday night as part of her work as a member of the January 6 House select committee. Luria and others on the committee expressed frustration with Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice still not acting on the December 14, 2021, vote by the House recommending criminal charges against former Donald Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for defying a congressional subpoena.

But the frustration many have with Garland goes far beyond simply the over three-month silence on Meadows. As I hear frequently from listeners to my SiriusXM show, the fact that we don't hear a peep about Garland investigating Trump for his attempted coup to overturn the 2020 election and potential crimes in connection with the January 6 attack on the Capitol is beyond frustrating. And those voices demanding Garland to act will be growing louder given a federal court decision Monday where the judge wrote that it was "more likely than not that" Trump committed crimes given his efforts to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's victory.

While the focus of this case was a request by Trump's former lawyer John Eastman to withhold certain documents requested by the January 6 committee based on claims they are protected by attorney-client privilege, US District Court Judge David Carter laid out a damning case against Trump for his conduct surrounding January 6 -- including potential crime.

As the judge wrote, Trump and his lawyer had "launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history," adding, "it was a coup in search of a legal theory." And in a bone-chilling passage, the judge explained that if Trump and Eastman's "plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution."

snip

[dem4decades]

1. How do we know DOJ is investigating Hunter's laptop?

[Emile]

2. The DOJ told us yesterday they were.

[dem4decades]

3. No that's impossible, DOJ defenders here will tell you how tight lipped DOJ is about investigations

That's why there's a double secret DOJ investigation into Trump.

[uponit7771]

29. +1, the DOJ admitting they just started GJ procedings 2 months ago was supposed to be good ...

.. when everyone who was thinking somethings not right with the DOJ was screaming a GJ was the first thing that should've been started last year.

Garland is too worried about looking partisan vs doing his jon

[FBaggins]

7. No - they didn't

We heard yesterday that an investigation was "picking up steam" in recent months with testimony from multiple witnesses and that it was part of an investigation dating back four years.

The laptop that Rudy tried to push into the limelight during the election is not mentioned.

Some of the reporting (WaPost) is based on some emails supposedly from the laptop, but the DOJ information doesn't include that.

[Emile]

8. Thanks for clearing that up!

[gab13by13]

9. DOJ is doing the investigation

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/30/politics/hunter-biden-federal-investigation-heats-up/index.html

[Fiendish Thingy]

11. From your link:

But in recent months, investigative activity in the Biden probe has intensified along with discussions among Justice Department officials about the strength of the case, and whether more work is needed before seeking a decision on possible charges, according to people briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.

“People briefed on the matter” is the vaguest of identifiers, and could be anyone, not just DOJ staff. Could be attorneys for witnesses who have been called, could be a grand juror violating their oath to secrecy, could be anyone who received information on the investigation.

As always, lack of public information about January 6 investigations is not evidence of inaction or dereliction of duty by the DOJ.

[gab13by13]

13. Except that DOJ has already failed, decided not to prosecute crimes

I know that for a fact.

[Fiendish Thingy]

15. Link please?

WaPo says otherwise:

https://apple.news/A9SUrH9RxR-2LVFmtYsZtmg

[L. Coyote]

14. Has anyone said there is a grand jury? This is so blown all out of proportion, seems to me.

Seems like a Comey-like political hit job, except without substance. And the Art of Distraction all over again. Can't they find new shit to go nuclear about?

Oh wait, I just realized the missing 7 hours of call logs from Jan 6 must be on Hunter Biden’s laptop, right?

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Fiendish Thingy]

17. Grand Jury for who? Hunter or Trump?

Both have been confirmed (ok, not for Trump individually, but as a member of the coup architects)

[KS Toronado]

16. Thank you, I agree

Read the link also, no mention of Hunter's laptop. I remember back when the laptop story broke an OP about
it which pointed to Rs being involved in manufacturing evidence (the laptop) to use against the Bidens because
of the 2020 election. Is this laptop story just another reQublicOn "BIG LIE" they are going to beat to death
for all the votes it's worth?

[uponit7771]

27. The DOJ is disgustingly investigating Hunter Biden (link)

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/30/politics/hunter-biden-federal-investigation-heats-up/index.html#:~:text=Those%20discussions%20have,they%20bring%20one.

[uponit7771]

26. "Prosecutors with the U.S. attorney's office in Wilmington, Delaware, " that's the DOJ

https://www.wfmz.com/news/politics/cnn-dojs-investigation-of-hunter-biden-picking-up-steam/article_73e97ae2-b038-11ec-b837-7f13f735ff0e.html

[Scrivener7]

4. They told us. You know, those guys who never talk about ongoing investigations,

except they talk about this and the investigation into the stolen documents and lots of other investigations.

There was even a thread here yesterday by someone who declared that the absolute lack of evidence that there is an ongoing investigation into the coup is PROOF that there is an ongoing investigation into the coup. Wrap your head around that one. And the reasoning is that the DOJ NEVER talks about ongoing investigations.

Except these ones. They talk freely about these ones. And lots of others.

