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☆ U.S. attorney general denies allegations that Hunter Biden tax probe was stymied
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"He was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own," the attorney general added. Weiss' office on Tuesday revealed in a court filing that Biden has agreed to plead guilty to the two misdemeanor tax charges. Hunter Biden looks on during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S. April 18, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoOn Thursday, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives released the transcript of an interview with Gary Shapley, an IRS criminal supervisory agent who worked on the Hunter Biden probe. Garland denied that claim on Friday.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Joe Biden's, Hunter, Hunter Biden, Garland, David Weiss, President Trump, Weiss, Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Gary Shapley, Shapley, Trump, Mr, Chris Clark, Sarah N, Lynch, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, Internal Revenue Service, Justice Department, Republicans, White, REUTERS, U.S . House, D.C, Thomson Locations: Delaware, Washington , U.S, U.S, Washington, California

☆ The Hunter Biden Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/hunter-biden-plea-deal-david-weiss-misdemeanors-joe-biden-b2aceb8a

Persons: Dow Jones, biden, weiss, b2aceb8a

Hunter Biden arrives at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base after disembarking from Air Force One with his father, U.S. President Joe Biden, in Syracuse, New York, Feb. 4, 2023. Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to two federal misdemeanor crimes of willfully failing to pay federal income taxes, a court filing Tuesday revealed. The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere 'traffic ticket,'" Trump wrote. Trump later wrote on Truth Social: "People are going wild over the Hunter Biden Scam with the DOJ!" "These charges against Hunter Biden and sweetheart plea deal have no impact on the Oversight Committee's investigation.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Chris Clark, Hunter's, Delaware David Weiss, Weiss, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, Hunter —, Hunter, Ian Sams, Merrick Garland, Clark, Trump, James Comer, Biden, Biden's, Comer Organizations: Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Air Force, CNBC, NBC, U.S, Attorney, Prosecutors, Department, Justice, United States Attorney's Office, District of, Government, White, Biden DOJ, Hunter, DOJ, Kentucky Republican Locations: Syracuse , New York, U.S, Delaware, Malibu , California, District of Delaware

CNN —Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, will plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and struck a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a felony gun charge, the Justice Department said Tuesday in court filings. Trump criticized the Hunter Biden plea deal on Truth Social. Hunter Biden’s legal team sought a meeting with the Justice Department in April, which Weiss attended, and where Hunter Biden’s lawyers gave a presentation detailing why they believe Hunter Biden shouldn’t be charged. Part of their argument included that Hunter Biden paid back taxes owed, including penalties. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to two tax charges and struck a deal to resolve the gun charge.

Persons: CNN — Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, David Weiss, Hunter, Christopher Clark, Department’s, “ Hunter, ” Clark, ” “, ”, Ian Sams, Hunter Biden’s, Weiss, Hunter Biden shouldn’t, Prosecutors, Clark, “, Garland, Justice Department wouldn’t, Christopher Wray, he’s, Beau . Hunter Biden, Melissa Cohen, Jake Tapper, –, He’s, ” Joe Biden, Department’s prosecutorial, “ I’m, I’m, Tapper, “ That’s, it’s, General Merrick Garland, Justice Department’s, CEFC, Obama Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Internal, Service, Trump, Government, House, Truth, Biden DOJ, Republican, Democratic, IRS, FBI, Department, people’s Justice Department, Hunter, Justice, CEFC China Energy, White, Yorker, State Department Locations: Delaware, Wilmington, China, Ukraine, United States

☆ Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Cite Landmark Gun Ruling in Bid to Stave Off Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Biden is under investigation for several potential offenses, including whether he had lied on a federal firearms application in 2018 when asked if he was addicted to drugs. It is unclear if Mr. Weiss is receptive to that suggestion. A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time, Mr. Biden was struggling to remain sober. But such federal prosecutions are relatively rare, and seldom pursued as stand-alone charges.

