Hunter Biden, His Dad’s Executive Order, and Trump’s Other Trials
Welcome back to Politics Explained! If you’re new here, we post non-partisan concise weekly blogs that provide an overview of recent events in US politics. This week, we’ll be covering the Hunter Biden trial, President Biden’s order to close the U.S.-Mexico border, and Trump’s legal troubles. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started.
President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has three gun-related charges against him. Now under trial, he is at risk of facing 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines. The events that the trial is focusing on occurred during a rough time in Hunter Biden’s life, as he was going through a divorce, having money problems, addicted to crack cocaine, and in and out of rehab. The charges concern his illegal drug usage while buying and using a gun he purchased during this rough spot in his life. This trial continues to unravel as Hunter’s ex-girlfriend AND sister-in-law (widow of the late Beau Biden), Hallie Biden, recently testified.
This past Tuesday, President Biden used an executive order to close the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers. After months of heightened struggle with illegal border crossings, this order reverses the guarantee that anyone who enters the U.S. has the right to seek a safe haven. The order will be lifted if the government certifies that fewer than 1,500 people a day on average crossed the border in the span of a week. However, if the number goes back up to 2,500 a day, the order will be put back in place. Although immigrants may still have other options to enter into the U.S., this has made it a lot harder to come into the country.
Lastly, Trump’s legal troubles continue after last week’s conviction. The former president still has three other criminal trials to face, all of which have been slowed down by delays. The three cases include a federal documents case and two 2020 election cases. The federal documents case accuses Trump of illegally holding on to classified documents which concern national security, and is unlikely to happen before the upcoming election. The first election case accuses Trump of conspiring to subvert* democracy after the 2020 election and stay in power. Trump has claimed immunity due to the fact that his actions took place while he was president, and the Supreme Court will rule on that in a couple of weeks. Finally, the second election case accuses Trump of election interference in Georgia, but is extremely unlikely to go to trial this year as well. This charge is also under Georgia state law, unlike the two others which are under federal law. For updates on these cases, stay tuned to our blog!
Definition of the week (subvert): undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution).
