Form Responses
On November 21st, I sent an email to the White House. That was kind of a big deal for me. Years ago, I worked as a “correspondence” guy for a US Congressman. We got letters, snail-mail back then, all the time. There were dozens on a normal day, and hundreds when some particular issue was “hot”. My job was to read each one, and make sure we (acting as the Congressman) responded.
We even had a special programmable typewriter (the mid-1970’s, an IBM SElectric). It could type out a letter on a given issue, pausing so you could type in the “personalization” of name, address, and sentences that made it unique. So I would read all the letters, divide them into subject groups, and start replying to them. If it was an issue where there was no “form” already written, I’d write a full response. But those new responses were “vetted” by the Congressman himself before they went out.
Some letters were personal requests. Those I forwarded to the “constituent service” folks to see what they could do. Later, I would be part of that service. The problem-solving was the most fun, and fulfilling, task in the office.
Indirect Influence
Then I summarized what came in that day, and make sure my boss, the Administrative Aide, knew what was important. I’d finish sorting and answering the mail, and get onto whatever else was on my plate (a lot of scheduling, some legislative stuff). It was important was not to miss a day. Like email today, miss a day and it just piles up, absorbing more time than possible to clear my desktop.
So I emailed the White House, knowing full well that it wasn’t going to the “ear” of the President. But it was important for me to let the President know, even indirectly, that this issue was important to me.
Hunter
My email was simple: I asked Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, to pardon his son Hunter. I then gave my reasons. And Sunday, Joe Biden did exactly that.
Of course, it was my “permission” that allowed Biden to issue the pardon – NOT!! I’m sure there was a computer file full of emails asking for Hunter’s pardon, and just as big a file full of those against. But, just like in Congress, a summary made it to the Presidential ear.
So what did I tell President Biden? I told him the truth. If Hunter Biden was Hunter Brown, he would never have been indicted , much less face imprisonment. Hunter Biden didn’t pay his taxes, got caught, then paid them all with interest and penalties. That happens in the US all the time, and seldom are criminal charges filed.
Not Al Capone
Sure, there’s definitely the “Al Capone” exception. The Untouchables couldn’t get Capone for gangster activities like murder and bootlegging, but were able to put him away for tax evasion. Capone couldn’t explain the income. If he did then he’d have to explain where it came from, and face an even greater prison sentence. Hunter was able to demonstrate how he earned the money, and while some of it “smelled” of influence peddling, it was all legal.
And “what-about” the gun charge? Hunter signed a document saying he was legally allowed to have a gun when he wasn’t. That’s seldom charged in Federal criminal court, and is likely to be declared unconstitutional by the MAGA-Supreme Court majority shortly. All of the Biden charges reeked of “selective prosecution”.
Hunter Biden ain’t no Al Capone. He’s simply the son of the number one “high value target” of the MAGA-Republican Party, Joe Biden. The entire investigation doesn’t happen except Hunter is the son of Joe. So, in the end, Hunter Biden would be serving Federal time, not because of his actions, but because it was the way to get at Joe Biden. (Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, and many former US Attorneys make the same point).
No Supervision
It started under the Trump Administration with a Special Prosecutor, David Weiss, the former Republican US Attorney for the Biden’s home state of Delaware. When Biden came to office, he chose not to interfere with the investigation of his son, allowing it to continue. Hunter and Weiss came to a plea-bargain which would have avoided jail time. But the MAGA-Republicans in Congress were able to raise such a ruckus, that the judge threw the bargain out. Hunter was then re-indicted on more counts, and pled guilty to avoid risk of many years in jail.
Attorney General Merrick Garland bent over backwards to give Weiss all of the “runway” he needed to investigate Hunter. Even five years and another President into the process, there was no “interference” or even “supervision” by the head of the Justice Department. So while Democrats might have been in charge, it was the Trump appointed prosecutor that still had Hunter Biden by the scruff of the neck.
The Backlash
There was always going to be a backlash for Biden pardoning his son. The MAGA-Republicans are angry: they had Hunter, and the President stepped in and pulled him from their clenched jaws. It’s rich, even laughable; listening to the whining of MAGA supporters of a convicted felon for President, who made it clear he would use the pardon power to “clean the slate” for his followers. And it certainly doesn’t show that the Justice Department is “weaponized”.
What it does show that President Biden (and Attorney General Garland) allowed the system, tainted by Trump’s version of “weaponization” from the beginning, to go forward. But there was nowhere else for it to go now, except for Hunter to do time in Federal prison. And, of course, that time would be under the questionable oversight of a Trump Administration willing to use whatever tools necessary to get what it wants. The current President didn’t want his son in jail, and he absolutely didn’t want a really weaponized Trump Justice Department to have literal control of Hunter’s very life.
Way to go Joe; you did exactly what needed to be done. I’m proud of your service, in awe of your Presidency, and glad you can use the power of the pardon to right the wrong that was committed against you and your son.
Merry Christmas, Mr. President!!!
This is one of the few cases where We’ll have to agree to disagree.
This is one of the more cynical acts that I can imagine. Its not to say Presidents haven’t pardoned family members before. See, eg, our new Ambassador appointee to France. But do you really want Donald Trump to be the standard bearer?
This further undermines public confidence in the rule of law. Trump has cast doubt on the judicial system. Now Biden sinks to his level, and confirms the perception that if you are famous or well connected, there is a different standard of justice for you.
Hunter tried multiple times to get the charges dismissed. All such efforts were rejected by the courts in question. You say MAGA Republicans caused the judge to reject the plea deal. That’s a pretty cynical viewpoint of the judicial system. These judges have lifetime appointments. They don’t have to bow to political pressure. The judge raised legitimate questions about the deal, & the parties were not able to satisfactorily answer those questions. So, back to trial they went. That’s the way the judicial system operates.
Biden has given Trump carte blanche to pardon all of the 1/6 convicts. Of course, Trump would probably do it anyway. But Biden has given up the moral high ground to object to it. Yes, I know this would be a false equivalency.
For the entire process, Biden said he wouldn’t interfere. This was repeated again & again. It was a lie. It was always a lie. Of course, he wasn’t going to do so before the election. Presidents, & governors, always grant pardons in their lame duck periods, when they won’t have to face repercussions from voters. Biden was never going to let Hunter serve time.
As a father, were I President, I might have done the same thing. But that doesn’t make it right, or prudent, or what’s best for our country. It is not.
Again, respectfully but heartily disagree.