July 26, 2023

"Without taking many leaps or liberties, it's pretty clear that the Hunter Biden story is going to be something that Republicans — and Trump — are not going to be able to resist seizing on."

"Because, remember, Donald Trump has been indicted by the Biden Justice Department on a slew of felony charges that have exposed him to many years in prison. So, is it that far-fetched to think that Donald Trump will be back on that debate stage, with Joe Biden, saying: Your Justice Department laid on the brakes for your son at the same time that it charged me. And so, the Hunter Biden story will keep going and going."

69 comments:

Rusty said...

And just like that. America has become Venezuela only without the starvation. That can change too.

Michael E. Lopez said...

Wait... so they need to take "leaps and liberties" to *resist*?

Or is he saying that HE isn't taking leaps and liberties in making this prediction?

So hard to read shitty writing...

cfs said...

Yesterday Republicans were "pouncing". Today they are "seizing". Who knows what type of nefarious things they will do to the Bidens tomorrow.

When corporate media addresses scandals or crimes by Democrats it's never about the actual scandals, but instead about Republican's comments or responses to those crimes.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"are not going to be able to resist seizing on."

Republicans seize. Republicans pounce. The stereotype wouldn't have any meaning if they weren't so predictably formulaic. These are the most unimaginative people that have ever touched a word processor.

gilbar said...

people continuously pretend, that there are "two types" of justice.. This is a LIE!
There is ONLY ONE TYPE of Justice.. The type that lets democrats skate, and nails republicans

LBJ wiretapped, and ordered breakins, and skated.. Nixon was removed from office
Biden took bribes, and started a hot war with the russians.. Trump was removed with a coup

SEE? There is ONLY ONE TYPE of Justice

Leland said...

NYT upset that they can no longer control the narrative. Because that laptop they claimed was disinformation turns out to be full of evidence that is easily corroborated and shows a near decade of malfeasance of both Hunter and Joe Biden.

rastajenk said...

Pouncing and seizing, it's what Repubs do best.

Amadeus 48 said...

I think Schmidt left a few things out regarding the Hunter so-called investigation--like the slow walk to get rid of the felony charges via the statute of limitations.

I am curious about Hunter's "friend" who provided the money to permit Hunter to say he had paid taxes for the years at issue. Was it a gift? A loan? What is the tax status of that arrangement? Is the friend going to forgive the loan over the next century at $17,000 per year?

So many rules! I wonder how they are being dealt with.

Wilbur said...

Just more seizing and pouncing. "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

D.D. Driver said...

I wonder what the 1619 project to say about this. Is there a better poster boy for "white privilege."

Curious George said...

It's not the "Hunter Biden story." It's the "Joe Biden story." Hunter's just in it.

Duke Dan said...

All that Republican seizing going on. God these people are tiresome.

Dave Begley said...

Why not seize on it? Joe Biden has been bribed. Imoeach!

Amadeus 48 said...

I love it when the NYT says the GOP "seizes" on something. It is almost as good as when they "pounce".

Here is a tip for Mr. Schmidt. Republicans don't care about Hunter Biden. They care about Joe Biden. They are concerned that Joe extorted bribes and changed US policy in Ukraine because of it. He bragged about getting a foreign prosecutor fired, which benefitted his son's cronies. He is committing billions to Ukraine. Do you think any of it is falling off the truck?

I think Zlochevsky's dog is smarter than Michael S. Schmidt.

rwnutjob said...

Republicans Pounce!

Iman said...

Seizing… pouncing…

These f**king people.

mikee said...

Republicans "seize" upon it. Not "Hunter did bad things." Got it.

Jake said...

Was there ANYTHING the media and democrats DIDN'T seize on related to Trump?

Enigma said...

The ONLY issues here were (1) Hillary in 2016 with an illegal email server and the creation of the fake anti-Trump dossier to distract and cover up, and (2) Biden's clan in 2020 trying to cover up Burisma, China, Hunter, and many other issues.

Trump had no allies (certainly not John McCain, Liz Cheney, etc.) and burned his bridges, so he was easy to attack and prosecute.

