DOJ seeks jail time for Aimee Harris, accused of stealing Ashley Biden's diary

The Biden Administration also requested three years of probation for the defendant, who pleaded guilty to committing the crime two years ago.

Ashley Biden, hija menor de Joe Biden. — Ashley Biden (Cordon Press)

Published by

Alejandro Baños

4 de abril, 2024

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) sought between four and ten months in prison plus three years of supervised release for Aimee Harris, who pleaded guilty two years ago to stealing the diary and other property - such as a cell phone and photographs - of Ashley Biden, the youngest daughter of Joe Biden.

In a letter issued to the investigating judge, the DOJ confirmed their request and also explained that the defendant requested the delay of her sentencing hearing on a dozen occasions:

The Government respectfully submits this supplementary letter in advance of the sentencing of defendant Aimee Harris, currently scheduled for April 9, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.—the twelfth sentencing date this Court has set for the defendant. For the reasons set forth below, the Government respectfully submits a revised recommendation for the sentence to be imposed in this case. Based upon all the information currently available to the Government, and in accordance with the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the Government submits that the Court should impose a sentence within the applicable guidelines range of 4 to 10 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Prosecutors also wrote that Harris "flouted the law" every time she asked to delay the sentencing hearings:

At a bare minimum, the defendant’s flagrant disrespect for the law, including the orders of this Court —even after pleading guilty in this case—demonstrates an abdication of responsibility for her conduct and strongly militates for an incarceratory sentence. In particular, the defendant has shown to be completely unamenable to court supervision, such that a sentence involving merely probation will not be sufficient to deter the defendant from continuing to flout the law.

The theft of the newspaper

The events occurred in September 2020. Harris was temporarily living at Biden's residence, located in Delray Beach (Florida), when she decided to steal personal belongings.

Harris then proceeded to sell them, with the help of Robert Kurlander, also accused. It was the conservative group Project Veritas that acquired the material and paid each of the thieves $20,000.

Project Veritas never posted the material on its website, but another platform called Flyover Media did, The Hill reported.