Poll, half of Americans believe President Biden's son was treated preferentially

2023-06-23 22:22:17, Kosova & Bota CNA

Poll, half of Americans believe President Biden's son was treated

Half of Americans believe Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was given preferential treatment for reaching a deal with the Justice Department in which he is expected to plead guilty to federal charges that related to failure to pay federal taxes and illegal possession of a firearm while a drug user. Thanks to this deal, he is expected to avoid a prison sentence.

The poll shows that Americans were divided along party lines in how they viewed the issue. Specifically, of those surveyed, 75 percent of Republicans believed that Mr. Hunter Biden was treated preferentially, compared to only 33 percent of Democrats.

The majority of respondents said that the case with Mr. Biden's son would not affect their decision to vote next year in the presidential elections.

David Weiss, the Delaware state attorney who investigated the President's son, announced the settlement on Tuesday. Mr. Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump, and was retained after Joe Biden's arrival in the White House, with the intention of continuing to handle this issue with political sensitivity.

Mr Trump and his Republican allies have raised criticism of the prosecutors' deal with Mr Hunter Biden, and concerns about double standards in the US justice system are already a theme in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Mr. Biden's son has worked as a lawyer, an adviser to foreign companies, a banking investor and has publicly acknowledged his problems with drug use.

According to the indictment, Mr. Hunter Biden had income of more than $1.5 million in 2017 and 2018. But he did not pay income taxes for those years, despite liabilities of more than $100,000.

He is accused of illegally possessing a firearm for several days in October 2018, while he was using and addicted to drugs. In the United States it is illegal for drug users to possess firearms. He reached a plea deal with prosecutors, a procedure used in some cases to allow defendants to avoid prison or criminal charges.

Hunter Biden's deals with the Justice Department must now be approved by a federal judge. He is expected to appear in Delaware state court on July 26, where he is expected to plead guilty and formalize the deal. If there are no last-minute complications, chances are that he will not be sentenced to prison./ VOA