GOP's Biden corruption crusade goes up in smoke
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
In a parallel universe, the GOP's years-long efforts to expose alleged corruption by the Biden family would be peaking at the ideal moment:
- With exactly two months to Election Day, Hunter Biden's federal tax trial begins today in California. And in D.C., House Republicans just issued a 291-page report accusing President Biden of impeachable conduct.
Why it matters: Instead, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, Donald Trump's crusade against "Crooked Joe" is collapsing into political irrelevance.
- It's one of many reasons Trump keeps wishing he was still running against Biden, whose family's foreign business dealings have been campaign fodder since 2019.
- Republicans may find success tying Harris to Biden's record on inflation, the border and other policy issues — but on family baggage, Biden's exit has deprived Trump of one of his favorite cudgels.
Zoom in: Jury selection begins today in Los Angeles for Hunter Biden's second criminal trial of the year.
- The president's son, who is accused of evading taxes for years while spending millions on a lavish, drug-fueled lifestyle, was convicted in June on federal gun charges in Delaware.
- He faces up to 25 years in prison for that conviction, and up to 17 if he's found guilty of the nine tax charges in California. President Biden has ruled out pardoning his 54-year-old son.
Between the lines: On a personal level, the trial is likely to take an emotional toll on the 81-year-old president, especially with prosecutors expected to revisit the darkest moments of Hunter Biden's life.
- But on a political level, Harris' ascendance has turned the Biden scrutiny into a sideshow that isn't likely to affect the campaign.
Zoom out: The July ticket switch didn't stop House Republicans from releasing a report last month — on the first day of the Democratic National Convention — accusing the president of a conspiracy to "enrich his family" through influence peddling.
- The report doesn't offer direct proof that Joe Biden engaged in any corrupt quid pro quo on behalf of his family, but suggests he abused his power even if his family members only sold the "illusion" of influence.
- The report landed with a thud: Peter Van Buren of The American Conservative called it a "hollow vindication," writing that "the drive to impeach a lame-duck president seems to have missed its moment."
- Some House Republicans seeking re-election in politically divided districts are furious that they could be forced into a last-minute Biden impeachment vote, which can be triggered by any single member.
The other side: One enduring legacy from this saga will be Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's recent admission that Facebook was wrong to temporarily demote a New York Post story about the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop in October 2020.
- The episode inflamed conservatives' distrust of both Big Tech and the intelligence community, which had warned the laptop uproar had the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation operation.
Flashback: Trump's deep-rooted obsession with Hunter Biden will be hard to shake: As president, Trump was impeached in 2019 for pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden and his son.
- In the chaotic first presidential debate of 2020, Trump unleashed a barrage of attacks related to Hunter Biden — accusing him of making "a fortune" in foreign countries after Joe Biden became vice president.
- Even as he was live-reacting to Harris' DNC speech last month, Trump seemed unwilling — or unable — to move on: "WHERE'S HUNTER?" he thundered on Truth Social minutes into the address.
The bottom line: It's not just that the GOP's "Biden crime family" attack has lost its salience. Trump himself could be sentenced to prison on Sept. 18 for his New York hush money conviction, which he continues to fight.
