“There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy in the-of the United States from Afghanistan. “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,” Biden told reporters on July 8. It was only weeks ago that Biden was assuring Americans that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was nothing like the US retreat from Vietnam in 1975. What is still unknown is whether this foreign policy crisis, which will forever be tied to Biden in the history books, will wind up being a political liability for the president. “But let’s be clear: Hunter’s sweetheart plea deal belongs in the trash.The United States’ chaotic and dangerous withdrawal from Afghanistan is already being widely considered a dark stain on President Joe Biden’s young presidency. “District Judge Noreika did the right thing by refusing to rubberstamp Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal,” said House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Congressional Republicans are pursuing their own investigations into nearly every facet of Hunter Biden’s dealings, including foreign payments. Republicans claim a double standard, in which the Democratic president’s son got off easy while the president’s rival has been unfairly castigated. Last week, a target letter was sent to Trump from special counsel Jack Smith that suggests the former president may soon be indicted on new federal charges, this time involving his struggle to cling to power after his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. Trump is already facing a state criminal case in New York and a federal indictment in Florida. But the politics remain as messy as ever, with Republicans insisting he got a sweetheart deal and the Justice Department pressing ahead on investigations into Trump, the GOP’s 2024 presidential primary front-runner. The plea deal was meant to clear the air for Hunter Biden and avert a trial that would have generated weeks or months of distracting headlines. The collapsed proceedings were a surprising development in the yearslong investigation, and a resolution that had been carefully negotiated over several weeks and included a lengthy back-and-forth between Justice Department prosecutors and Biden’s attorneys. In the meantime, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the tax charges. She asked defense lawyers and prosecutors to explain why she should accept the deal. “It seems to me like you are saying ‘just rubber stamp the agreement, Your Honor.’ … This seems to me to be form over substance,” she said. The overlapping agreements created confusion for the judge, who said the lawyers needed to untangle technical issues - including over her role in enforcing the gun agreement - before moving forward. Otherwise, the felony charge carries 10 years in prison. As long as he adhered to the terms of his agreement, the gun case was to be wiped from his record. The plan also included an agreement on a separate gun charge - Biden has been accused of possessing a firearm in 2018 as a drug user. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics of the deal and her role in the proceedings. Prosecutors said Wednesday Hunter Biden remains under active investigation, but would not reveal details. Hunter Biden was charged last month with two misdemeanor crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes from over $1.5 million in income in both 20 and had been expected to plead guilty Wednesday after he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation. (AP) - The plea deal in Hunter Biden’s criminal case unraveled during a court hearing Wednesday after a federal judge raised concerns about the terms of the agreement that has infuriated Republicans who believe the president’s son is getting preferential treatment.
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