Perhaps I have gone from skeptic to cynic of late, but the philosophical question in the headline came to mind first when I saw James Comer’s announcement yesterday. Jazz wrote earlier this morning about the warning from the House Oversight chair to the Department of Justice about any decision on charging Hunter Biden. Our friends at PJ Media call it a potential “bombshell,” and it may well be – although it’s likely to be the most silent bombshell in media history.

I’ll get back to that in a moment, but first let’s ask this question: why did Comer announce the reveal two days in advance? It’s likely because he’s as worried as Andrew McCarthy that the DoJ is crafting a “sweetheart” plea deal that will bury Hunter’s bigger crimes and those of Biden Inc, allowing the media to continue ignoring all of them:

This has led to speculation that the scam I’ve been predicting for a couple of years is imminent: The Justice Department could soon give Hunter a sweetheart plea deal in which he would admit guilt to the undeniable — a minor tax charge or two, plus, perhaps, a false statement on a required federal firearms form, concealing his drug abuse. Swept under the rug would be the part of the investigation that really matters: The gross monetization of Joe Biden’s political influence and what foreign adversaries like China believed they were buying.

Ostensibly, Comer’s warning was a courtesy to the DoJ. Most likely, though, it was a brushback pitch aimed at Merrick Garland’s chin about trying to let Hunter off the hook. If the DoJ offers this kind of plea deal, it would allow the White House and the media to shrug off any other Hunter Biden allegation as old news – even if it involved foreign influence peddling and corruption on a large scale. Comer’s letting them know that any such action would have significant consequences as the House investigations reveal more and more wrongdoing by Biden Inc, and perhaps Biden himself.

Would the mainstream media report on those developments as bombshells – or let the Bidens get away with a hush-up plea deal?

Come on, man.

Media outlets are already champing at the bit to serve as Joe Biden’s PR department. How else to explain all of the tough coverage of … Joe’s preference for ice cream over fish? Or MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle teeing up a softball question in a rare Biden one-on-one interview and not following up on his response – “My son has done nothing wrong”?

Really? Not a single follow-up on the illegal weapons issue, not regarding his drug use, not even about his child with Lunden Roberts, whom Hunter and the Bidens have all abandoned? That story was in the news at that same time, with Hunter trying to convince a court that he was nothing more than a destitute artist with a jet-set lifestyle. Ruhle didn’t even bother to question Biden on the propriety of answering her question, which certainly gave the appearance of a message to the DoJ.

If you want to know how seriously MSNBC’s parent company takes its responsibility to hold power accountable, look no further than its decision to hire Biden flack Jen Psaki as a political analyst for Biden’s re-election coverage.

It’s so bad that mainstream media outlets have resorted to claiming that Kamala Harris’ only real political problem is mean Republicans.

Come on, man.

In this environment, the question remains: If a Biden bombshell lands in the MSM forest, where do you go to hear the blast?

That’s why we developed our VIP/VIP Gold membership programs – to ensure that we can remain independent of mainstream media hostility, Big Tech’s cowardly collaboration with government censors, and periods of advertiser trepidation stoked by activists and extremists. It keeps us free to speak our minds and to bring dissent and debate back to our readers. It also provides exclusive content, such as:

• The Amiable Skeptics featuring Adam Baldwin
• Off the Beaten Path with Larry O’Connor
• The Week in Review with Duane Patterson
• Exclusive columns from Tom Jackson, Duane “Generalissimo” Patterson, and Matt Vespa
• Members-only content from our HotAir team – David Strom, Jazz Shaw, and myself
• Live chats and interactive engagement on all platforms with VIP Gold
• Exclusive access to the comments sections on each post, so that you can join the conversation at HotAir
• And more yet to come!

We talk about this more often now because we see the coming crisis in media more clearly than ever. This week’s refusal by mainstream media to even discuss narrative-defying science on both masks and vaccines demonstrates the depth of the problem. We hope we can gather as many allies as possible to keep all of these issues in the public square – and indeed to preserve the public square at all.

Join us in the fight. Become a HotAir VIP member today and use promo code SAVEAMERICA to receive a 40% discount on your membership.

Thank you, and thank you for standing with us.