Hunter Biden, the First Son who documented terabytes worth of his own crimes across at least five genres of offense on at least three continents, has finally been indicted. Has hell frozen over? Are pigs flying? No. Its a limited hangout business as usual.
Prosecutors have not charged Hunter with tax fraud, a crime he certainly committed but which implicates his father, the Big Guy to whom Hunter claims to have paid between 10 and 50% of his earnings. Prosecutors likewise have not charged the young Biden for failing to register as a foreign agent, a crime he also committed and through which he became rich but which also, inconveniently, implicates his father. Prosecutors did not even charge Hunter for crimes related to his penchant for crack and hookers at home and abroad crimes that do not directly implicate his father but which nevertheless paint an ugly portrait of the Biden clan.
Instead, Hunter has been charged with lying on some paperwork while purchasing a firearm. That is, he is charged with making too expansive a use of his Second Amendment rights, cherished by Americans since long before the nations founding and defended especially by Joe Bidens most trenchant critics. Hunter faces jail time for his least significant crime, which also happens to be the transgression least damaging to his father and most likely to elicit sympathy. The indictment, though less masterful a political maneuver than the Justice Departments previous attempt to let him off with a sweetheart plea deal, impresses nevertheless.
Victor Marchetti, a former special assistant to the deputy director of the CIA, described the tactic succinctly. A limited hangout, he wrote, is spy jargon for a favorite and frequently used gimmick of the clandestine professionals: when their veil of secrecy is shredded and they can no longer rely on a phony cover story to misinform the public, they resort to admitting sometimes even volunteering some of the truth while still managing to withhold the key and damaging facts in the case.
In the case of the Bidens, a veil of secrecy no longer obscures their corruption. First, Joe denied knowledge of Hunters business deals. Then, Hunter admitted to discussing the deals with his father. Next, Joe Biden denied active involvement in the graft. Then, handwritten notes and phone logs revealed Joes participation in dozens of Hunters crooked meetings. So Joe spun his participation as perfunctory pleasantries to appease his son. Then, investigators discovered several pseudonyms, present in thousands of emails, by which Biden as Vice President of the United States got into the nitty gritty of the deals. Now Hunter has been indicted for lying to a gun store clerk. WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show
But what ever happened to the tax charges? The Department of Justice seemed willing to pursue them just as long as a federal judge let Hunter off the hook without the still-hidden details of his business dealings ever seeing the light of day. When U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected that proposal in July, the DOJ decided to drop the charges altogether. Did the prosecutors suddenly conclude that Hunter had not in fact committed the crime? Or was the prosecution a farce from the start?
The gun charges carry with them the prospect of 25 years in federal prison. But does anyone believe that Joe Biden would permit his only surviving son to languish in jail even if prosecutors managed to convict him? Bidens attorney, Abbe Lowell seems downright serene, predicting, The case will be dismissed before trial. In the meantime, Lowell has reportedly informed the judge that Hunter will plead not guilty.
When the Hunter Biden laptop story first broke just under four years ago, the government leapt into action to pressure social media platforms to suppress the story. Four years later, the tactics have changed, but the goal remains the same: protect Joe Biden.
SEATTLE — Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending single in the 15th inning, and the Seattle Mariners advanced to the American League Championship Series by outlasting the Detroit Tigers for a 3-2 victory Friday night.
At 4 hours, 58 minutes, it was the longest winner-take-all postseason game in baseball history and featured 15 pitchers — eight for the Mariners and seven for the Tigers.
With one out and the bases loaded, Polanco drove in J.P. Crawford with a liner to right off Tommy Kahnle. Crawford hit a leadoff single, Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and Julio Rodriguez was intentionally walked before Polanco’s big swing on the 472nd pitch of an epic Game 5 in a tightly contested division series.
The Mariners left 12 runners on base and still advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2001. Next up is a matchup with the AL East champion Blue Jays, beginning Sunday night in Toronto.
“We never give up,” Polanco said. “We just keep fighting. It doesn’t matter how many innings we play. We just stay ready and wait for the moment. It’s going to come. It was my time.”
Luis Castillo pitched 1⅓ innings for the win in his first major league relief appearance. Logan Gilbert, another member of Seattle’s rotation, worked two scoreless innings in his first relief outing since his college days at Stetson University in 2017.
“It was such a tough night,” Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh said. “Everyone put their other stuff aside and did everything for the team, including Logan and Luis.”
Detroit wasted a stellar performance by Tarik Skubal, who struck out 13 while pitching six innings of one-run ball. The Tigers went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base.
