Poll: Half of Americans Believe Hunter Biden Received Special Treatment

Half of Americans Believe Hunter Biden Received Preferential Treatment, Poll Finds

According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, half of Americans believe that Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, received preferential treatment from prosecutors. The deal reached would allow Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax charges while avoiding a gun-related conviction.

The two-day poll, which closed on Wednesday, revealed a stark partisan divide in opinions on the case. 75 percent of Republicans viewed the treatment as preferential, compared to only 33 percent of Democrats.

Despite the controversy, most respondents stated that the case would not impact their likelihood of voting for President Biden in the upcoming reelection.

U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a federal prosecutor appointed by former President Donald Trump, announced that Hunter Biden, 53, has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes. Additionally, he has entered into an agreement that could potentially avoid a conviction on the gun-related charge.

President Trump and his Republican allies have criticized the plea agreement, claiming it amounts to special treatment for Biden’s son. Weiss, a Trump-appointed prosecutor, was one of the few individuals Biden asked to remain in their positions to avoid any appearance of tampering in politically sensitive investigations.

While some media pundits have dismissed concerns about Hunter Biden receiving special treatment and downplayed the charges he pleaded guilty to, others have defended him. “What do these jerks in the House want Joe Biden to do?” remarked MSNBC commentator and former Democratic senator Claire McCaskill.

Hunter Biden is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Delaware on July 26.

Court filings reveal that Hunter Biden had taxable income exceeding $1.5 million in both 2017 and 2018 but failed to pay income tax for those years, despite owing over $100,000.

In addition to the tax charges, he is also accused of unlawfully owning a firearm while using and addicted to crack cocaine. For this charge, he entered a pretrial diversion agreement, which is an alternative to prosecution that can help defendants avoid prison time or a criminal conviction.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,004 U.S. adults nationwide and has a credibility interval of about 4 percentage points.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis)