Being Hunter Being Hunted
By
Leonard Zwelling
Having spent a year on Capitol Hill, I am well aware of the political games played and dances danced by the members of Congress and their staffs. There is nothing that is not political. Thus, we should not be surprised that the many alleged misdeeds of Hunter Biden have become the latest political football to be teed up in Congress.
As you may remember, I think Hunter and his father thought this was all behind them as recently as a few months ago when a plea deal had been arranged on the tax evasion and gun charges brought against the President’s son. Then a judge threw the deal out and away we go. Of course, the bigger issues have to do with Hunter’s business dealings overseas and his father’s role in his getting the business.
It seems pretty clear that the junior Mr. Biden committed quite a few crimes in his buying a gun while still addicted to drugs, lying about it, and probably committing tax felonies as well. The latest GOP probe into these matters should make this all clear soon enough. Frankly, it sounds like the government has Hunter dead to rights on the gun charge. Why he pleaded not guilty to lying on the form is beyond me.
But the bigger issue is whether or not Hunter Biden entered into illegal deals with foreign companies, employed his father’s sway in making these deals when his father was Vice President, and finally whether or not the current President benefitted from any of this nonsense in a financial manner. Now these charges are serious and definitely need answers. That the impeachment inquiry had begun as an excuse for the Republicans to get documents is frankly silly. Congress, the special counsel, and the Department of Justice should have access to bank records, emails, phone records, etc. that would serve to answer the questions about Hunter Biden’s conduct, whether he employed his father to make deals in foreign countries, and whether or not his father profited from any of this.
There are really two ways of looking at this latest impeachment threat.
First, the Republicans are trying to get Joe Biden on equal footing with Donald Trump so that the American people have a choice of which felon to put in the White House in 2024.
Second, the Republicans will do anything to embarrass President Biden and this is really politics as usual.
Either way, this is all a bit of a side show. To some extent, so are the many Trump indictments. The real question is who has a plan for the future of the country so that we may prosper and compete in the world. So far, the answer seems to be no one.
In the end, Hunter Biden is destined to be a footnote in history. Of course, that’s what everyone thought the Watergate burglary was on June 17, 1972 and look how that turned out.
The American voter should know whether or not the son of a sitting Vice President used the power of his father’s office to sell his brand and enrich himself. The American people also should know whether or not the father profited in any way.
Hunter Biden by himself is irrelevant. But so is Stormy Daniels.
Wouldn’t it be swell if the people we have elected to lead us actually got around to doing just that with meaningful policies, comprehensive legislation, and real plans for implementation.
The world is an ever more complicated place between wars, natural disasters, and climate change. Is Hunter Biden any more than a diversion in this world? I doubt it, but let’s find out. Quickly. Put him under oath. Bring him to testify before Congress and if he lies, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. I don’t care who his father is.