Persons: Biden, Christopher Clark, Weiss, Hunter Biden, Bryan David Range, Hunter Biden’s Organizations: U.S ., Appeals, Third Circuit, Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: U.S, Delaware, Pennsylvania

☆ Officials Who Cast Doubt on Hunter Biden Laptop Face Questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Luke Broadwater | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As Justice Department officials weigh the matter, the investigator overseeing the Internal Revenue Service’s portion of the case has also come forward with allegations of political favoritism in the inquiry. On Monday, a lawyer for that investigator sent a short letter to Congress that said the investigator and the rest of his team were being removed from the inquiry, which is reaching its end as officials weigh whether to pursue charges. The former intelligence officials stress that their letter stated that they had no evidence of a Russian disinformation campaign, and that they were merely stating an opinion. “The Congress is wasting its time and our money by investigating the First Amendment rights of private citizens,” Mark Zaid, a lawyer who represents seven signers of the letter, said in an interview. Democrats also argue that the letter must be understood in its proper context.

☆ WSJ Opinion: Charging Daniel Penny, the Subway Samaritan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Wsj Opinion | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E101WSJ Opinion: Biden 2020 and Shutting Down the Hunter Biden Laptop Story Review and Outlook: During the final presidential debate in 2020, Mr. Biden pointed to a statement from 51 former U.S. spies who declared that the Hunter Biden laptop story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Now we know the Biden campaign helped orchestrate the statement. Images: AP/Reuters/AFP Composite: Mark Kelly

☆ WSJ Opinion: The Biden Family Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Wsj Opinion | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Prosecutors are reportedly close to deciding whether to indict Hunter Biden in connection to his taxes and a gun purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Prosecutors are nearing a charging decision in the Hunter Biden case, The Washington Post reported. A lawyer for Hunter Biden and a spokesperson for the president did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The Hunter Biden investigation has been underway for nearly four years, and he first announced the existence of the probe in December 2020. CNN reported prosecutors started investigating Biden's taxes in 2018 but temporarily halted the inquiry because of Justice Department rules barring prosecutors from taking actions that could influence the outcome of an election. The letter did not name the subject, but ABC News reported that lawmakers had been made aware that the individual was Hunter Biden.

☆ A North Carolina Supreme Court Switcheroo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Images: AP/Reuters/AFP Composite: Mark KellyNorth Carolina’s Supreme Court reversed itself Friday on partisan gerrymandering, ruling 5-2 that it poses “nonjusticiable, political questions.” Last year a 4-3 court said the opposite. In between was the November election, in which GOP candidates won two Supreme Court seats, giving conservatives a majority again. Critics will call the reversal a judicial power play, but it’s really a corrective to the old majority’s overreach. Four liberal justices held that the North Carolina Constitution bans partisan map-making, because it guarantees “free elections,” the rights of speech and assembly, and so forth. At one point the court floated specific metrics that could be used to police gerrymandering, saying that a map could be presumptively constitutional if it has “a mean-median difference of 1% or less.”

☆ Cooking the IRS Study Books
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Images: AP/Reuters/AFP Composite: Mark KellyThe Internal Revenue Service isn’t saying how it will spend all of its new $80 billion windfall from Congress, but the political shenanigans over a proposed new IRS tax filing system aren’t cause for comfort. The agency is employing progressives to study how to make the tax collector the first and last arbiter of how much Americans owe. Most of the $80 billion will go to turbocharging audits, but the Inflation Reduction Act also earmarked $15 million to study a bad idea. This would end America’s longtime voluntary system that lets taxpayers determine their tax, subject to IRS review. The law instructed the IRS to hire an “independent third party” to examine the idea.

