Sometimes when you’re wrong, you’re really wrong. That happened to me when I wrote these words ahead of Hunter Biden’s Wednesday guilty plea hearing, “Tomorrow is merely a formality.” The hearing turned out to be anything but a formality. It was more of a debacle, although I suspect that ultimately, the issues that emerged today will get resolved and a guilty plea will go forward. During the hearing, the plea deal between the United States and Hunter Biden was on again and off again, like a ping pong ball being batted back and forth. By the end of the hearing, it was off, at least for now. Hunter Biden’s plea remained one of “not guilty.” The Judge gave the parties 30 days to try and work it out.
Donald Trump isn’t even President and he is influencing court proceedings. Tell us why something can’t be fine about this because it makes the country look like a dictator run lunatic asylum.
The complexities of all of the twists, each with differing rules and requirements, make for a slow turning of the wheel. Your descriptions and explanations, Joyce, help this non- legal mind not only understand more of the immediate, but gives rise to a growing respect for the earnest and sincere in our government who put so much into creating a place where justice CAN prevail.
I, as always, thank you for your dedication to these principles AND to your willingness to teach us here. Hugs to all of you there, including the chickens. BAWK!
Try & put yourself in the role of Hunter Biden's counsel who know their client will be a political target in the future, a target of autocratic forces that will not follow the rule of law. Regardless, the Court is fully aware of the separation of powers issues which appear insurmountable to me from the perspective of my over 30 years of litigation & trial experience.
The parties need the top Mediator in the country to sort out an attack proof resolution under mediation and/or settlement confidentiality rules. That task has a high degree of difficulty.
Everything Trump does and says is a projection of himself. Ergo, someone in his family is breaking the law. Point that finger back at yourself, Donald! (Let's see...could it be Jared bringing home the bacon from Saudi Arabia? Ivanka' s international line of clothing vs China? Has Baron crossed the line already?)
Back when Ivanka received licenses to do business in China, I thought I read there was a license granted to her for voting machines. That sounds so wacky but do you remember reading that too?
Now that’s the scariest thing I’ve read this morning - a morning of reading about climate change, aliens and Rudy lying. But Ivanka licensing voting machines. Yikes.
Rudy lying according to NYT article his admission was CYA stunt carrying little legal implications! Something like ‘yeah, I said it but it did not cause any harm!’
I want to dance on his grave. Seriously. Maybe he'll be buried at Bedminster next to Ivana. I saw an old video clip recently of Trump in 2017, in France meeting Emmanuel Macron for the first time. Since then, Trump has aged yugely, and gained at least 25 pounds. I doubt he'll live to be 80.
Hey, he's 15 years older than me and rides his Peloton bike at 5 am every day. I wish I could say that, but if I could afford a Peloton, it might help.
My goal is vote on Nov 8, 2024. So I know that [too many deleted expletives] former president will not threaten my grandchildren's future. Of course, the R party is still a threat too.
Off topic: I am overweight and this a perfect example of how some people think that calling someone “lardass” is the ultimate insult you can hurl at someone or about someone. This is such a hurtful pejorative. Do not get me wrong. Donald Trump deserves many (35,000!) insults!
Please do not start a chain of comments about this...that is NOT my intention. Let’s focus on the great great work Joyce does and the challenging thoughts she inspires.
TCinLA, that’s a nice idea but our reality tonight is A. We must win at the ballot box, b. We must control the narrative (I hate that word.) and C. This is all hands on deck moment. D. Trump will stop at nothing, he has no guardrails. E. Every voter who can be prepared to fight for our democracy must be recruited. F. The hard right will stand still in denial because they loved the Dobbs SCOTUS decision and DJT is their hero.
Enough! Let’s get to work. Get our narrative out their, identify strong strategies to get out the vote and overcome the voter suppression efforts/barriers, fight everywhere, 50 states - local, state, and national elections. Set measurable goals and target key races.
The judge made the correct decision. It sure seem that the prosecutor is not being transparent. Why didn’t he share the agreement(s) earlier. It sure appears that he is playing political games.
