Jake Tapper is certainly puzzled about all this Hunter Biden influence peddling on behalf of The Big Guy. He’s now wondering if Joe showed any lapses in judgement about claiming his son has done nothing wrong.

“I understand this is a dad talking about his son,” Tapper said, “but it’s also the President of the United States talking about a potential defendant in a case that his Justice Department is prosecuting. Also, he was about to plead guilty to some of the things he did wrong. Does the president need to stop publicly saying his son did nothing wrong?”

Seriously?? Joe IS a lapse in judgement! 

That said, Jake’s wonderment came on the heels of his declaring that the appointment of David Weiss to special counsel status was… suspicious. 

TAPPER: Laura, are you surprised that there’s now a special counsel five years into this investigation after a plea deal had almost been agreed upon?

LAURA COATES: I mean, that plea deal was within the reach of, of course, Hunter Biden. I’m sure he’s lamenting right now whatever fiasco actually occurred in that courtroom to not have all the I’s dotted, all the T’s crossed to have this all go through.

Remember we heard already from David Weiss about what the process was like. He had said I have the authority to do so, all the talking points are contrary to my experience was. But now, this raised a lot of questions, and whatever happened on Tuesday, as Paula alluding, now does make me feel surprised about why now? What is happening here?

Remember, he’s still the U.S. attorney in Delaware, but now the special counsel allows him to go beyond his jurisdiction. You can look at other areas as well. It’s the reason why you have Jack Smith and go beyond that. You can have things in Florida and have things in Washington, D.C. It does now go beyond that.

But at its core, I wonder what the decision really came down to. The special counsel statute says you can have this if you first look at the crowd. Does a matter actually warrant an investigation? Is it warranted? He had concluded it did if you were Garland.

Was there a conflict of interest at play here? The talking point you see on the right and left suggest talking points around this very notion, that there is a conflict of being able to have the president appoint the attorney general who would oversee an investigation —

TAPPER: Into his own son, yeah.

Jake Tapper flailed away at trying to protect Joe and not say the quiet part out loud. Mainly that the ‘Illusion of influence” was THE KEY to getting people to the table and to pony up millions for the ability to have THE BIG GUY on speed dial. 

Goldman: "The president saying hello to people when he puts them on the phone is not at all doing anything to influence any policy." pic.twitter.com/wQjDjjqX8j

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 13, 2023

I also have to chuckle at Laura Coates trying to assert that the plea deal tanked because someone forgot to proofread! 

Meanwhile, the new attorney in charge of Hunter’s defense is trying to blame the MAGA crowd for the continuing investigation into Hunter and Joe’s dealings. Those tactics are not only laughable, but reek of desperation. 

But again, back to Jake Tapper and his question. Did Joe show a lapse in judgement by insisting that Hunter had done nothing wrong? Why yes, Joe did and yes, he is a lapse in judgement! 

But again, Joe’s continued insistence that Hunter has done nothing wrong is also key here. Why? Because likely the Biden brand believes that it’s true. All their dealings that netted them millions are totally fine. 

They believe they are above the law. And so, questions about Hunter while Joe campaigns for his second term will be treated as pesky little irritants. 

The appointment on Friday of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden likely ensured that the probe of the president’s son, and the headlines it produces, will doggedly shadow his father’s reelection campaign for the duration of it.

While no evidence has yet been presented to connect Hunter Biden’s business dealings with President Joe Biden, the Department of Justice’s decision to allow for a special counsel adds fuel to a storyline that many on the right have feverishly gripped as the key to the president’s political downfall.

It doesn’t matter whether Joe discussed business during any of those phone calls or dinners. The fact that he was available to take a call or have dinner with potential partners WAS the selling point in all of this.

McCarthy keeps lying about their “investigations” because the truth is their own witnesses testified President Biden wasn’t involved and did nothing wrong, and bank records they subpoenaed show no involvement

Yet they go on wasting time and tax dollars on their wild goose chase https://t.co/jp4nebey1V

— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) August 12, 2023

So yes, Jake. Even as the Democrats are circling the wagons to protect him, the evidence is clear. Joe Biden has definitely shown us his lapses in judgement on a large scale. 

Feature Photo Credit: All photos from flickr.com/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs/cropped/Creative Commons/Folsom Natural/cropped/Creative Commons/401kcalculator.org/Creative Commons