“We had an incredible game today that — unfortunately, somebody had to lose, and that somebody was us, and it hurts,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
Kerry Carpenter put Detroit in front when he hit a two-run homer off Gabe Speier in the sixth inning. Carpenter had four hits and walked twice, becoming the first player to reach five times and hit a home run in a winner-take-all postseason game since Babe Ruth in 1926.
The Mariners tied it at 2 on Leo Rivas‘ pinch-hit single off Tyler Holton in the seventh. Rivas celebrated his 28th birthday with his first postseason hit.
“He was up to the task tonight,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. “It was a huge hit.”
Friday’s win was the Mariners’ first series-clinching victory in extra innings since Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS, a 6-5 victory in 11 innings over the Yankees.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
Donald Trump has announced the US will impose an additional 100% tariff on China imports, accusing it of taking an “extraordinarily aggressive position” on trade.
In a post to his Truth Social platform on Friday, the US president said Beijing had sent an “extremely hostile letter to the world” and imposed “large-scale export controls on virtually every product they make”.
Mr Trump, who warned the additional tariffs would start on 1 November, said the US would also impose export controls on all critical software to China.
He wrote: “Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only for the USA, and not other nations who were similarly threatened, starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a tariff of 100% on China, over and above any tariff that they are currently paying.
“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is history. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Image: President Trump says he sees no reason to see President Xi as part of a trip to South Korea. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump said earlier on Friday that there “seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a scheduled meeting as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea at the end of this month.
He had posted: “I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems no reason to do so.”
The trip was scheduled to include a stop in Malaysia, which is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, a stop in Japan and then the stop to South Korea, where Mr Trump would meet Mr Xi ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Mr Trump added: “There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”
The move signalled the biggest rupture in relations in six months between Beijing and Washington – the world’s biggest factory and its biggest consumer.
It also threatens to escalate tensions between the two countries, prompting fears over the stability of the global economy.
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4:00
Sky’s Siobhan Robbins explains why Donald Trump didn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize
Friday was Wall Street’s worst day since April, with the S&P 500 falling 2.7%, owing to fears about US-China relations.
China had restricted the access to rare earths ahead of the meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi.
Under the restrictions, Beijing would require foreign companies to get special approval for shipping the metallic elements abroad.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a first phase of a peace deal brokered by the US president, with a ceasefire taking effect on Friday.
Dr Naim said the ceasefire would not have been possible without President Trump, but insisted he needed to continue to apply pressure to Israel to stick to the agreement.
He added that Hamas would be willing to step aside for a Palestinian body to govern a post-war Gaza, but that they would remain “on the ground” and would not be disarmed.
Dr Naim said in the interview: “Without the personal interference of President Trump in this case, I don’t think that it would have happened to have reached the end of the war.
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“Therefore, yes, we thank President Trump and his personal efforts to interfere and to pressure Israel to bring an end to this massacre and slaughtering.”
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He added: “We believe and we hope that President Trump will continue to interfere personally and to exercise the maximum pressure on [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to fulfil its obligation.
“First, as according to the deal, and second, according to the international law as an occupying power, because I think without this pressure, without this personal interference from President Trump, this will not happen.
“We have already seen Netanyahu speaking to the media, threatening to go to war again if this doesn’t happen, if that doesn’t happen.”
Image: Donald Trump has been thanked for his role in securing a peace deal in Gaza. Pic: AP
Questions remain over the next phases of the peace plan, including who will govern Gaza as Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm – as called for in Mr Trump’s ceasefire plan.
Mr Netanyahu has hinted that Israel might renew its offensive if Hamas does not give up its weapons.
However, Dr Naim said Hamas would not completely disarm and that weapons would only be handed over to the Palestinian state, with fighters integrated into the Palestinian National Army.
“No one has the right to deny us the right to resist the occupation of armies,” he said.
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2:24
Thousands of Gazans are heading north as Israeli troops pull back.
On future governance, Dr Naim criticised plans for Sir Tony to play any role in overseeing the future of Gaza, saying that Hamas and Palestinians were angered by his role in previous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Dr Naim added: “When it comes to Tony Blair, unfortunately, we Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims and maybe others around the world have bad memories of him.
“We can still remember his role in killing, causing thousands or millions of deaths to innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We can still remember him very well after destroying Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Under Mr Trump’s plans, Sir Tony would form part of an international supervisory body.
The international body, the Council of Peace or Board of Peace, would govern under plans approved by Mr Netanyahu.