Trump has been targeting the prosecutor and he, I think, caved to the pressure. He apparently wanted to demonstrate his willingness to muck with Hunter Biden ... and I imagine he concocted this atypical trap after Trump’s smack-down posts suggesting the prosecutor was in essence working for the President and his son. It goes unnoticed that the plea deal fell apart on the question of its “constitutionality” .... since Trump delights in assaulting the Constitution.
If "political games" includes "acknowledging existing political realities," maybe so. These are not normal times. Trigger-happy MAGAs and Republican politicians are likely to jump into action at any moment, for reasons most of us don't get. None of this is in the plea-bargainer's handbook.
Thank you Joyce on your followup re Hunter Biden and the Judge’s response today. I must say Hunter Biden has courage and stamina to subject himself to so much scrutiny before the world in his commitment to set his demons free from his past especially since his father is the president of the free world. I could never imagine 45’s siblings emulating his example. That alone should tell us what we need to know about his real character especially after Margie 3 names exposed him in the most disposable way. My prayers too are with the entire Biden family in hopes Justice will be served. I imagine the love you share at home provides you the strength you need to be so powerful a communicator to all of us everywhere toward fairness within the law. We need you now more than ever. Many blessings 🇺🇸🗽
What I like is that the Bidens are the polar opposite of the Trumps. The Bidens are compassionate, and they support and love everyone in their family.
I noticed that Trump's kids seem to have gone silent these days. Actually, they're setting a good example for their loudmouth father, who just can't shut the hell up.
I believe the Republicans are deliberately creating hell for Hunter Biden in order to stress him to the point of endangering his recovery from drug addiction. This may sound crazy, but I believe these people are that evil.
Thanks Joyce. It isn’t much of a revelation that things went off the rails today since TFG is dragging the Biden family thru the mud at campaign events. Prayers to all concerned. And continued peace to what is left of our country when this is all settled🙏🏼☮️
I’m reading American Prometheus, the Robert Oppenheimer bio, right now and with all due respect to Joyce’s skilled distillation of the Hunter Biden legal wrangling, I think I understand quantum physics better now than I do the Hunter Biden legal wrangling. This all is one sad, sorry hot mess.
Marg Mac, thanks for the needed laugh. Joyce Vance does indeed make things as clear as possible to a simple voter like me. Still, when twisted, nefarious powers are at work it moves beyond the understanding of my "p-brane."
Joyce appreciation for your article. Still confused: Why are other branches eg, Congress members, the former guy and the Heritage foundation now sending briefs? This doesn’t appear to pass the smell test. Hunter Biden is a private citizen. How is this not politically motivated lawfare. Including the Trump appointed prosecutor Weiss who wants to keep investigating?
No Lor these antics do not pass the smell test. The "briefs" are not friend-of-the-Court briefs, they are enemies of the Court propaganda. I doubt the Court 's Clerk even placed them in the case file.
Don't beat yourself up, Joyce, everyone makes mistakes, but we CAN learn from them. My hope is that everyone on MSNBC and elsewhere stops telling me that trump is going to be indicted, or that he is going to spend time in prison/jail/house arrest, etc. Due to today's actions, I am skittish about those predictions, because I want them so much to become realities. If they don't, we will see this type of action by the MAGA group & Republicans again and again. I don't want to beat a dying horse here, but IF Hunter Biden brings down Joe Biden due to his crappy lifestyle and bad business dealings, we are basically all doomed to a Republican presidency in 2024. I'm retired, living off my social security in a modest lifestyle, but I don't want to lose that income & be forced to rejoin the workforce. So, ALL I want for Christmas is trump & as many as his cronies as humanly possible to end up incarcerated. Carry on!
"Trump has made it clear he won’t make the same “mistakes” if he’s re-elected that he did the first go round—permitting the Justice Department to conduct prosecutions free of interference from the Oval Office." Hmm... Now who does that remind me of? He lives in Israel... Oh, yeah! Bibi Netanyahu!
Joyce it’s hard to predict how even a straight forward legal matter will proceed in this era of trump’s infectious mind numbing manipulation of the social matrix we’re all floundering though because of his toxic influence. This month trump said that the Hunter Biden prosecutor “gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence” to Biden. Trump pumps up his classic reality distorting gaslighting rhetoric to portray Hunter as being guilty of a capital crime, while trump innocently plays the martyred victim of injustice. It’s an example of how far the reach of trump’s dangerous mind altering distortion of reality extends into so many dimensions of our daily lives. It’s like we’re all trying to stay consciously awake as a sinister master hypnotist weaves their constant stream of relentless misperceptions of reality. I hope the judge in the Hunter Biden case can navigate through this malignant haze of trump’s intentional contamination of her courtroom.
