Hunter Biden's surprising guilty plea spared his father the scrutiny of a jury trial delving into the family's shadowy financial deals. Will "the big guy" return the favor and pardon his son?

New York Post journalist and author Miranda Devine speculated that Hunter Biden pled guilty expecting to get a lucky break.

Hunter Biden had initially pled not guilty, before making a stunning about face as the trial got underway last week.

"Hunter’s bizarre legal strategy only makes sense in light of the get-out-of jail free card his powerful father has ready for him. He will cry victim and escape accountability for his misdeeds yet again, like he has done all his life," Devine wrote.

Biden case over

For several years, the Bidens avoided legal scrutiny as largely right-wing media, including the New York Post, uncovered the sordid story of the family's influence peddling in countries like China and Ukraine.

Ahead of Hunter's tax trial last week, prosecutors signaled they would introduce evidence of his foreign lobbying in Romania during his father's vice presidency. Hunter Biden was never charged with unregistered foreign lobbying, in what many saw as an example of favorable treatment.

In light of Biden's plea, many remain skeptical that he will face justice after a lifetime of avoiding consequences.

Joe Biden previously committed to not pardoning Hunter after he was found guilty of gun violations in June. But Biden's thinking may have shifted since the end of his re-election campaign this summer.

Nothing left to lose

Now, time is running out for a lame duck Biden to make a decision about a pardon. Hunter is facing 17 years on the tax charge and over $1 million in fines, but he's likely to get a lighter punishment from the judge.

In light of Hunter's tax plea, many liberal media outlets are focused on the "pain" the trial would have caused for his father. It's reasonable to speculate that Joe Biden, left with nothing to lose, will spare his son serious punishment if he can prevent it.

"But the twin convictions are important because they stand forever as an antidote to the lies and gaslighting that are a Biden family specialty," Devine writes.

With Biden's guilty plea, "the Biden lies of the past five years turned to dust."

It's hard to imagine that a family so flagrantly devoted to its self-interest will suddenly change its ways now. A pardon seems very likely, indeed.