The spectacular collapse of the sweetheart deal of the century isn’t just bad news for Hunter Biden.
His father’s political prospects will also suffer a major hit.
Who says there is no justice in Washington?
The corrupt plea bargain deal never should have been made in the first place.
It would have allowed the son to avoid jail time for serious crimes after a probe that whistleblower testimony shows was obstructed to protect the president and his family.
Had the deal been finalized, it would have let the president put the son’s legal troubles behind him by declaring it to be a settled matter.
It would have been a false claim in any event, but thankfully, he now won’t be able to make it at all.
Credit goes to Delaware federal Judge Maryellen Noreika for questioning the terms and revealing the discrepancies that led to the collapse.
Indeed, now that the son’s troubles are far from settled and could even be expanding, the president faces a different and more dangerous landscape.
The surprising statement by prosecutors to Noreika that the probe continues raises the potential for more revelations about Hunter’s misconduct.
And that in turn could give Republicans more ammunition to tie the president to the family’s sordid influence peddling schemes.
They are getting closer by the day, and with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy already talking about an impeachment inquiry, the political winds are suddenly shifting against the president.
He doesn’t have much room for error.
In fact, I believe the collapse of the plea bargain, if it holds, makes it more likely Joe Biden will not seek a second term.
For one thing, the media effort to pretend Hunter Biden’s legal troubles were minor has now been shattered.
Widespread coverage of the dramatic court scene will mean more voters will be aware not only of the son’s vast misconduct, but also of the way the Department of Justice and FBI abused their powers to protect the first family.
Polls likely will show growing public concern and suspicions about the case, a process that could continue for weeks or months.
The stench of government favoritism would inevitably take a toll on a candidate who portrays himself as a champion of the middle class.
For another thing, the president is a frail, fading man whose policies have been widely rejected by the public.
More than half of his own party has been telling pollsters for months they don’t want him to run again.
The sentiment is especially strong among young voters, whose turnout in large numbers is essential for Democrats nationally.
The idea that a stumbling, mumbling Biden, who is 80 now, could serve as commander-in-chief until he’s 86 is preposterous and always was.
But he insisted he wanted to run and party leaders didn’t have the courage to tell him it was time to go away.
They also didn’t have a viable alternative, so they went along with Biden’s argument that, as long as Donald Trump was the GOP nominee, Biden could score four more years and deliver a Dem congressional majority.
Inherent in the argument is that Biden could step aside at any time in a second term and pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris.
But that idea has also faded along with Harris’ poor performance and sinking popularity.
There is hardly a soul in America who believes she is ready to be president, and that makes her far less useful as a running mate in what is likely to be a close election.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has stepped into the party’s void and is making a valiant effort to stir his family embers, but he’s a wild card who is having trouble hitting 20% support.
Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom is clearly eager to join the race, but presumably will run only if Biden doesn’t.
Others will likely jump in, too, if Biden exits the contest.
Time is not on the Dems’ side for all this to shake out, so expect to see signs of panic among activists and leaders as the political significance of the Hunter Biden developments sink in.
Trump, despite his vast legal problems, remains the GOP frontrunner, but there are serious doubts about his electability.
Now the same can be said of Biden, making the race for the White House a race for the bottom of the barrel.