I thought I’d add, that as a family therapist for over 40 years I’ve often tried to help the survivors of unscrupulous people like trump, who have for many years selfishly dominated and abused their children and spouses by inflicting the same kind of insidious gaslighting and very injurious controlling and intimidating emotional manipulations, that trump continues to inflict on many Americans.
Thanks kdsherpa- yes, we’ve both seen the long term traumatic injury that people like trump inflicts on family members through their relentless emotional intimidation and gaslighting control, that forces everyone to submit to them or suffer even worse harm.
Thank you. All I kept reading today was "Trump appointed judge" and I was thinking "uh oh". Now it seems the Trump appointed attorney that investigated this screwed up - either deliberately or because he's stupid. I am so disgusted with Republicans. The constant lies and outrage make me want to scream. Trump is an actual criminal and frankly, I'm beginning to doubt he'll ever be held accountable.
Or because the objective is to keep this entire issue in front of people FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. That's always the orange pustule's gambit, get news coverage, keep it in the headlines, make people mad FOR him (victim, victim, victim). It's sophomoric, but look how well it's worked.
I have a brother who is very smart and educated. He has been indoctrinated by his community. He loves TFG. I attribute that to his need for people to like him. After a rather in depth conversation with him, I think there is no way to explain truth to him. He believes what he believes. It hurts my heart.
In Physics terms, we are a system of particles in some sort of equilibrium. Trump, or even Joe Biden for that matter, puts energy into the system and it heats up. One sees more extreme variations.
Does this you remind you of global warming?
What we have to do is simple.: Communicate;, educate, and get the younger generation motivated to participate. I trust them to be our caregivers in more ways than one!
Actually it is not so simple. The reason is the word “educate” of which we could attach the adage “ you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”. The resulting word is “ignorance” and therein lies the problem.
Agree, wrosing. This particular case is confusing to begin with. I would prefer that when it is Hunter Biden being referred to that his full name is used; as well, when it is the President being referred to, that "President Biden" or "Joe Biden" is used to keep it clear.
Also, is the "MR. WISE" referred to in the transcript different from Mr. Weiss?
Not a typo. "Mr. Wise" is Special Assistant US Attorney Leo Wise, the lead federal prosecutors who worked on the plea deal. David Weiss is the US Attorney for the District of Delaware and the lead investigator in this case.
I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect that Wise and Weiss work together. Life is complex.
Donald Trump isn’t even President and he is influencing court proceedings. Tell us why something can’t be fine about this because it makes the country look like a dictator run lunatic asylum.
The complexities of all of the twists, each with differing rules and requirements, make for a slow turning of the wheel. Your descriptions and explanations, Joyce, help this non- legal mind not only understand more of the immediate, but gives rise to a growing respect for the earnest and sincere in our government who put so much into creating a place where justice CAN prevail.
I, as always, thank you for your dedication to these principles AND to your willingness to teach us here. Hugs to all of you there, including the chickens. BAWK!
Try & put yourself in the role of Hunter Biden's counsel who know their client will be a political target in the future, a target of autocratic forces that will not follow the rule of law. Regardless, the Court is fully aware of the separation of powers issues which appear insurmountable to me from the perspective of my over 30 years of litigation & trial experience.
The parties need the top Mediator in the country to sort out an attack proof resolution under mediation and/or settlement confidentiality rules. That task has a high degree of difficulty.
Can you expand on that? thanks.
Who is the top mediator you refer to? I would ordinarily think Pres. Biden, but that's absurd in the case of his own son.
Did you have a specific person in mind?
Everything Trump does and says is a projection of himself. Ergo, someone in his family is breaking the law. Point that finger back at yourself, Donald! (Let's see...could it be Jared bringing home the bacon from Saudi Arabia? Ivanka' s international line of clothing vs China? Has Baron crossed the line already?)
Back when Ivanka received licenses to do business in China, I thought I read there was a license granted to her for voting machines. That sounds so wacky but do you remember reading that too?
Now that’s the scariest thing I’ve read this morning - a morning of reading about climate change, aliens and Rudy lying. But Ivanka licensing voting machines. Yikes.
Rudy lying according to NYT article his admission was CYA stunt carrying little legal implications! Something like ‘yeah, I said it but it did not cause any harm!’
I was terrified when it happened! How strange to want a license for voting machines!
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-ivanka/china-grants-more-trademark-approvals-for-ivanka-trump-firm-including-voting-machines-idUSKCN1NB0TL
It was either Jared or Ivanka from what I remember
Yes.
In this case, the word president isn’t capitalized.
This post is very helpful. Thank you, Joyce Vance.
Please please please, let Lardass eat his fatal hamberder tomorrow and Make America Great Again with his massive fatal myocardial infarction.
I'm old. My goal is to outlive Trump so when it's my time I can die in peace knowing he's gone.
Rita, thank you for making me laugh.
This takeover of our government by the wannabe dictator and his moronic slaves has made me feel much older😏
Me too!
My goal is to outlive Trump so I can pay a visit to his resting place and pee on it to be quite disgustingly honest.
Mind if I join you? I promise not to eat any asparagus beforehand. No I don’t.
Like Frank Underwood in “House of Cards”?
Oh Rita, I see we share the same goals.😁 Just hope I don't meet up with him on the other side.😂
He'll be descending on the escalator. So, probably not.
Don’t bother trying to damn Trump to Hell. Satan doesn’t want the competition!
Besides, I’d rather he eternally stay in purgatory, completely isolated with no other person to talk to. The isolation would be worse than Hell.
Methinks he might be going elsewhere 😈
I want to dance on his grave. Seriously. Maybe he'll be buried at Bedminster next to Ivana. I saw an old video clip recently of Trump in 2017, in France meeting Emmanuel Macron for the first time. Since then, Trump has aged yugely, and gained at least 25 pounds. I doubt he'll live to be 80.
Unlike Joe who is fit as can be!
Hey, he's 15 years older than me and rides his Peloton bike at 5 am every day. I wish I could say that, but if I could afford a Peloton, it might help.
I'm right there with you, Rita! Great incentive to keep going.
My goal is vote on Nov 8, 2024. So I know that [too many deleted expletives] former president will not threaten my grandchildren's future. Of course, the R party is still a threat too.
I assume you are speaking from Ohio. Nov 8th is an important voting day.
However, people can vote in person up until Aug. 6th, I believe. For those who want to go on their own time/day.
GO OHIO! GET OUT AND VOTE.
Us in Illinois are watching and hoping.
Off topic: I am overweight and this a perfect example of how some people think that calling someone “lardass” is the ultimate insult you can hurl at someone or about someone. This is such a hurtful pejorative. Do not get me wrong. Donald Trump deserves many (35,000!) insults!
Please do not start a chain of comments about this...that is NOT my intention. Let’s focus on the great great work Joyce does and the challenging thoughts she inspires.
Excellent point. My mistake.
Thank you for speaking up. Hugs.
Hell, then we have the specter of Jaqueline DeSantis.
Rita Parker, LOL!
TCinLA, that’s a nice idea but our reality tonight is A. We must win at the ballot box, b. We must control the narrative (I hate that word.) and C. This is all hands on deck moment. D. Trump will stop at nothing, he has no guardrails. E. Every voter who can be prepared to fight for our democracy must be recruited. F. The hard right will stand still in denial because they loved the Dobbs SCOTUS decision and DJT is their hero.
Enough! Let’s get to work. Get our narrative out their, identify strong strategies to get out the vote and overcome the voter suppression efforts/barriers, fight everywhere, 50 states - local, state, and national elections. Set measurable goals and target key races.
Hey! We can and must do this!!
You're right.
The judge made the correct decision. It sure seem that the prosecutor is not being transparent. Why didn’t he share the agreement(s) earlier. It sure appears that he is playing political games.
I also wondered about that.
