Hunter Biden’s Legal Strategy Is Cynical Garbage, but It Just Might Work

Wednesday marks day three of Hunter Biden’s first criminal trial in Delaware. The president’s son is facing years in prison after being charged with falsifying a federal form to purchase a firearm. Specifically, he stated he was not an illegal user of narcotics despite later admitting he was on drugs throughout that period. 

RELATED: Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Hunter Biden’s Delaware Trial 

The evidence goes much deeper than that, though, including texts from Hunter Biden the day after he bought the gun talking about purchasing drugs. A string of witnesses are also lined up to testify against him, including his ex-wife. 

So what’s Hunter Biden’s legal strategy despite the mountain of evidence against him in what looks to be an open-and-shut case? It’s cynical garbage, but it just might work. Jonathan Turley explained where things could be going in a new piece. 

So why wouldn’t Hunter just plead guilty? Even without his earlier plea deal, a guilty plea could significantly reinforce a request to avoid jail time in the case. It would also avoid an embarrassing trial for himself and his father during a presidential election.

While Hunter could always throw in the towel before the start of testimony, there is currently no discernible strategy beyond hoping that a pending case in the Supreme Court might undermine the indictment.

There may also be another possible strategy in play: jury nullification.

Unlike Donald Trump in Manhattan, Delaware is Biden country. The chance that he will get strong supporters of his father on the jury is an almost statistical certainty. In 2020, Joe Biden received roughly 60 percent of the vote over Donald Trump in the state. Having first lady Jill Biden, who is extremely popular, at the trial will only reinforce the connection.

Any normal defendant would have pleaded guilty in this situation and likely gotten little jail time. With Hunter Biden’s drug use being so out in the open during the period in question, it makes no sense for him to go to trial. What’s the game? Why not take the slap on the wrist instead of risking a far harsher sentence if convicted?

The game is hoping that a friendly Delaware jury will let him off the hook, not because he didn’t break the law, but because they feel the law is unfair or is being unfairly applied. For context, the Bidens are from the state, and Wilmington is a Democrat stronghold. It’s Joe Biden’s fiefdom, and he and his wife, who has been appearing at the trial to glare at the jury, are counting on their influence swaying the case. 

In addition to a favorable jury pool, Biden may be hoping that testimony on his travails with drugs will prompt one or more jurors to ignore the law and vote to acquit. Notably, virtually all of the selected jurors have said that they know of someone who has struggled with drugs.

Further, there may well be an agreement already in place (or at least an understanding) between Hunter Biden and his father for him to receive a pardon. It almost certainly wouldn’t come before the election, but with this trial not wrapping up for a couple more weeks and sentencing possibly pushed off for several more months, the timeline becomes less important. Win or lose, Joe Biden can pull the trigger on a pardon after the election with no consequences. 

Let me say this. If Hunter Biden gets off here despite all the evidence stacked against him, including his own words, nothing will be left of the judicial system. Following the ridiculous conviction of Donald Trump in New York, based on an unprecedented legal theory and the word of an admitted liar, many Americans already have no faith that justice will be administered fairly. A Hunter Biden acquittal or hung jury in Delaware would be the cherry on top.