In Soviet USA the swamp drains you.

MadTownGuy said...

What? No cadre of armed IRS enforcers sent in to retrieve documents?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

The only relevance Hunter’s crimes have is that they all lead to Joe. It’s not rocket science. The crackhead son of the dumbed senator was very sloppy at covering his tracks. But every single person who wired him money was obviously trying to influence his father. The media want 100% focus on Hunter as if he’s the actual target but he was always simply the easiest path to link the corrupt payers to his dad the payee, and the way the DOJ ignored downplayed slow-walked and cooperated with the Biden family is the tell. Inaction was their only way to keep from exposing Joe’s corruption.

But now the reluctant media has to acknowledge the crimes because Hunter is expected to plead guilty. The pretense of “nothing to see here move along” is no longer operable. So the gaslighting has to kick up a notch. This bizarre “pre-news” where the media frets about the possibility that republicans will “pounce” is a new low for the former “profession” of journalism. This is journ-0-list rearing its hidden hand again to preshape the “news.” Gross!

Ficta said...

Are they really that stupid or is it just gaslighting? These press weasels keep on with these bald faced lies that Republicans are pouncing on Hunter. The story is not about Hunter Biden's crimes, it's about Hunter Biden being the bag man for Joe Biden's bribery racket. A racket that may ultimately be behind a US proxy war with a nuclear power. You literally cannot get any more corrupt than that.

rhhardin said...

It's overblown because everybody expects Biden to be corrupt. Revealing it doesn't get you anywhere.

Voters respond to whether he seems to mean well.

Trump is portrayed as threat to democracy and Biden as kindly corrupt grandfather. Biden wins unless women can be persuaded to vote entirely differently.

Randomizer said...

Without taking many leaps or liberties, it's pretty clear that the Hunter Biden story is going to be something that Republicans — and Trump — are not going to be able to resist seizing on.

The old, "When Republican's screw up, the screw up is the story. When Democrats screw up, the Republican response is the story."

Otherwise known as the "Republican's pounce" headline.

The Hunter Biden story has everything: Hookers, cocaine, corruption in the Ukraine where we are currently sending billions of dollars, and a laptop left behind by a son who slept with his brother's widow, all initially ignored by corporate media to get a dotard elected president.

Yeah, other candidates may find something useful in there.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

The NYT, a prominent member of the Mushroom Media Complex. Always feeding their readers b.s. and keeping them in the dark. It doesn't matter to them that Joe "I love cluster bombs and China owns me" Biden has been on the take since '72. JB is their guy, and the NYT will whirl and spin like a whirling Dervish to protect him.

He's the dictator that they've been waiting for; a dictator so feeble and infirm, that the neobarbarian cabal can control him. JB is their John Gill (Star Trek, "Patterns of Force"). He's easily controlled. A perfect vessel to deliver the progressive utopia they so desire. They don't care how many people have to die or be sent to the gulag to achieve it. They'll use Modern Monetary Theory to justify their hyper-inflationary spending. Utopia is only one more dollar and one more death away!

AMDG said...

Why is nobody focusing on the decline in real wages? Why is nobody focusing on the Democrats’ insistence that anything that makes life convenient be banned?

The Hunter Biden saga (Eli Lake has termed it “Scandalabra”) is one piece of the puzzle but it is not the most important piece.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

I know we keep re-churning:

1. Trump-Russia was entirely false. Alfa Bank, Papadopoulos, Steele, everything. Biden-Ukraine is true.
2. Russia interfering in the 2016 election, whether Trump was involved or not, was false except for the troll farm which is too embarrassing to discuss. Otherwise all that is left is DNC e-mails (not Hillary's e-mails), and the evidence is murky to say the least. We've been lied to many times. Ukraine interfering in that same election, often but not always via the Bidens, is true. This helped drag the U.S. into a dangerous and probably needless and useless war.
3. Trump-bribery ("foreign emoluments"--what a wonderful phrase) was always false with the notable exception of Jared being paid $2 billion by the Saudis for who knows what, and on what terms. (He may end up paying it back). Surely he was partly paid for achieving the Abraham Accords, a substantial measure of peace in the Middle East, a major accomplishment for any administration. Biden-bribery is true and it is difficult to find any redeeming public benefit in it.
4. So of course we are told: only the Republicans will be so nasty, small-minded and obsessed with the past as to bring all this up.

Has there ever been a member of the First Family who provides as many golden opportunities for blackmail as Hunter Biden? I'm about half-serious when I ask: did he feed cocaine to that dog? It's the kind of cruel, adolescent practical joke that he seems capable of.

gilbar said...

Serious Question
When (WHEN?) was the last time, *YOU* took $5million in bribes, AND had your dog bite SEVEN people?
Did *YOU* get in any trouble for that? Or, did you just skate?

dbp said...

Why would Republicans even try to "resist"?

This is like asking if a batter in a baseball game can resist hitting a meatball right out of the park. This is what he's here to do.

Perhaps what's going on is a kind of projection: The author wants for there to not be a scandal. For Biden's son to not be a criminal, for Biden to not be corrupt, for Biden's justice department to not be persecuting his political opponents. As such, he would resist, seizing on or even mentioning these things he wished didn't exist.

The problem is that Republicans have no such wish. The corruption exists, it's obvious and they're going to eagerly point it out every chance they get.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

That's the side show.

The real story is how Joe biden, his bother and son all profited-grifted (17 mil) off Joe's VP status while Joe was VP.

the media are still either ignoring it or denying it.

Gusty Winds said...

Why should they "resist seizing upon"? Our two tiered justice system is a huge issue. I don't think it can be corrected. It's get worse.

But lets at least gain and understanding of which friends, family, and neighbors would turn you into the politburo.

Joe won't be on a debate stage with Trump. Gavin Newsome will be installed.

Rusty said...

You'll notice that the NYTs is more concerned about the Republican response to Hunter's corruption than Hunter's corruption.

RideSpaceMountain said...

The democrat cries out in pain as he strikes you.

Sebastian said...

Entering the fourth stage of Dem denial: the deal is done, this is old news, only deplorable rightwingers could keep seizing and pouncing.

So, Dems, what business services did Hunter provide?

Charlie said...

Always with the seizing!

TeaBagHag said...

If the blowhards in The Althouse comments are any indicator, the fake Hunter scandal will never die. Some of the dipshits in here are still talking about Hilary’s emails and some kind of malarkey about secret papers in Clinton sock drawer.
The real question is, do these deluded Q-adjacent types actually believe the toxic horseshit they spew?

wendybar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
wendybar said...

"I am curious about Hunter's "friend" who provided the money to permit Hunter to say he had paid taxes for the years at issue. Was it a gift? A loan? What is the tax status of that arrangement? Is the friend going to forgive the loan over the next century at $17,000 per year?"-Amadeus 48



It's his sugar brother lawyer. The bong smoker. The same guy who has bought many of Hunters $500,000 paintings. Wonder what is in it for HIM??

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12339857/Hunter-Biden-arrives-court-plead-guilty-two-tax-misdemeanors-sweetheart-deal.html

"Another reported buyer is Hunter’s “sugar brother” Kevin Morris, a wealthy lawyer who reportedly loaned him $2 million to pay off back taxes."
https://nypost.com/2023/07/25/donor-who-bought-hunter-bidens-art-visited-white-house-a-dozen-times/

rcocean said...

THe leftwing MSM is the mouthpiece for the Democrat Party and the DNC. That's all that's going on here. Biden's DoJ along with his Gestapo have gone after Trump, and got him on ridiculous charges and are going for the maximum penalties.

Biden's DOJ and Wray's FBI don't even hide the double standard or that they are partisan hacks engaged in "lawfare" against Trump.

So why aren't the DC republicans upset? Don't they care about the Democrats and Biden using the DoJ to whitewash the Democrats crimes, and engaging into partisan witchhunts against Trump?

The answer is the DC Republicans don't care. Mitch, Collins, Romney, McCarthy, Coryn, Thune, etc. hate Trump & wanted him to drop out in October 2016 and hand the POTUS to Hillary. They were happy as clams that Trump lost in 2020. They LIKE Biden.

DeSantis has said the minimum neccessary in Trump's defense. And he's already stated he will not retaliate against the D's and engage in "Lawfare" if elected. None of these people truly care about "Ethics" or a "Nonpartisan DoJ" or "overseeing the FBI".

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

The real story is how Joe biden, his bother and son all profited-grifted (17 mil) off Joe's VP status while Joe was VP.

I’ll endorse and add that the media is so incurious we never hear about brother Jim and none of us even know Joe’s sister’s name because Joe and Hunter are the face of the Biden crime family. Joe for being the one vested with actual power and Hunter because he has so publicly demonstrated the power privilege of the crime family by illegally using his dead brother’s badge (Beau was elected AG of the corrupt state of Delaware) and leaving it and his crack pipe in his rental car, filming himself abusing women/underaged girls and crack and uploading videos to the internet, and shaking down foreign spies for payment. He made himself the poster boy for White Democrat Privilege while thumbing his nose at Congress and selling ridiculously priced “art” to his daddy’s friends in exchange for even more favors to Joe.

tim in vermont said...

Wow. History repeats itself. This is exactly how that Ukrainian billionaire oligarch who got rich stealing from one of the poorest nations in Europe got off the hook. He retained a high powered Democrat aligned law firm, the same one representing Ray Epps, BTW, and after Joe Biden rid him of that troublesome prosecutor, just weeks after he made the request to Hunter via email to end the investigation, well that new prosecutor gave him a slap on the wrist for tax changes, and let him skate.

I am sure that under the same set of facts, they would have let Trump off the hook too, and anybody who does not believe that is a loony tunes conspiracy nut.

Michael K said...

Why should anyone "resist" talking about the Biden Crime Family?

JAORE said...

I recall when the Steele dossier was questioned and some parts were clearly BS. The standard applied by the left/MSM was, "Well they have not dis-proven EVERYTHING".

Now we have damning evidence, from many sources, proven accurate and corroborated.

The standard is "You have not proven EVERYTHING to our satisfaction".

Xmas said...

Will the judge take the plea deal when Hunter's autobiography contradicts what is likely to be his statement to the court?

Big Mike said...

@Alhouse, you, personally, and other hardcore ex-officio members of the Democrat Party such as Michael S. Schmidt, might be thoroughly blasé about soliciting and accepting bribes, and other forms of official corruption. Out in the real world Normal people readily grasp the concept that government needs to be honest, or it must necessarily collapse.

Ever since Trump, Madam Professor, you “cruel neutrality” has gone in one direction only. Perhaps you aren’t as neutral as you think?

Gospace said...

Donald Trump has been indicted by the Biden Justice Department on a slew of felony charges based on spurious legal theories that have never been used on anyone else in US history. Especially not former presidents.

Day 1 of any trial- Trump gets up and says- "All these charges are predicated upon my having classified documents illegally in my possession. I declassified every document in my possession while I was still President before the documents left the White House."

What next? Claims that he didn't follow proper procedures? The non-existent proper procedures?

PM said...

Ah, thanks for the Hillary mention. Amidst this fury about how the Dems manage to skate but Republicans can't - take a deep breath and visualize once more how Hillary will never sit in the Oval Office. The biggest bullet dodged.

Jamie said...

Remember a few weeks ago, when the line from our resident Biden defenders (and thank you for being here, folks - I for one want to hear your point of view, and not just for the present schadenfreude) was that ok, maybe the laptop was genuine, but so what? Hunter Biden is a private citizen, a troubled guy, it's sad for the Biden family but every family has its troubles, etc. (That's Step 2 in the cycle, after "it's all just something Republicans made up.")

And then a number of us who don't support Biden would point out that it wasn't about Hunter, it was about how Joe was involved - how he was using his son as a cat's paw for fun and profit.