Trump has been targeting the prosecutor and he, I think, caved to the pressure. He apparently wanted to demonstrate his willingness to muck with Hunter Biden ... and I imagine he concocted this atypical trap after Trump’s smack-down posts suggesting the prosecutor was in essence working for the President and his son. It goes unnoticed that the plea deal fell apart on the question of its “constitutionality” .... since Trump delights in assaulting the Constitution.
If "political games" includes "acknowledging existing political realities," maybe so. These are not normal times. Trigger-happy MAGAs and Republican politicians are likely to jump into action at any moment, for reasons most of us don't get. None of this is in the plea-bargainer's handbook.
Janet Carter: "It sure seems that the prosecutor is not being transparent."
YES! You found the nub of the whole story right there!
Very good!
Garland could take him off the case if he's being underhanded and let someone else finish the job, can't he?
Sure. Somebody please go wake up Garland.
I don’t think the Judge is the target of his secrecy. James Comer (R,Ky) and the former guy are!
Thank you Joyce on your followup re Hunter Biden and the Judge’s response today. I must say Hunter Biden has courage and stamina to subject himself to so much scrutiny before the world in his commitment to set his demons free from his past especially since his father is the president of the free world. I could never imagine 45’s siblings emulating his example. That alone should tell us what we need to know about his real character especially after Margie 3 names exposed him in the most disposable way. My prayers too are with the entire Biden family in hopes Justice will be served. I imagine the love you share at home provides you the strength you need to be so powerful a communicator to all of us everywhere toward fairness within the law. We need you now more than ever. Many blessings 🇺🇸🗽
What I like is that the Bidens are the polar opposite of the Trumps. The Bidens are compassionate, and they support and love everyone in their family.
I noticed that Trump's kids seem to have gone silent these days. Actually, they're setting a good example for their loudmouth father, who just can't shut the hell up.
I believe the Republicans are deliberately creating hell for Hunter Biden in order to stress him to the point of endangering his recovery from drug addiction. This may sound crazy, but I believe these people are that evil.
Thanks Joyce. It isn’t much of a revelation that things went off the rails today since TFG is dragging the Biden family thru the mud at campaign events. Prayers to all concerned. And continued peace to what is left of our country when this is all settled🙏🏼☮️
I’m reading American Prometheus, the Robert Oppenheimer bio, right now and with all due respect to Joyce’s skilled distillation of the Hunter Biden legal wrangling, I think I understand quantum physics better now than I do the Hunter Biden legal wrangling. This all is one sad, sorry hot mess.
Marg Mac, thanks for the needed laugh. Joyce Vance does indeed make things as clear as possible to a simple voter like me. Still, when twisted, nefarious powers are at work it moves beyond the understanding of my "p-brane."
Joyce appreciation for your article. Still confused: Why are other branches eg, Congress members, the former guy and the Heritage foundation now sending briefs? This doesn’t appear to pass the smell test. Hunter Biden is a private citizen. How is this not politically motivated lawfare. Including the Trump appointed prosecutor Weiss who wants to keep investigating?
No Lor these antics do not pass the smell test. The "briefs" are not friend-of-the-Court briefs, they are enemies of the Court propaganda. I doubt the Court 's Clerk even placed them in the case file.
Oh! That's a bit reassuring
I love how clear you make things. Thank you.
Don't beat yourself up, Joyce, everyone makes mistakes, but we CAN learn from them. My hope is that everyone on MSNBC and elsewhere stops telling me that trump is going to be indicted, or that he is going to spend time in prison/jail/house arrest, etc. Due to today's actions, I am skittish about those predictions, because I want them so much to become realities. If they don't, we will see this type of action by the MAGA group & Republicans again and again. I don't want to beat a dying horse here, but IF Hunter Biden brings down Joe Biden due to his crappy lifestyle and bad business dealings, we are basically all doomed to a Republican presidency in 2024. I'm retired, living off my social security in a modest lifestyle, but I don't want to lose that income & be forced to rejoin the workforce. So, ALL I want for Christmas is trump & as many as his cronies as humanly possible to end up incarcerated. Carry on!
"Trump has made it clear he won’t make the same “mistakes” if he’s re-elected that he did the first go round—permitting the Justice Department to conduct prosecutions free of interference from the Oval Office." Hmm... Now who does that remind me of? He lives in Israel... Oh, yeah! Bibi Netanyahu!
