WATCH: CNN Legal Analyst Admits DOJ Was ‘Very Lenient’ On Hunter Biden

CNN’s senior legal analyst, Elie Honig, admitted on air that the Department of Justice’s actions regarding Hunter Biden was pretty “inexplicable” and that the president’s scandal-ridden son was treated with a “very lenient disposition” by his father’s Department of Justice. Honig mused that the only way for Biden’s DOJ to regain public trust on this matter might just be to go to trial and charge Hunter with everything they have.

The segment started when a CNN host asked Honig for his analysis of the DOJ’s conduct here. “[I]t’s really inexplicable to me. First, we had basically five years of behind-the-scenes investigation with no transparency, no action, and some questions being asked, what’s taken so long? But in the last couple of months, we’ve seen a pattern here… And we’ve now seen it play out two or three separate times,” observed Honig.

“DOJ moves toward a very lenient disposition, they’re just about to lock in that lenient disposition, and then there arises pressure, either through whistleblower testimony or through public scrutiny, and then, DOJ backs off and says, actually, we’re not going to do that now that it’s been called out, we’re going to try to up it a little bit. And then that happened again. And then they go all the way to appointing a special counsel, the same guy who’s been presiding over the case for five-plus years already,” noted Honig.

The legal analyst admitted, “So, I genuinely am perplexed by what DOJ’s doing here. I think they’ve made a real mess for themselves and now they’re going to have to deal with the consequences of it. DOJ has sort of been in a darned if they do, darned if they don’t posture on this from the start. But they’ve made it way worse by sort of careening back and forth here.”

WATCH:

“It may well be that any deal is never going to be accepted as fair. So, if I’m in David Weiss’ shoes here — heaven help me — I would just say, look, we’re charging everything we have, we’re not in position to make a deal, it’ll go to trial, and we’ll let the jury decide this. I think that’s the only way to restore any credibility to this matter,” Honig added.

This treatment is, however, not a mystery to some. Robert Barnes, a distinguished legal analyst, remarked,”*The* reason for the #HunterBidenPleaDeal is to immunize him from prosecution on crimes that could implicate or cause him to flip on [the President]— some folks only figuring that out today, after Judge expresses concern over this highly unusual sweetheart deal. ”

*The* reason for the #HunterBidenPleaDeal is to immunize him from prosecution on crimes that could implicate or cause him to flip on @POTUS — some folks only figuring that out today, after Judge expresses concern over this highly unusual sweetheart deal.

— Robert Barnes (@barnes_law) July 26, 2023

Barnes previously spoke out against the unusual nature of Hunter’s plea deal. “As a criminal tax lawyer for a near quarter-century, I confirm how rare & extraordinary the #HunterBiden plea deal is. Indeed, the deal violates DOJ Tax official policy, where Biden’s DOJ prohibit prosecutors from even offering this deal to people who did far less than Hunter.”

As a criminal tax lawyer for a near quarter-century, I confirm how rare & extraordinary the #HunterBiden plea deal is. Indeed, the deal violates DOJ Tax official policy, where Biden's DOJ prohibit prosecutors from even offering this deal to people who did far less than Hunter.

— Robert Barnes (@barnes_law) June 20, 2023

The unusual plea deal is on hold pending a decision by a federal judge on whether it is acceptable or not.