Biden's withdrawal from race could lead to son's prosecution: Sputnik
4 Min Read
Analysts claim the assassination attempt on Trump underscores the long-building, deep political rift in the US and that the Democrats are more concerned than ever.
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President Joe Biden gestures as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House, on February 3, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
If US President Joe Biden withdraws from the 2024 election, it could lead to the prosecution of both him and his son Hunter for alleged crimes in Ukraine, suggested US activist Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, to Sputnik.
"The Biden crime family likely worries if the current president is removed from the November ticket, he and his son could well be prosecuted for multiple crimes - particularly for their crimes in Ukraine," Gagnon said.
According to him, this could lead to cutting a deal to get a pardon for himself and his son as a trade-off for stepping down.
Earlier on Friday, US media reported that the Biden family has started discussing the president's potential plan to withdraw from the election due to increasing pressure. However, the White House has labeled these reports as "incorrect."
In a congressional testimony in February, former Hunter Biden business associate Anthony Bobulinski stated that the Biden family received tens of millions of dollars from foreign actors, including those in China and Ukraine, to gain access to the White House.
'Trump's assassination increased Democrats' concerns'
Gagnon highlighted that the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has bolstered Trump's position in the race and increased the Democrats' concerns about Biden.
"Already we see the Democrats in Congress increasingly worried that it will impact their reelection races. Thus, the call for the removal of Biden is growing," Gagnon said, adding, "It is clearly an indication that elections in the United States are not about 'free democratic expression' but are events controlled by competing regional oligarchs who will use any methods to win."
Gagnon expressed concern that this situation indicates the United States is moving towards internal instability, which could eventually lead to the country's breakup.
"I believe it will be worse here in the United States than it was in Russia after the break-up of the former Soviet Union. We don't have any leaders on the scale of Vladimir Putin who helped restore Russia," Gagnon added.
'Trump's assassination was expected'
Rick Sterling, an activist with the United National Antiwar Coalition, stated that he was not surprised by the assassination attempt on Trump.
He said, "This was very predictable because of the extreme polarization of politics in the United States and the demonization of Trump personally."
Sterling added that the Democratic party has been maintaining a "hate-fest" against Trump since his 2016 victory and that both the assassination attempt and the efforts to imprison him are signs of a declining US empire.
"The whole world can see it, even if the US empire's proponents are blind to it," Sterling said.
However, Sterling expressed hope that the failed assassination attempt might encourage both sides to begin thinking and talking more with each other.
Phil Wilayto, coordinator of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice, and Equality, stated that the assassination attempt reflects the deep political divide in the United States that has been developing for years.
"The storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, by a mob of Trump supporters has been the most dramatic example of this divide, but there have been many others. After the 2008 election of the country’s first Black president, Barack Obama, gun sales increased dramatically," he said.