Our resident Biden supporters have abandoned that line now. Even they have tacitly admitted that it's damn hard to disentangle Joe from these goings-on (so now we have, notably, gadfly posting comments about time machines and mind rays in an attempt to obfuscate the clear appearance of seriously profitable graft on Joe's part - Step 3, ok, something might have happened, but it's not what Republicans say happened). But the NYT is sticking to its guns: it's just a story about Hunter, upon which Republicans will seize. And, having thus seized, they will then try to spin it to make it look like trouble for Joe.

Good job, Althouse lefties, for being ahead of the NYT in the cycle!

MikeR said...

They're trying to make it sound like the normal thing to do would be to drop it. But that would actually be ridiculous, with evidence coming out about the whole Crime Family.

Temujin said...

It appears that as of this moment, things are not so neat and put away as the news media would want.

Yancey Ward said...

"That's old news" part of the narrative now gets pushed relentlessly.

Jupiter said...

If there's one thing "NYT Washington correspondent Michael S. Schmidt" can't stand, it's a story that keeps going and going. He just hates that!

hombre said...

Bummer! Republicans can't resist "seizing on" the fact that the President and his family are criminals and probably traitors.

Shame on them.

Jamie said...

Oops, I mistakenly assumed TeaBagHag would be following along with the rest of our AltLeft, in tacitly admitting that Joe is involved by claiming that what he's involved in is no biggie. Unfortunately TBH didn't get the memo and is still on "Nothing happened and Republicans made it all up."

You can still catch up if you hurry, TBH!

GRW3 said...

When a Republican screws up, that's the story. When a Democrat screws up, the Republican response is the story.

GRW3 said...

When a Republican screws up, that's the story. When a Democrat screws up, the Republican response is the story.

Butkus51 said...

They like it better when you submit.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Donald Trump has been indicted by the Biden Justice Department on a slew of felony charges for explicitly political speech allegedly protected under the first amendment.

Rusty said...

TeaBagHag said...
"If the blowhards in The Althouse comments are any indicator, the fake Hunter scandal will never die. Some of the dipshits in here are still talking about Hilary’s emails and some kind of malarkey about secret papers in Clinton sock drawer.
The real question is, do these deluded Q-adjacent types actually believe the toxic horseshit they spew?"
Is this supposed to be devastating insight? All I can say is WOW . You recite progressive dogma like a pro.

Sebastian said...

"are not going to be able to resist seizing on."

As many of us see immediately, and several comments note, it's a version of the laughable Republicans-pounce trope. But the interesting thing here is that an NYTer would use it so blithely unselfaware, so predictably proggy. It's an indicator of the thickness of the prog bubble.

phantommut said...

Carpe that frickin' diem.

rcocean said...

What next? Claims that he didn't follow proper procedures? The non-existent proper procedures?

I tell you what next. If enough Democrat Libtards are on the jury they find him guilty.

And if they hold a trial in DC, we know the verdict before the trial even begins.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I’ll just wait to pounce on the trial. When is it?

Jim at said...

The real question is, do these deluded Q-adjacent types actually believe the toxic horseshit they spew?"

Do you?

Skeptical Voter said...

Ya think? This genius thinks that the Rethuglicans won't seize on this, pounce on this, spin conspiracy theories about Hunter's awfulness and general felonious habits?

How much is the paper paying this clown? If it's more than 25 cents an hour, he's being overpaid. But heck, the paper will probably put him up for a Pulitzer for this brilliant observation.

Rusty said...

TeaBagHag said...
"If the blowhards in The Althouse comments are any indicator, the fake Hunter scandal will never die. Some of the dipshits in here are still talking about Hilary’s emails and some kind of malarkey about secret papers in Clinton sock drawer.
The real question is, do these deluded Q-adjacent types actually believe the toxic horseshit they spew?"
Is this supposed to be devastating insight? All I can say is WOW . You recite progressive dogma like a pro.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Whoops! It didn't end.

Tina Trent said...

They should teach a class in schadenfreude in journalism skool.

Mikey NTH said...

"But Trump is worse!" while a great media defense doesn't actually defend Hunter or Joe from their own lapses.*

*How many adults have heard a child say "But mom, Jimmy did..." and replied "I'll deal with Jimmy later. Now you..."