# The Hunter Biden Investigation {thread started in 2019}, Hunter Pardoned on December 1, 2024 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 28, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964 "2019-09-28T19:54:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/261 "2023-06-20T21:26:10Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > I might have missed it, but just so I’m clear, the “plea deal” between Hunter/prosecutors that keeps him out of jail is what the prosecutors will recommend to the Judge. The Judge will sentence Hunter, and can accept the recommended plea deal or not (ie, Judge could, in theory, put him in jail for 6months; or something easier than the deal). Is this accurate? That’s my understanding. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/262 "2023-06-20T22:05:43Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > Is a plea deal common with these types of tax charges? That’s really the only thing that matters. Absolutely. If you agree you owe the tax, say you are sorry and agree to pay it , the chance of prison time is _very_ remote. That is normal. The Gun charge is almost never prosecuted. It is basically a way to get a crook you dont have anything else- if you live in any weed-legal state and partake, you technically can not buy or own a gun. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I will also add that I’ve read ALL the published Hunter Biden e-mails and if you take them in context, rather than just reading the highlighted sections put on the front page by the NY Post, the Big Guy is a foreign national, not Joe Biden. I will also point out that there is no chain of evidence at all. The emails could easily be tampered with. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Let’s say instead that a couple of tax charges and a gun violation aren’t going to lead to any bigger fish and he’ll get pretty much the same slap on the wrist as anyone else facing these charges, but just a little worse so it doesn’t look like he received favorable treatment. More or less true. > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > He didn’t pay taxes for a couple years but he’s already made good on that financially and it’s a non-violent crime. No one goes to jail for that. Correct. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > If I’m to believe the gun owners in my family, that checkbox on the gun application is a joke, and when you go into the gun store you will get explicit instructions ( sometimes there is a poster on the wall) as to how to fill out the application if you want a gun and NO ONE ever checks that box— my family can be a bit outlaw, though, so take it with a grain of salt. They are correct. That box is bogus. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Yes. And it’s worth noting that he’s already repaid the unpaid taxes. Which really helps. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/263 "2023-06-20T22:37:10Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I’ve read ALL the published Hunter Biden e-mails and if you take them in context, rather than just reading the highlighted sections put on the front page by the NY Post, the Big Guy is a foreign national, not Joe Biden. Any chance that you have a link to the collection? I haven’t been following the Hunter story very much since most of the information is published in questionable sources and I don’t really care enough about what the relative of a person is doing. I’ve only read some stuff, near when the laptop was discovered, about the corrupt prosecutor in Ukraine, the WaPo updates on the laptop and the new announcement, and not much in-between. The Post seems to think that the Big Guy is either Jim or Joe Biden, but I haven’t seen the emails nor the argument for a third, foreign party. > **[Analysis | Dissecting GOP claims about Hunter Biden deals allegedly involving...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/23/dissecting-gop-claims-about-hunter-biden-deals-allegedly-involving-his-father/)** > > At a news conference, the incoming chair of the House Oversight Committee made assertations that have not been proven, are in dispute or are incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/264 "2023-06-20T23:33:57Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > I might have missed it, but just so I’m clear, the “plea deal” between Hunter/prosecutors that keeps him out of jail is what the prosecutors will recommend to the Judge. The Judge will sentence Hunter, and can accept the recommended plea deal or not (ie, Judge could, in theory, put him in jail for 6months; or something easier than the deal). Is this accurate? As already said, yes, in theory. But as DrDeth says or implies in #262, this was no sweetheart deal. So in reality, any adjustment by the judge would be downwards on punishment. Here’s some support for what DrDeth wrote: > **[Legal experts say the charges against Hunter Biden are rarely brought](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/legal-experts-say-charges-hunter-biden-are-rarely-brought-rcna90191)** > > The federal statute making it unlawful for a drug addict to possess a gun faces court challenges. The tax charges central to a now-tossed plea deal also rarely result in jail time. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/265 "2023-06-20T23:53:47Z")
Let me clarify, I never read ALL the e-mails, I don’t think they’ve been published. But I’ve found contradictions in the published portions, as well as information that inducates that “the big guy” is a foreign national. I’ll have to poke around more to see if I can find the story from 2020. But here’s a recent story from the NY Post that goes to my point - and it’s also a commentary on the intelligence of the NY Post reader. > **[Hunter Biden’s suspicious email on Ukraine raises red flag for classified doc...](https://nypost.com/2023/06/11/hunter-bidens-suspicious-email-on-ukraine-raises-red-flag-for-probe/)** > > At least one email from Hunter Biden’s laptop during his father’s vice presidency stands out as worthy of special counsel Robert Hur’s scrutiny. The story is about how the NY Post finds this one particular e-mail suspicious. They are suspicious because it sounds like it was written by a smart person that has done their homework on Ukraine - which goes against their narrative that Hunter Biden was a stupid, do-nothing wastrel who was collecting free money for sitting on the board of Burisma. So it can’t be that Hunter Biden is intelligent and well-educated and actually doing real work in exchange for his paycheck from Burisma. They are convinced that the only explanation is that Joe wrote this e-mail for Hunter. But there’s more. Hunter referred to “my guy’s upcoming travels”, and the e-mail was sent a week before Joe Biden went to Ukraine! So their “guy” must be Joe Biden, it’s not like anyone else has upcoming travel, right? But if you actually read the entire e-mail, instead of just looking at it long enough to say “that was written by someone smart”, you will see the following, item 12 on the list of data points. _Our guy needs to set himself up as the anti-Victor Pinchuk ( coal and steel oligarch - pro Russian Yanukovych supporter )_. Does that really sound like they are talking about Joe Biden? It seems to me more likely that their “guy” is their boss, Burisma oligarch, Myron Zlochevsky. Not to mention that they make reference to Hunter’s e-mail having 22 points, but they only see fit to publish a portion of the e-mail containing the first 12 points. I betting that there is something in the remaining 10 points that runs counter to their narrative. I’ll see if I can find the pre-election story with the e-mails, but I clearly remember taking it apart exactly like I did with this one. And the Tony Bobulski narrative. And the bribery to fire a prosecutor. They’re all bullshit. The conservative reporting on this story has been incredibly dishonest, even for conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/266 "2023-06-21T00:00:10Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > The conservative reporting on this story has been incredibly dishonest, **even for conservatives**. Emphasis mine. I don’t know why we even bother to add the qualifier anymore. And thanks for doing the work. * * * I thought the whole Burisma BS narrative had already been soundly put out of its misery, but I guess they’re recycling it now as if they’ve found something new. They haven’t. And it was bullshit the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/267 "2023-06-21T00:08:41Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > _Our guy needs to set himself up as the anti-Victor Pinchuk ( coal and steel oligarch - pro Russian Yanukovych supporter )_. In regards to the New York Post, I would have to note: First, their photo of the email seems to give the author as Robert Biden, not Hunter. Second, if a guy is an oft-intoxicated drug addict, fluctuating levels of intelligence seems not-all-that-strange. (And third, that language complexity scores predate AI and don’t depend on it.) But, in regards to your theory, the “big guy” emails seem to have been in a set of communications about CEFC in China and seem to have been (at a quick Google) between James Gilliar and Hunter. The email chain that you’re discussing here is about Ukraine, and were between either Hunter or Robert Biden and Archer Devon. I don’t know that we can reasonably infer from one set of conversation by group X about topic Y much about the favored terms for certain things when we then look at group S and their discussion on topic T. Hunter does overlap the two but, in my experience, nomenclatures tend to develop separately in separate groups. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/268 "2023-06-21T00:27:11Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I don’t think so. This is in fact a charge that is rarely brought. Hunter’s violation consists of owning a gun while being an addict – not that he ever did anything illegal with the gun itself. That could be a lot of people on a bad day. I can see that point of view. If that’s the outcome it could be seen as fair. I’m thinking more of the whole gun control movement, show that we’re serious about enforcing existing gun laws. It would make some nutjob gun nuts’ heads explode to have to applaud enforcing gun restrictions… (I’m actually a gun owner and have lots of fun blowing away paper targets, but also believe there’s a lot of room for tightening restrictions on who can own guns.) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/269 "2023-06-21T00:28:24Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > (I’m actually a gun owner and have lots of fun blowing away paper targets, but also believe there’s a lot of room for tightening restrictions on who can own guns.) Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/270 "2023-06-21T01:06:06Z")
Me three. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/271 "2023-06-21T01:11:19Z")
His legal name is Robert Hunter Biden. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/272 "2023-06-21T01:19:57Z")
OK, but what if he had a secret brother named Robert who was a love-child between Joe and a space alien? How would that affect the FBI case? (I kid, @Sage_Rat, I kid!) ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/273 "2023-06-21T01:35:12Z")
The Venn diagram for alcoholics/gun owners has a LOT of overlap… ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/274 "2023-06-21T01:50:59Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Robert Hunter Biden Ah, I didn’t bother to check for any Roberts in the family. Woops. \>.\> (The problem with the Internet is that the world doesn’t pause and hold off interrupting you when you’re on it.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/275 "2023-06-21T01:52:18Z")
And watch out for any Rules of Order. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/276 "2023-06-21T14:41:26Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The Post seems to think that the Big Guy is either Jim or Joe Biden, but I haven’t seen the emails nor the argument for a third, foreign party. The Post does not seem to think that. Why are you making that claim? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/277 "2023-06-21T15:18:35Z")
It’s a reference to the New York Post, not the Washington Post. If you have any doubts that the NY Post is doing this, just run a search for NY Post Big Guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/278 "2023-06-21T15:27:57Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > It’s a reference to the New York Post, not the Washington Post. Ok, that I believe. I was confused because he refereed to The Post and then linked to a Washington Post article. But yes, many notoriously untrustworthy right wing sources are claiming that Joe Biden is the Big Guy. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/279 "2023-06-21T15:51:30Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > The Post does not seem to think that. Why are you making that claim? From the article: > [@](#): > > James Gilliar, a business associate summarizing the allocation of the equity in Oneida Holdings LLC., in the email, wrote how four partners would get 20 percent each, except for Jim Biden, who would get 10 percent. He added a question: “10 held by H for the big guy?” One of the recipients of the mail, Anthony Bobulinski, has said that the “big guy” referred to Joe Biden and that “H” referred to Hunter. Bobulinski was a guest of Trump at one of the 2020 presidential debates. > > But Gilliar [told the Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/hunter-bidens-ex-business-partner-alleges-father-knew-about-venture-11603421247) in 2020: “I would like to clear up any speculation that former Vice President Biden was involved with the 2017 discussions about our potential business structure. I am unaware of any involvement at anytime of the former vice president. The activity in question never delivered any project revenue.” I see that I misread. I was thinking that it said “10 for Jim” and then **re-stated** , “10 for the big guy”. It’s not restating, it’s offering a second 10. The Post only proposes Joe Biden as “the big guy” and, as quoted, gives reason to doubt that. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/280 "2023-06-21T15:52:19Z")
Came in here to post this video that showed up in my youtube feed, from a CBS affiliate. I don’t know how common it is for supposedly balanced news organizations to make a news graphic that looks like a campaign ad sign? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/m3MAYP1XoM8/hqdefault.jpg "Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty in federal tax investigation") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3MAYP1XoM8) Here’s the thumbnail I saw for this, just in case they change it: [![](https://i.gyazo.com/21bef2f4c9b853d8fa878042be1f89cf.png) ](https://i.gyazo.com/21bef2f4c9b853d8fa878042be1f89cf.png) The comments section of that video reads like youtube of old. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964.md?page=15)