Hunter intends an Alfords plea which is a no contest plea rather than a guilty plea. DOJ is objecting because they rarely do Alfords, instead they want a guilty plea. The judge will have to decide.
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Anyhow Hunter will get pardoned Nov 6th, so it's much ado about nothing.

Apparently plead guilty and not no contest/Alfords as earlier reported.

So Hunter will not be in prison before the election day, clearing daddy Biden to pardon him after the election and not face any blowback.

But the prosecution rejected it and Hunter caved.
Jesus, Fester, even when you correct yourself you screw it up.

the conviction entered quickly so he can get his pardon from dad as soon possible in case Joe doesn't make it to the end of his term and gets ousted by the 25th Amendment due to his dementia.  There's no guarantee successor Kamala would let Hunter off on the eve of an election.  The optics would be horrible.  

I don't think pappa Biden is going to let Hunter rot in prison for 17 years.  

A pardon can be issued w/o a conviction. I wouldn't be surprised -- or care, in this case -- if there is a signed, dated, witnessed or notarized pardon sitting in Biden's drawer, ready to be released.  
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Trump is alleged to have granted numerous "secret pardons." The validity of secret pardons is controversial. They would not become public  until and unless they are actually used. E.g., in Trump's case, pardons for Junior, Eric and Ivanka remain secret until they are charged with Federal crimes AND choose to use the pardon.
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http://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-can-president-trump-issue-secret-pardons-1562790
"The power of pardon is laid out in the first clause of Article II Section 2 of the Constitution. ... Pardons do not erase convictions, but they erase the penalties of convictions. They do not always have to follow convictions and can be issued before or during a criminal prosecution. The president may only give pardons for federal crimes, not state crime and not civil actions.  ... In a similar way, the issue of secret pardons is debated among experts. ... [read the article yourself]."