Joyce it’s hard to predict how even a straight forward legal matter will proceed in this era of trump’s infectious mind numbing manipulation of the social matrix we’re all floundering though because of his toxic influence. This month trump said that the Hunter Biden prosecutor “gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence” to Biden. Trump pumps up his classic reality distorting gaslighting rhetoric to portray Hunter as being guilty of a capital crime, while trump innocently plays the martyred victim of injustice. It’s an example of how far the reach of trump’s dangerous mind altering distortion of reality extends into so many dimensions of our daily lives. It’s like we’re all trying to stay consciously awake as a sinister master hypnotist weaves their constant stream of relentless misperceptions of reality. I hope the judge in the Hunter Biden case can navigate through this malignant haze of trump’s intentional contamination of her courtroom.
I thought I’d add, that as a family therapist for over 40 years I’ve often tried to help the survivors of unscrupulous people like trump, who have for many years selfishly dominated and abused their children and spouses by inflicting the same kind of insidious gaslighting and very injurious controlling and intimidating emotional manipulations, that trump continues to inflict on many Americans.
Outstanding observation! I've never heard anyone make that comparison before. How apt. (I'm a retired psychiatrist, so I know whereof you speak.)
Thanks kdsherpa- yes, we’ve both seen the long term traumatic injury that people like trump inflicts on family members through their relentless emotional intimidation and gaslighting control, that forces everyone to submit to them or suffer even worse harm.
Thank you. All I kept reading today was "Trump appointed judge" and I was thinking "uh oh". Now it seems the Trump appointed attorney that investigated this screwed up - either deliberately or because he's stupid. I am so disgusted with Republicans. The constant lies and outrage make me want to scream. Trump is an actual criminal and frankly, I'm beginning to doubt he'll ever be held accountable.
Or because the objective is to keep this entire issue in front of people FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. That's always the orange pustule's gambit, get news coverage, keep it in the headlines, make people mad FOR him (victim, victim, victim). It's sophomoric, but look how well it's worked.
My whole life, I have been told the average IQ is measured as 100.
Well, I’m beginning to think it is instead at 80!
I have a brother who is very smart and educated. He has been indoctrinated by his community. He loves TFG. I attribute that to his need for people to like him. After a rather in depth conversation with him, I think there is no way to explain truth to him. He believes what he believes. It hurts my heart.
"Orange postule" - I'm dying!🤣
I refer folks to: King of Hearts (1966 film).
In Physics terms, we are a system of particles in some sort of equilibrium. Trump, or even Joe Biden for that matter, puts energy into the system and it heats up. One sees more extreme variations.
Does this you remind you of global warming?
What we have to do is simple.: Communicate;, educate, and get the younger generation motivated to participate. I trust them to be our caregivers in more ways than one!
I am a year 1, 1946 baby boomer.
Actually it is not so simple. The reason is the word “educate” of which we could attach the adage “ you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”. The resulting word is “ignorance” and therein lies the problem.
Tom Biondo, Touche'. Also, the water is badly contaminated in some regions of the U.S. (think FL), and getting worse in others.
One of my favorite Alan Bates movies!
I appreciate you so much. Thank you for this clear summary of chaotic stuff.
Hi. A very monor bone to pick. In your article your often refer only to the proper noun "Biden".
That is ambiguous and our Republican 'friends' play this game of conflation. Since this article is about Hunter Biden, why not explicitly say so?
I fully understood who you were referring to, but still, "Cut and Paste" is a powerful and easily abusable tool.
Agree, wrosing. This particular case is confusing to begin with. I would prefer that when it is Hunter Biden being referred to that his full name is used; as well, when it is the President being referred to, that "President Biden" or "Joe Biden" is used to keep it clear.
Also, is the "MR. WISE" referred to in the transcript different from Mr. Weiss?
Not a typo. "Mr. Wise" is Special Assistant US Attorney Leo Wise, the lead federal prosecutors who worked on the plea deal. David Weiss is the US Attorney for the District of Delaware and the lead investigator in this case.
I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect that Wise and Weiss work together. Life is complex.
Thanks for the explanation, June. Good to know!
It was probably typed in correctly, but the thrice damned Autocorrect has struck again!