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Updated April 1st, 2023 at 12:36 IST

After Trump indictment, Republicans amplify calls for criminal charges against Biden

The historic indictment of former US President Trump has been perceived as a precedent for Republican prosecutors who are now seeking charges against Biden.

Reported by: Deeksha Sharma
Biden
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The historic indictment of former US President Donald Trump has been perceived as a precedent for Republican prosecutors, who are now attempting to pursue criminal charges against President Joe Biden. Furious conservative legal experts who spoke to the New York Post on Friday have called for the Biden family to be held accountable for a range of alleged crimes, including shady business dealings overseas.

“Two wrongs don’t make it right, but it makes it even. You just need probable cause. A grand jury can indict a ham sandwich. We just saw that in New York. And the Bidens actually committed real crimes. These are real crimes that the Bidens committed. There is smoking gun evidence that the Bidens were corruptly and illegally on Chinese and Ukrainian oligarchs’ payrolls," said Mike Davis, a former chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee and president of the Article III Project.

According to left-wing social commentator Noam Chomsky, the indictment has prompted the GOP to "furiously" seek revenge and desperately find a way to "pin Biden with something". Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County and an ally of Trump, said that the judicial system of the United States operates on a “double standard” that tips in favour of the Democrats. “The criminal justice system is not always fair, believe me, and this is an example. This sets a little precedent. Now the word is out that you can go and indict an ex-president and a current president and they opened another door. But now everybody’s going to flex their muscles and use this case. So now we’re gonna threaten all presidents or ex presidents,” he added.

Davis, who was responsible for overseeing federal judicial and prosecutor nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee between 2017 and 2019, offered a range of ideas over which Biden could be prosecuted. “I understand the Bidens may have had some oil and gas deals that deal with Texas. I think maybe Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton should start looking at this long and hard … and Louisiana with [Republican state Attorney General Jeff] Landry,” he said.

Republicans scrutinise Biden family's business dealings

“Paxton and Landry, they need to look at this. And if you can find a conspiracy and any of the overt acts of a conspiracy are committed in any of those states, you can bring charges,” he added. But for the GOP, the Biden family's weakest link is the president's son Hunter Biden, who has been embroiled in drama over the contents that were found in his abandoned laptop. Joe Biden himself faces a federal special counsel investigation into the classified material that was found at his Delaware residence and his vice-presidency office. According to Davis, the biggest question that must be answered is how the 80-year-old president rose from rags to riches.

“You’re looking at the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, bribery, tax evasion, gun charges, conspiracy, obstruction, espionage with using stolen classified records from the Obama White House for his Ukrainian and Chinese deals,” Davis said. “Biden was broke when he was a senator. He was broke when he left. And all of a sudden he’s very wealthy. It’s not because of his brilliance or his charm. How did he make that money?” he asked. 

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Published April 1st, 2023 at 12:36 IST

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