Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has more on the political reactions to the new Hunter Biden indictment filed out of California on 'Special Report.'

In the hit movie "Network," fictional broadcaster Howard Beale has what he calls a cleansing moment of clarity when he skewers his own profession by admitting to a national audience, "You’re never going to get any truth from us. We’ll tell you anything you want to hear. We lie like hell."

That confessional has always resonated because it reflects the disdain that many Americans have for the real mainstream media. Polling data proves it. The distrust is richly deserved because reporters are notorious for slanting their coverage through deliberate deceptions, misdirections, outright lies and coverups. Even worse, their collective incompetence compounds the public’s scorn.

In the age of President Joe Biden, journalists have become his dedicated foot soldiers and public apologists. No amount of dissembling is discouraged. They merrily contort evidence, mangle facts and twist the law into a pretzel to excuse documented acts of wrongdoing by the president and his greedy family. Beale put it more bluntly — they lie like hell.

PRESIDENT BIDEN FEELING 'GUILTY' OVER HUNTER'S LEGAL PROBLEMS, SUGGESTS HIS 2020 RUN MADE IT WORSE: REPORT

The moment Hunter Biden was indicted for tax crimes by a California grand jury, journalists scoffed at the case by insisting that it is unconnected to Joe Biden. This is true only insofar as the president himself is not named or charged. But his dirty fingerprints are all over the tens of millions of dollars in overseas cash that flowed into Hunter-controlled shell companies and bank accounts.

Evidence may tie President Joe Biden and his son Hunter to influence peddling. FILE: Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, step off Air Force One, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The tax crimes arose from Hunter’s corrupt influence-peddling schemes, and the evidence is compelling that his father actively aided and abetted those schemes. Documents, testimony, White House logs, photographs, emails and text messages implicate him. He spoke repeatedly by phone with Hunter’s clients, met personally with his son’s overseas partners and even attended their meetings.

Joe was the "Biden brand," which meant selling access to him and promises of influence. He was in on it. Devon Archer, Hunter’s former partner, told congressional investigators that the then-vice president operated as "defense leverage" and sent "the right signals" to foreign clients who forked over millions of dollars. Joe was the "key component of the value," added Archer, who detailed how the elder Biden willingly participated.

Secrecy was a critical feature embedded in the schemes. Hunter’s laptop, which was authenticated by the FBI long ago, contains an email warning........

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