New York Times columnist David Brooks said that he "underestimated" Hunter Biden's scandal story, now claiming that the first son was "peddling" influence.

Brooks shared the admission during a Friday interview on "PBS NewsHour."

Brooks: I ‘Underestimated the Hunter Biden Story’ — Hunter Was ‘Trying to Peddle Influence’ https://t.co/i0C5WvGgmw

— Melanie (@MellieMAGA) September 9, 2023

His comments

"I do think now I have sort of underestimated the Hunter Biden story. I think it’s probably worth a look to see if there was actual influence peddling," Brooks admitted.

"But, for the Republicans to talk about impeachment, you’ve got to have a crime. Like, you’ve got to have some accusation you can make. And they don’t really have anything right now. It’s worth looking into, but they’re way premature in talking about impeachment," he added.

The new filing comes six weeks after a planned plea deal for Hunter to resolve charges of tax and weapons crimes fell apart when a judge questioned its conditions during a hearing in that court. https://t.co/sgWsNypvsa

— NBC 7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) September 7, 2023

Hunter's situation

So far, Hunter Biden has an upcoming court date for a gun charge that serves as only a small part of the many accusations against him.

"Federal prosecutors plan to ask a grand jury to indict Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, on gun-related charge before Sept. 29, they revealed in a court filing Wednesday," CNBC reported.

"The plan was disclosed in a status report that special counsel David Weiss filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, six weeks after a planned plea deal that would have seen Hunter plead guilty to tax crimes — while avoiding conviction on the gun charge — collapsed after a judge questioned its terms," it continued.

You can’t trust David Weiss to be fair.

“[He] would love to bury the gun charge, the same way he has buried the significant aspects of the probe he’s been trusted with – namely, the Biden family business of cashing in on Joe Biden’s political influence.”https://t.co/iUUoHOyzG7

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) September 8, 2023

An unfair battle?

A new op-ed by Andrew McCarthy claims the gun charge should have been an easy one taken care of years ago.

"The gun case is not like the tax charges. Hunter bought the gun in Delaware. He possessed the gun there. It was lost (and later recovered) there. There has never been any doubt that Weiss, the U.S. attorney for the district of Delaware, had jurisdiction over the gun charge," he wrote for Fox News.

"On this one, Weiss can’t even pretend to have been blocked by Biden-appointed prosecutors. He is the only relevant prosecutor. The gun case has never been brought because Weiss has never brought it. The statute of limitations is at its expiration point because Weiss never indicted," he continued.

The investigation remains ongoing, but many are concerned that Hunter Biden will not be charged with most of the crimes for which he is under investigation.