[uponit7771]

30. +1, when it comes to the HB story I'm beyond disgusted with the DOJ seeing there is not ONE

... iota of probable cause to even investigate that has not derived from MAGA Media.

I'm ... this is hurtful but Garland is interested in not seeming partisan vs doing his job

[Evergreen Emerald]

5. From Comey to Garland the Republicans we trusted

We are like Charlie Brown with the Football. We trusted Mueller and now Garland. Comey leaked an investigation into Clinton days before the election, still hiding the investigation into Trump, which assisted Putin in putting Trump in Office.

We now have Garland leaking an investigation into Biden's son, while Trump continues business as usual and the January 6th committee remains swaying in the wind.

I can only assume that the attack on our democracy includes those who infiltrated the highest judicial branch, as well as every aspect of our government, including the DOJ, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and state prosecutors.

[dem4decades]

6. Probably put Jeffery Clark's best friend in charge, or maybe an entire unit

Of Jeffrey Clarke's, nothing to see here, move along.

[suegeo]

20. Merry Fitzmas, Patrick Fitzgerald and Bush Crime Family

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Fitzgerald

The BCF outed a NOC (non official cover) Valerie Plame.

I hoped someone would be held accountable. At least I learned enough from that to NOT get my hopes up about accountability for white powerful males.

[suegeo]

21. GHWB and Iran Contra

Lawrence Walsh investigated those crimes. Nobody(?) was held responsible. And GHWB was into those crimes up to his eyeballs. He pardons people on the way out and escapes being held responsible for his crimes. The white guys get away with a lot . Above the law, it seems

[kacekwl]

10. Just heard a story on the local news about the Hunter Biden investigation ramping up.

Nothing about 7 hours of missing phone records. Nothing about the calls for justice Thomas to resign or recuse. Nothing about trump asking for dirt on Biden from Putin. Nothing about J6 investigation. Thank goodness we know about Hunter though. Thanks for keeping us up to speed Garland.

[kairos12]

12. That's about it.

[L. Coyote]

18. You are part of the problem if you blame Garland for a fake news story.

Which is what the story is supposed to do to you, I suspect. For all you know, this is Russian disinformation.

[Lonestarblue]

19. We see articles almost every day about the DOJ investigation of Hunter Biden.

I’m not saying those are all DOJ leaks, but the investigation is in the news all the time. In contrast, for the first time today I saw an article that the DOJ had subpoenaed someone who might know something about the planning and financing of the coup attempt—almost 15 months after the event! Everyone here has a right to their own opinions, and I respect that because we all have different experiences forming our opinions. But I find this delay unacceptable, and it’s difficult not to conclude that Garland simply didn’t want to be forced by the evidence to prosecute a former president and perhaps some very powerful people around Trump, like a Ginni Thomas.

I think there would be political fallout from prosecuting Trump, but not prosecuting him would be worse. It would be announcing to the world that the US legal system is just as corrupt as that in Russia where Putin tells the courts what to do. It would say that our justice system excuses the crimes of the rich and powerful while locking up poor people for misdemeanors. And that would be a huge slam against democracy and what it stands for around the world.

I truly hope I’m wrong about Garland, but when members of the January 6 Committee are begging him to enforce the criminal complaint against Mark Meadows so they can do their jobs, something is wrong.

[Midnight Writer]

22. I hope the Hunter "investigation" encompasses any phony evidence that has been manufactured.

I find some of the accounts about the laptop, etc., to be hard to swallow.

[heckles65]

23. I was a criminal defense attorney

When you have this job, you hear from people who really want to make a good effort to defend themselves from state charges. You also meet people who try to sell you on the bullshittiest of stories.

I had one person who claimed that he drove from the mid-Atlantic states to New England in a stolen rental car with a 14 year old girl to get a runaway daughter to come home.

The Hunter Biden laptop story ranks with that on the BS meter.

[Omen78]

24. Why do you say that?

Why would the DOJ invest the manpower and funding on an BS investigation into their Boss's son? That would be career ending and political suicide. If the story was BS, it would have died shortly after the laptop became public. Instead the story continues to grow with the DOJ confirming the investigation. I fear this story has legs and the rightwing media isn't going to let it die.

[uponit7771]

28. +1, the laptop was 100% stolen and no evidence from it can be entered the rest of the ...

... bullshit is where HB got money to pay a 45k tax lien (cause for someone with his money that's impossible to get :rolleyes: ) a gun that was legally thrown away and tax implications with no probable cause to investigate behind it besides ***LITERALLY*** what MAGA made up.

The fact the DOJ is in anyway involved with this makes me sick and I'm beyond disgusted with them.

[Azathoth]

25. DU juries hide any posts that suggest the laptop is real

Just fyi

[Omen78]

31. I didn't realize that...

I haven't paid much attention to posts being hidden. I can understand hiding the story in the middle of the election season when it appears to be a hit piece. I don't understand the need for hiding information that, at this point, is news being confirmed on both right and left media. While I'm sure the measures are well intentioned, they run counter productive to being a well informed community. JMHO