US President Joe Biden's son was brazenly let off scot-free in a "sweetheart deal," say two media commentators.
Hunter Biden had been under investigation by the FBI for soliciting millions in bribes from foreign businesspeople in return for influence over the then-vice president.
That includes an alleged $5 million from Mykola Zlochevsky, co-owner of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings which employed Hunter as a company director and which was investigated for corruption by Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin until Joe Biden pressured Kiev to sack him.
Hunter is also suspected of owning a handgun unlawfully, which reportedly ended up being thrown in a dumpster. Furthermore, a trove of photos on his abandoned "Laptop from Hell" appeared to show him using crack cocaine and sleeping with underage prostitutes.
But on Tuesday, it was reported that he had struck a deal with prosecutors — pending approval by a federal judge — to plead guilty to tax evasion and illegal possession of a firearm in return for avoiding jail time.
Former US diplomat Jim Jatras told Sputnik that Hunter Biden's plea bargain was a "sweetheart deal."
"I don't know how a plea on two charges automatically extends to, say 'Oh, yeah, and all that other stuff. We're going to give you a guarantee that there will be no charges,'" he said.
The foreign policy expert said that was "an outrageous miscarriage of justice."
"I know the rich and powerful and the politically well-connected and treated differently from everybody else, but this is really just unprecedented," Jatras stressed.
The pundit said the plea bargain deal would play into the hands of the Republican Party.
"It's what Republicans love best. They could win and jump up and down and scream in outrage without actually having to do anything," Jatras said. "It completely absolves them of any responsibility to actually see that justice is done."
Journalist Jim Hoft told Sputnik that he was not surprised that the president's wayward son got off scot-free.
"After what we've seen the past few years, not really," he said. "But it is quite galling. And you have to be impressed with the fact that they just continue to shove this nonsense in our face knowing that they could get away with it."
The editor said Hunter Biden was "one of the most crooked people in the country."
"And he gets a pass and a little slap on the wrist, if that," Hoft observed. "It's really it's stunning what's happening to our country. We're all witnessing it."
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