☆ WSJ Opinion: Biden 2020 and Shutting Down the Hunter Biden Laptop Story
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Wsj Opinion | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ Opinion: Biden 2020 and Shutting Down the Hunter Biden Laptop Story Mr. Morell acknowledged he had two goals with the statement: “to share our concern with the American people,” and “to help Vice President Biden”...“win the election.”By WSJ Opinion Apr 25, 2023 9:46 pm Review and Outlook: During the final presidential debate in 2020, Mr. Biden pointed to a statement from 51 former U.S. spies who declared that the Hunter Biden laptop story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Now we know the Biden campaign helped orchestrate the statement. Images: AP/Reuters/AFP Composite: Mark Kelly Read: Joe Biden and the 51 Spies of 2020

☆ Tucker Carlson seemed to have no idea he was hosting his last show on Fox News, and ended it by eating a sausage and pineapple pizza
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Rebecca Harrington | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The last "Tucker Carlson Tonight" episode aired on Fox News on Friday, April 21. Carlson's final show covered Hunter Biden, racist home appraisals, inclusive Mother's Day cards, and pizza. The Fox News host seemed to have no idea Friday would be his last time helming "Tucker Carlson Tonight." Carlson also spent time covering immigration, fentanyl, the casting of "Queen Cleopatra", inclusive Mother's Day cards, and the Pentagon leak. His final words on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" before digging into another bite of pizza were: "We'll be back on Monday.

☆ WSJ Opinion: Trump Goes Woke in DeSantis-Disney Feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Wsj Opinion | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Democrats gear up for rematch against Lauren Boebert after her near-loss in the 2022 midterms: 'She's actually doubled down on crazy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After a close 2022 result, Democrats are hoping to knock off GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert next year. Last year, Boebert won her Republican-leaning Colorado district over Adam Frisch by only 546 votes. And as the incumbent in the state's conservative-leaning 3rd Congressional District, it appeared to many as though Boebert would be relatively safe in her reelection bid in last year's midterms. "I think it started the people in the third congressional district thinking that she wasn't paying enough attention to the district as she was paying more attention to national politics." "Extreme House Democrats lost the majority because they hammered families with crime, chaos and skyrocketing costs," National Republican Congressional Committee communications director Jack Pandol said in a statement.

☆ Trump Indictment Accelerates America’s Race to the Bottom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Mark Penn | Andrew Stein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The demonization of political opponents is entering its next depressing but predictable phase—the use of the most partisan parts of the criminal-justice system to arrest and prosecute political opponents on flimsy charges. Too much of the public, increasingly divorced from bedrock national values, is cheering it on. It’s the logical extension of Donald Trump’s claiming he won the election he lost; of Joe Biden’s branding “MAGA Republicans” a “clear and present danger” to “our democracy”; of right-wing groups planning and executing an assault on the Capitol; of the Russia-collusion hoax; of partisan impeachments; of tech companies censoring political and scientific information to promote ideological and partisan agendas; of retired intelligence officials interfering with the 2020 election by making false claims about the Hunter Biden laptop; of law students shouting down federal judges with the encouragement of university administrators.

☆ An ex-Twitter exec told Congress he had to sell his home after a barrage of 'homophobic and antisemitic' harassment over the 'Twitter Files'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former Twitter exec said "homophobic and antisemitic" harassment forced him to sell his home. Yoel Roth testified to Congress that the release of Elon Musk's "Twitter Files" harmed former staff. During a lengthy hearing related to Twitter's handling with the Hunter Biden laptop story, Roth was asked how the release of Elon Musk's Twitter Files had affected his personal safety. He began by saying that the "Twitter Files" also affected more junior employees at Twitter, and that staff as far away as the Philippines were "doxxed, had their families threatened, and experienced harm equal to or greater than what I've experienced." The "Twitter Files" are a series of tweets released under Musk's leadership about "free speech suppression" on the platform under its previous management.

☆ Republicans held a hearing to prove Twitter’s bias against them. It backfired in spectacular fashion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Despite no real evidence to support this weighty and consequential claim, Republicans were unrelenting in peddling it to the American public. Republicans showed, once again, that they are married to pushing claims that Silicon Valley is intentionally and unjustly censoring conservative views, even when the facts do not contort with their narrative. Ironically, the hearing appeared to reveal that Twitter had acquiesced to Trump and changed its policies after it concluded that he had violated its rules. And the hearing hinted that the Trump White House attempted to censor the speech of at least one American: Chrissy Teigen. Strangely enough, Republicans showed no interest in drilling down on this allegation of censorship.

