What if a Biden goes to prison instead of Trump?

The most valuable employee or political adviser is the one who will coldly, analytically and unbiasedly review the pros and cons of a company or a politician and tell the CEO or candidate the complete and unvarnished truth — even if that means delivering very bad news.

Such a person is a rarity in business and politics, as most want to go along to get along. While every presidential administration is filled to the brim with the “go along” types, there will also be a few who remain laser-focused on the harsh realities confronting the president.

No doubt there are a few such people in or around the Biden White House who are privately crunching numbers, scenarios and alleged evidence seeking to understand how much negative exposure and risk the president, his son, Hunter Biden, and those in their orbit may face.

“Sacrilege!” the liberal partisans will scream, highlighting the legal issues engulfing former President Donald Trump. “Our president is as pure as the driven snow,” they will insist. “Trump is the criminal. He is the one who should go to prison.” That narrative from that chorus will never change.

That said, politics can be a fickle, cruel and opportunistic business. Especially if some of the movers and shakers behind the scenes perceive a shift in power.

To be sure, Trump has his hands full with his current indictments and pending legal issues. But for those in or near the Biden White House seeking to candidly assess the legal threats to the president or his son, Trump’s woes do not matter in the least.

Suddenly, if you are an adviser to President Biden — or the Democratic National Committee — trying to honestly analyze the growing negative stories and alleged evidence swirling around the president and his son, it may seem as if the walls are closing in a bit more.

Negative stories and alleged evidence such as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) bringing to light the existence of an FBI FD-1023 form detailing an informant’s claim that a Burisma executive paid $5 million each in bribes to then–Vice President Biden and his son. Alleged evidence such as Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealing that the FBI had redacted the part about the executive saying he had 17 audio recordings of conversations with Joe and Hunter Biden.

Alleged evidence such as the Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee releasing testimony from two IRS “whistleblowers” accusing the Justice Department of interfering in their investigation with the aim of protecting Hunter Biden. Testimony including a July 30, 2017, WhatsApp text allegedly showing Hunter Biden threatening a Chinese business partner who hadn’t fulfilled some unnamed “commitment.” “I am sitting here with my father,” the note says. 

“Who cares?” partisan Democrats will shout. “It’s just nonsense the Republicans are putting out there as a distraction. Trump is the one who is in legal jeopardy. Not our guy.” 

Trump is in legal jeopardy. But more than one politician from one political party can be in legal jeopardy at the same time. And “who cares?” I have no doubt that very powerful Democrats behind the scenes care. They will now be doing their own assessments of the situation.

At some point, certain powerful Democrats now circling the wagons around the Biden White House may decide the president and his son are in an untenable position, that their defense may no longer be in the best interests of the Democratic Party or the special interests that fund the party. 

If that point is reached, the foundation under the president and Hunter Biden will start to weaken dramatically. Cracks will appear and more negative stories — or evidence — may seep out.

Much of the mainstream media and the Democratic Party are salivating at the thought of Trump going to prison. But what if it is a Biden instead? The next few months will tell the tale. 

Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant, was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communications at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration.