In a notable messaging shift, a House Democrat has acknowledged that Hunter Biden may have violated the law. 

Connecticut Representative Jim Himes (D) conceded that the president's son "possibly" broke tax and gun laws, but insisted here is "zero" evidence of anything more serious than that.

"If Hunter Biden broke the law, he should be prosecuted. And it is clear that he broke the law with respect to taxes and possibly the ownership of a handgun. He should be held accountable for that," Himes told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.

Deflect, deflect

As one might expect, Himes' criticism of the first son was couched in deflections and caveats.

First, the qualifier "possibly," while legally correct - Hunter being entitled to the presumption of innocence - is ridiculous in light of the facts. Hunter Biden lied on a gun form about his gun use, which is a crime - period.

Furthermore, Himes' criticism was limited to the crimes laid out in Hunter's now defunct sweetheart plea deal, which fell apart under the scrutiny of a judge. Himes did not acknowledge the evidence of more serious crimes, like money laundering and unregistered foreign lobbying.

And finally, Himes sought to deflect by accusing Republicans of going easy on Donald Trump.

"If [Hunter] traded on his father’s influence, he should be held accountable for that. And I’m emphasizing this because you never, ever heard a Republican say the same thing about Donald Trump or his family," he said.

Dems backpedaling

Even as he accused Republicans of holding Trump above the law, Himes pushed the increasingly untenable talking point that Joe Biden had zero knowledge of his son's business dealings.

"There is at this point, zero, zero evidence [emphasis added] that Joe Biden is guilty of anything.....This is their [Republicans'] latest fever dream," he said.

Note the use of language such as "at this point." This interview was on Friday, days before bombshell testimony from Devon Archer, Hunter's former business partner.

Archer told Congress that Hunter put his dad on speaker phone during over a dozen foreign business meetings - leaving Joe Biden's defenders, like Democrat Dan Goldman (D-Ny.), speechless.

🚨ITS HAPPENING🚨

Biden’s de facto lawyer Rep. Daniel Goldman is visually shaken, sweaty and in PANIC after hearing Devon Archer’s testimony.

Goldman admits Joe DID coordinate with Hunter's business associates but he was just to “say hi”

Watch the PANICpic.twitter.com/WVEYbYPnWW

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 31, 2023

Democrats are clearly in damage control mode, at this point.