☆ Elon Musk slams 'corporate journalism' over its response to the Twitter Files: 'Why is it rushing to defend the state instead of the people?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk accused "corporate journalism" of failing to side with the people over the Twitter Files. Musk retweeted a Substack article that criticized CNN for a report that denied his accusations. Musk added: "Why is corporate journalism rushing to defend the state instead of the people?" FBI agents then sent emails to Twitter staff suggesting certain accounts be banned for spreading misinformation about issues such as election integrity, per the Twitter Files. But Musk and some freelance journalists are annoyed that the Twitter Files haven't received more support from the press.

☆ Rep. Ro Khanna says balancing regulation and ethics online is key to ensuring technology remains a force for good: 'We need technology to democratize voice in America'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"I think the trajectory of technology is still a force for good," he told Politico. Despite his concerns about Twitter, Khanna remains optimistic about the potential for technology companies to benefit society. "I think we need technology to solve climate," Khanna told Politico. We need technology to democratize voice in America. The office of Rep. Khanna did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Jack Dorsey apologizes for his Twitter moderation choices, saying he did the 'wrong thing for the internet and society' despite calling his decisions the 'right thing' at the time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Dorsey condemned attacks on his former colleagues and laid out his thoughts for the future of social media. As CEO, Dorsey said he led Twitter to do the "wrong thing for the internet and society." When he co-founded Twitter in 2006, Dorsey's approach to content moderation was seen as pro-free speech and the company "had to be dragged" into content moderation, J.M. Berger, a researcher on extremism on social media like Twitter, told Insider. Dorsey, Musk, and representatives for Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ The Tech Censors Return
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Andy Kessler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Last week Elon Musk released the “Twitter Files,” revealing that the company blocked anything it wanted related to the Hunter Biden laptop story—wrongly it turned out. I wrote a column in October 2020 on social-media bias that Twitter restricted for many users simply because I mentioned the ban and Ukrainian payoffs. In addition, Mr. Musk previously accused Apple of threatening to remove Twitter from its App Store after his company uncanceled Donald Trump and others. Apple CEO Tim Cook then walked Mr. Musk around the company’s spaceship headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., and assured him that “Apple never considered doing so.” Sunshine can be a pre-emptive disinfectant. Its App Store, the only one on the iPhone, with fees that would make Tony Soprano blush, demands that apps “not include content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy.” OK, that sounds creepy.

☆ You may think Twitter was wrong to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story but it wasn't a violation of the First Amendment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Twitter, as a private company and not the government, can choose what it does and does not publish. But whether or not the decision was wrong, it wasn't a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. "Twitter is not a state actor and the First Amendment applies only to state actors." So whether or not Twitter could violate the First Amendment, depends on whether or not it can be considered the government. "Both the state, the Trump White House, and the Biden team were asking Twitter, and Twitter was under no obligation to either oblige or refuse those requests," Kalir said.

☆ Twitter's clumsy handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story spurred enough bipartisan criticism to risk the existence of the internet as we know it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Twitter's decision to throttle stories about Hunter Biden's laptop prompted bipartisan criticism. Some lawmakers have since called to repeal Section 230, a law "that created the internet." The criticism has since intensified a movement to repeal Section 230, which could change the Internet forever. Much of Taibbi's thread focused on Twitter's handling of the New York Post's October 2020 story about Hunter Biden's laptop, which the Post reported was left in a Delaware repair shop. Representatives for Khanna did not answer questions about the congressman's current position on whether or not to repeal Section 230.

☆ Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna reached out to Twitter as it suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story to voice concerns about violating free speech and press freedom principles
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In October 2020, Twitter initially blocked users from sharing a New York Post story about Hunter Biden's laptop. Rep. Ro Khanna sent Twitter concerns about the decision, according to materials published Friday. Less than a month before the 2020 election, the Post published a story that claimed to contain emails retrieved from a laptop that belonged to President Joe Biden's son Hunter. Giving an example, Khanna said if materials uncovering a war crime were hacked and obtained by The New York Times, the Times should be able to publish them. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan established that public figures suing for defamation must establish "actual malice."

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