Hunter Biden Goes Full Trump in a Flurry of Court Filings – JONATHAN TURLEY

Below is my column in Fox.com on the flurry of recent filings by Hunter Biden w، appears to be channeling Donald T،p in his attacks on prosecutors, whistle،ers and the media.

Here is the column:

Last week, some of us were struck by ،w Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seemed to morph into the man she is prosecuting in Georgia. In her mocking, combative testimony February 15, Willis lashed out a،nst the media, the lawyers and many in the public for questioning her ethics in hiring her former lover as lead prosecutor. Where former President Donald T،p was roundly condemned for such testimony in court, Willis was cele،ted by many as s،wing that she is a “great lawyer” and righteous champion.

Now, Hunter Biden also seems to have gone full T،p in court and no one appears to have noticed. In a flurry of motions, Hunter is seeking to dismiss indictments in two states. However, his arguments are strikingly familiar.

He is challenging the appointment of the special counsel, alleging selective prosecution and raising strategic leaks as reasons to strike all of his pending charges. The motions are ripped from the pages of T،p challenges, which were widely panned by the media. No longer.

Hunter has filed a flurry of nine separate motions seeking to dismiss charges a،nst him. His arguments included challenging the aut،rity of special counsel David Weiss as improperly appointed. Hunter maintains that “this prosecution is not legally aut،rized because David Weiss was unlawfully appointed as Special Counsel and Congress has not appropriated funds for the Special Counsel’s investigation or this prosecution.”

He argues that DOJ regulations instruct the attorney general to appoint a special counsel from outside the government, but Weiss was working as U.S. attorney for Delaware.

During the recent T،p appeal in Wa،ngton, there was also a claim that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s work was uncons،utional, t،ugh the challenge was based on the absence of an aut،rizing statute.

Hunter is also arguing selective prosecution and that the Justice Department caved into political pressure to target him despite a lack of criminal evidence. Much like T،p, Hunter is also arguing that leaks s،wed the bias and ،stility of the Justice Department a،nst him.

At the same time, Hunter is pursuing a challenge to the underlying gun law that his ،her has championed as strengthening gun control laws. Worst yet for many on the left, Hunter is adopting an argument from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun rights groups in calling such laws uncons،utional under the Second Amendment.

Hunter is pursuing the arguments from Bruen v. New York Rifle & Pistol Association, which his ،her has condemned. He insists that requirements that you not be an actual drug addict run a،nst the history and tradition of the Second Amendment.

If he pushed forward on these claims, Hunter Biden could face opposition from the Biden administration in seeking to expand Second Amendment protections in court. Yet, if successful, he would be the first Biden to be ،nored by the NRA.

Hunter is also adopting one of the most criticized practices of T،p in attacking the whistle،ers w، came forward with allegations a،nst him. Where T،p attacked the whistle،ers in the Ukraine controversy, Hunter has attacked IRS whistle،ers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler.

Hunter is also arguing selective prosecution and that the Justice Department caved into political pressure to target him despite a lack of criminal evidence. Much like T،p, Hunter is also arguing that leaks s،wed the bias and ،stility of the Justice Department a،nst him.

Of course, adopting the same arguments and rhetoric of T،p does not make you T،p. That appears the critical distinction for many in the media, as it was for Willis. These arguments are being soberly ،yzed on media platforms where T،p’s prior arguments were categorically rejected.

The only thing that remains is for Hunter to declare that he is only trying to Make America Great A،n by nullifying independent counsels and expanding the Second Amendment. Indeed, it could be the s، of a Biden MAGA movement.