OPINION:
Despite all the evidence, accusations, interviews and testimony about the administration, President Biden’s legal troubles have just begun, if the tactics being used against former President Donald Trump become a precedent.
Under Mr. Biden, the Department of Justice has levied more than 40 felony charges against Mr. Trump for, in layman’s terms, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to defraud the United States, depriving Americans of their rights and improperly possessing classified material.
A younger, more moderate Mr. Biden might have had the guts to tell his party that going after Mr. Trump with frivolous prosecutions could lead to a breakdown of the legal system and sap the public’s confidence in impartial justice.
His lack of fortitude now could boomerang on him in a way that goes far beyond his alleged multimillion-dollar bribery scheme.
After he leaves office, Mr. Biden could be potentially indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States through dishonesty and fraud, intentionally impeding lawful federal government functions, and violating Americans’ civil rights through deceit and intimidation.
The evidence is now clear that during the pandemic, Mr. Biden and his staff developed and executed a widespread conspiracy to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights.
The Twitter Files, FBI whistleblowers, and testimony from Big Tech executives demonstrate probable cause that the president illegally suppressed the speech of Americans wishing to express their views on public health mandates.
This scheme was established to demonize the unvaccinated population, which was largely made up of the president’s political opponents. It coerced doctors to comply with regulations that were against their conscience, and deprived Americans of other liberties.
To do this, the president made repeated false claims about the efficacy of COVID vaccinations. Even after scientific and medical evidence was widely available that informed him and his advisers that his claims were false, he continued to lie to the American public on numerous occasions, stating that COVID shots would prevent transmission and infection of the virus.
He knowingly used the apparatus of government to intentionally mislead the American people and illegally suppressing dissent for political gain. As a result of his efforts and those of his advisers, tens of millions of Americans were coerced to surrender their bodily autonomy under threat of losing their jobs, right to travel freely, or exercise their right to receive an education.
Mr. Biden and his advisers were also made aware of widespread errors or deliberate distortion of COVID case and death reporting, and intentionally ignored those to further his aims of demonizing the unvaccinated population, expanding the exercise emergency powers and illegally restricting speech rights.
Under the legal theory being advanced by the Department of Justice against Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden could also face charges in the next Republican administration over his handling of the southern border. Here, the situation is perhaps even clearer than in the COVID scheme.
There is probably cause to assert that the president knowingly and in contravention of U.S. law allowed more than 3 million illegal immigrants into the U.S. while lying to Americans repeatedly about his intentions and aims. His closest advisers, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, have repeatedly lied to both Congress and the public about the administration’s intent to control the flow of illegal crossings.
The results of this widespread, coordinated effort to deceive the population and ignore the laws of the United States have been devastating. Americans have been deprived their property and security rights. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost as a result of the administration’s deliberate efforts to ignore the law.
Then, there’s the alleged obstruction of and interference with the Hunter Biden investigation and prosecution in an effort to cover up the president’s alleged financial and ethics crimes. Providing immunity and forcing testimony under oath could likely provide enough evidence to indict Mr. Biden for that as well.
As one grieving Gold Star parent of a Marine killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal told a congressional committee this week, it’s all about placing the optics ahead of the truth and safety. “These 13 kids, they were killed for that photo-op. That was it,” he said.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s reading of federal statutes makes these prosecutable offenses.
It will take a degree of political maturity for Republicans, uncommon in Washington today, to help restore the justice system by focusing on Mr. Biden’s alleged bribery, pay-to-play and ethics violations rather than revenge for nonsensical Trump prosecutions. But those who take the high road in Washington are seldom bothered by heavy traffic.
So, brace yourselves. 2025 could very well bring a slew of Biden indictments.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax and the author of “Tough Sell: Fighting the Media War in Iraq.” He served as an adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from 2003 to 2004.
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