A legal drama involving Hunter Biden on Wednesday showed how a presidential race already reeling from a possible third criminal indictment of Donald Trump is being defined more by courtroom action than campaign trail fireworks.
President Joe Biden’s son – and a White House gearing up for a reelection bid – had hoped Wednesday would bring legal closure. But a judge balked at Hunter Biden’s plea deal agreed to with prosecutors, igniting new political rocket fuel for Republicans who claim that the younger Biden got a sweetheart deal from his dad’s Justice Department.
But the surprising twist to what had been seen as rubber stamp court hearing in Delaware is not the most critical legal intrigue playing into one of the strangest presidential campaigns in history.
Washington is braced for a possible third criminal indictment of Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the run up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The grand jury from which any charges will emerge is expected to meet again in Washington on Thursday – about a week after Trump said he received a target letter from the special counsel, which is a step that often precedes criminal charges.
Trump is already the first former president to be criminally charged. His previous indictments – one in Manhattan on business fraud charges related to a hush money payment to an adult film star, and the other in federal court related to alleged mishandling of classified documents – have sent a shudder through the 2024 campaign since he’s also the front-runner for the GOP nomination. An indictment over events leading up to January 6 would mark a unique moment in America’s story, since for the first time, the United States could be putting an ex-president on trial for an attempt to destroy its democratic system.
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