Hunter Biden Verdict Sparks Unbelievable MAGA Conspiracy Theories
Talia Jane
NEW REPUBLIC
Tue, June 11, 2024 at 10:41 AM MDT·3 min read
792
Conservatives are reacting to Hunter Biden’s felony conviction on Tuesday in seemingly the only way they know how: claiming it’s part of an elaborate conspiracy by the Department of Justice to weaken their outrage over Trump’s own felony convictions.
The reactions from the MAGAsphere were practically instantaneous on Tuesday, led by former White House policy advisor Stephen Miller who declared that Biden’s conviction is part of a plot to avoid pursuing foreign agent charges that would lead back to Biden.
“The gun charges are a giant misdirection,” asserted Miller. “An easy op for DOJ to sell to a pliant media that is all too willing to be duped. Don’t be gaslit. This is all about protecting Joe Biden and only Joe Biden.”
Similar to Miller, End Wokeness, a far-right account with over a million followers that frequently disseminates racist and conspiratorial content, opted to seize Biden’s conviction by pivoting to Ukraine conspiracies, announcing “Hunter Biden is a red herring. The real person of interest in the Ukraine bribery/laundering is the Big Guy. We all know exactly who that is.” The Joe Biden-Ukraine conspiracy alleges that during his time as vice president, Biden took a bribe to pressure Ukraine away from investigating a gas company to protect his son who sat on the board, a conspiracy led by an FBI informant who was recently charged for fabricating the whole story.
“Hunter Biden operated as an unregistered foreign agent and profited millions. The gun case was nothing more than smoke and mirrors from the Biden DOJ,” Texas Representative Lance Gooden declared on X (formerly Twitter).
Other far-right influencers have opted to paint Biden’s conviction as a tactic by the Justice Department to help them swallow the bitter pill about their dear leader’s own conviction. “Hunter got a fair trial, unlike Trump,” wrote conservative activist Tom Fitton. Conservative influencer Tim Young claimed he “predicted the Hunter Biden verdict” and linked to an interview he gave to a right-wing media outlet where he claimed the routine prosecution of Biden’s gun charge was a plot to create an “illusion of balance” following Trump’s guilty verdict. Young’s “prediction” does not include Biden being found guilty on all counts. Charlie Kirk, who leads the white nationalist-friendly Turning Point USA, accused the conviction of being a “fake trial to make the Justice system appear ‘balanced’” and advised his followers, “Don’t fall for it.”
Representative Matt Gaetz, in contrast, has had relatively little to say, writing off the conviction as “kinda dumb tbh.” That may be due to the fact that the last time he tried joining the hating Hunter Biden bandwagon, it blew up in his face.
The conservative reactions manage to be simultaneously totally unsurprising and completely unexpected: Conservatives have desperately sought to take down Hunter Biden, viewing his messy past as a lynchpin to bring about his father’s demise. That they’d adamantly avoid celebrating Biden’s conviction seems purely motivated by fear of reinforcing their already apparent hypocrisy.
Opinion
Marjorie Taylor Greene Amplifies Deep MAGA Conspiracy on Hunter Biden
Tue, June 11, 2024 at 10:41 AM MDT·3 min read
792
Conservatives are reacting to Hunter Biden’s felony conviction on Tuesday in seemingly the only way they know how: claiming it’s part of an elaborate conspiracy by the Department of Justice to weaken their outrage over Trump’s own felony convictions.
The reactions from the MAGAsphere were practically instantaneous on Tuesday, led by former White House policy advisor Stephen Miller who declared that Biden’s conviction is part of a plot to avoid pursuing foreign agent charges that would lead back to Biden.
“The gun charges are a giant misdirection,” asserted Miller. “An easy op for DOJ to sell to a pliant media that is all too willing to be duped. Don’t be gaslit. This is all about protecting Joe Biden and only Joe Biden.”
