Hunter Biden and His Dealings in Ukraine – Should America be Worried? – Just days into the New Year, House Republicans opened their long-promised investigation into the Biden family’s domestic and international business dealings to determine whether these activities compromise U.S. national security and even President Biden’s ability to lead with impartiality.
Hunter Biden: What Did He Do Wrong? Well…
“Now that Democrats no longer have one-party rule in Washington, oversight and accountability are coming,” Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement in January.
In addition, Republicans have suggested that a story involving information found on a laptop linked to Hunter Biden, the president’s son, was suppressed for political reasons. Analysis of Hunter Biden’s hard drive – along with data from his iCloud account – showed that from 2013 through 2018 Hunter Biden and his company brought in about $11 million via his roles as an attorney and a board member with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy firm accused of bribery and his work with a Chinese businessman now accused of fraud, NBC News (which has seen the data) reported.
Critics of the investigation have argued that this is part of a series of false allegations that Joe Biden – while serving as vice president – engaged in corrupt activities relating to the employment of his son.
To date, no criminal activity has actually been proven, even as numerous questions have been raised about potential conflicts of interest.
Problem Child
The question now being asked by many is whether Hunter Biden’s past actions should be an issue of concern?
The short answer is “yes,” but for Joe Biden.
Whilst the president has repeatedly said, “I’m just so proud of him,” we have to wonder how many times Joe Biden has looked his son in the eyes and uttered the words, “I’m very disappointed.”
It would be hard not to imagine that the conversation hasn’t occurred at least a few times – and if it hasn’t, the senior Biden should get a crash course in tough love. Simply put, it would be hard for any parent not to question where they went wrong with Hunter.
The 53-year-old has been in and out of rehab several times, which he has said could be linked back to the trauma from the 1972 motor vehicle accident that killed his mother and sister. After the death of his brother Beau, his addiction escalated and he admitted to having smoked crack “every 15 minutes,” which was paid for by the money he was paid by Burisma. He further claimed he only left the house to buy vodka.
Neither An Officer nor a Gentleman
Biden was granted a position with the United States Navy Reserve in May 2013, despite being 43-years-old at the time – and an admitted addict.
However, he received an age-related waiver as well as another waiver due to a past drug-related incident. He was subsequently sworn in as a “direct commission officer,” which was administered by then Vice President Joe Biden in a White House ceremony.
We don’t hear much about Ensign Biden’s naval career because just a month later, on his very first day reporting for duty, he tested positive for cocaine during a urinalysis test and as a result was subsequently discharged administratively in 2014.
Rather than accept responsibility for his actions, Hunter Biden took a page from his father’s playbook by blaming others. He attributed the result of the failed drug test to smoking cigarettes he had accepted from other smokers, offering the dubious claim that the cigarettes were laced with cocaine. It is unclear where he had been when he accepted such cigarettes.
Moreover, the story was almost covered up, and only revealed to the Wall Street Journal by a Navy official.
During his divorce from Kathleen Buhle in 2017, he was accused of spending extravagantly on his own interests (including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs, and gifts for women with whom he had sexual relations) while leaving the family with no funds to pay legitimate bills,” the BBC reported.
A 2019 DNA test found that he was the “biological and legal father” of a child born to exotic dancer, Lunden Alexis Roberts – but Hunter claimed in his memoir he had no recollection of any sexual encounter with her. Though that already could only be described as despicable, it should be added that during that same period, Hunter Biden began an affair with his brother’s widow, Hallie Biden, which lasted for two years.
In fact, Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine are just the latest example of highlighting how he was able to use his family’s name to get as far as he did in life. As for any concern to United States national security, that’s likely a stretch. Hunter Biden has never been successful at anything – besides getting high – to pose such a threat.
Hunter Belongs In Jail – For Another Big Reason
The final consideration to note is that Hunter Biden most certainly belongs in jail – but not for anything involving Ukraine. Rather it would be for his lying on a federal form when he purchased a firearm, followed by the efforts to cover-up the unsafe and illegal disposal of said firearm.
As we reported back in April 2021, Hunter Biden lied on the background check form about his drug use when he obtained a .38-caliber pistol. Hallie Biden, his paramour at the time, was worried about his drug use following her husband’s death and that Hunter might use it to hurt himself, tossed the handgun into a supermarket trash bin in Delaware.
After fearing that it wasn’t the correct way to dispose of a firearm – which it absolutely isn’t – Hallie returned to the scene and was unable to find the firearm. Soon after, the local police began to investigate, in part because the trash bin was located across the street from a high school and there were very legitimate fears that the firearm could be used in a crime.
According to Politico, the Secret Service apparently intervened and reportedly approached the owner of the gun shop where the firearm was purchased. Fortunately, the owner of the store refused to supply the paperwork, fearing that the Secret Service may have wanted to hide Hunter’s ownership of the firearms.
The gun shop’s owner then turned over the paperwork to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), the agency that actually oversees firearm laws. It should be stressed that unless a firearm was used in connection with a crime related to the president there is absolutely ZERO reason for the Secret Service to be involved in a gun-related matter
It has been suggested that favors were called in to cover up this incident.
In other words, Hunter Biden has serious problems, and his past actions deserve scrutiny – just not by a House Committee that is looking for payback. The GOP should move past any investigation Hunter Biden, and instead focus on defeating Joe Biden at the polls.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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