Similar to Miller, End Wokeness, a far-right account with over a million followers that frequently disseminates racist and conspiratorial content, opted to seize Biden’s conviction by pivoting to Ukraine conspiracies, announcing “Hunter Biden is a red herring. The real person of interest in the Ukraine bribery/laundering is the Big Guy. We all know exactly who that is.” The Joe Biden-Ukraine conspiracy alleges that during his time as vice president, Biden took a bribe to pressure Ukraine away from investigating a gas company to protect his son who sat on the board, a conspiracy led by an FBI informant who was recently charged for fabricating the whole story.
“Hunter Biden operated as an unregistered foreign agent and profited millions. The gun case was nothing more than smoke and mirrors from the Biden DOJ,” Texas Representative Lance Gooden declared on X (formerly Twitter).
Other far-right influencers have opted to paint Biden’s conviction as a tactic by the Justice Department to help them swallow the bitter pill about their dear leader’s own conviction. “Hunter got a fair trial, unlike Trump,” wrote conservative activist Tom Fitton. Conservative influencer Tim Young claimed he “predicted the Hunter Biden verdict” and linked to an interview he gave to a right-wing media outlet where he claimed the routine prosecution of Biden’s gun charge was a plot to create an “illusion of balance” following Trump’s guilty verdict. Young’s “prediction” does not include Biden being found guilty on all counts. Charlie Kirk, who leads the white nationalist-friendly Turning Point USA, accused the conviction of being a “fake trial to make the Justice system appear ‘balanced’” and advised his followers, “Don’t fall for it.”
Representative Matt Gaetz, in contrast, has had relatively little to say, writing off the conviction as “kinda dumb tbh.” That may be due to the fact that the last time he tried joining the hating Hunter Biden bandwagon, it blew up in his face.
The conservative reactions manage to be simultaneously totally unsurprising and completely unexpected: Conservatives have desperately sought to take down Hunter Biden, viewing his messy past as a lynchpin to bring about his father’s demise. That they’d adamantly avoid celebrating Biden’s conviction seems purely motivated by fear of reinforcing their already apparent hypocrisy.
Opinion
Marjorie Taylor Greene Amplifies Deep MAGA Conspiracy on Hunter Biden
Talia Jane
NEW REPUBLIC
Tue, June 11, 2024
As conservatives sort out their preferred conspiratorial reactions to Hunter Biden’s felony conviction on Tuesday, Marjorie Taylor Greene has helpfully come along to merge two competing conspiracies together.
Conservatives initially reacted to Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict by largely choosing one of two conspiracies: that Biden’s conviction is an offering from the Department of Justice to weaken outrage over Trump’s conviction, or that Biden’s gun conviction is simply smoke and mirrors to distract from the (very false) allegation that Joe Biden took a bribe to coerce the Ukrainian government away from investigating a gas company whose board Hunter Biden sat on.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has opted to blend these two together, posting well after the initial surge of hot takes that Hunter Biden is “the Deep State’s sacrificial lamb.”
Tue, June 11, 2024
As conservatives sort out their preferred conspiratorial reactions to Hunter Biden’s felony conviction on Tuesday, Marjorie Taylor Greene has helpfully come along to merge two competing conspiracies together.
Conservatives initially reacted to Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict by largely choosing one of two conspiracies: that Biden’s conviction is an offering from the Department of Justice to weaken outrage over Trump’s conviction, or that Biden’s gun conviction is simply smoke and mirrors to distract from the (very false) allegation that Joe Biden took a bribe to coerce the Ukrainian government away from investigating a gas company whose board Hunter Biden sat on.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has opted to blend these two together, posting well after the initial surge of hot takes that Hunter Biden is “the Deep State’s sacrificial lamb.”
Twitter screenshot: Marjorie Taylor Greene
It will likely never occur to those circulating these conspiracies that Trump’s conviction in the hush-money trial came from a city-level investigation unaffiliated with the Justice Department, which began more than a year before Biden announced his bid for president. Nor will it become apparent that Hunter Biden’s charges and conviction are relatively routine and that the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy to which conservatives clutch so tightly was found to have been totally made up by a former FBI informant with reported ties to Russian intelligence.
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