Far-Fetched Dream

The announcement on Sunday of the decision of President Joe Biden to pardon son Hunter Biden was met with swift criticism.

Several members of Congress were upset.

Senators Peter Welch of Vermont labeled it "unwise" and Gary Peters of Michigan termed it "wrong."  Representatives Gerry Connolly of Virginia admonished the President while,Jason Crow of Colorado said it was "a mistake," and Greg Stanton of Ohio remarked "... but I think he got this one wrong." Representative Greg Landsman of Arizon tweeted ".... but as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it's a setback." Ro Khanna of California slammed it as a manifestation of "the archaic pardon power."

With, presumably, a straight face, centrist Marie Gluesenkamp of Washington State posted "no family should be above the law." (How is that two billion dollars Jared Kushner pocketed from the butchers of Riyadh figure in with that, Congresswoman?)

Michael Bennet of of Colorado contended the pardon puts "personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans' faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all."

And these were Democrats. 

(Bennet's concern that Americans trust the justice system to be "fair and equal for all" is particularly amusing. In the summer of 2020, Bennet was a full-throated supporter of the black lives matter movement, which strenuously argued that treatment of blacks by the police and criminal justice system is, well, unfair and unequal compared to the treatment other people receive. Presumably, after the end of those protesst, Bennet decided, until Sunday, that the justice system actually is fair and equal for all.)

President Biden's action was condemned, as inevitable, by several Republicans. And the Hunter and Joe episode presents an opportunity for action in which Democrats concerned with gun safety and Republicans horrified by street crime can join together in an effective bipartisan manner.

Hunter Biden was convicted in June of three federal gun charges stemming from lying on an application for a gun license.  As noted here, he lied on a federal screening form about his drug use, lied to a gun dealer, and possessed a firearm despite restrictions for people addicted to drugs. In September, he pled guilty to three felonies and six misdemeanors for failing to pay $1.4 million in federalt axes from 2016 to 2019. He already had paid the money back, plus penalties bit was to be sentenced on both cases in a few weeks.

Question 11e on Form 4473, the Firearms Transaction Record of the Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firears reads

Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.

As with virtually every other user or abuser of an illegal drug, Mr. Biden marked the "no" rather than the "yes" box.  (Presumably, anyone checking "yes" would be denied a firearms license on the grounds of stupidity.)  Drug addicts, and even users not addicted, are not partial to ratting themselves out to law enforcement authorities and have little incentive to be truthful because

The odds of being charged for lying on the form are virtually nonexistent. In the 2019 fiscal year, when Hunter Biden purchased his gun, federal prosecutors received 478 referrals for lying on Form 4473 — and filed just 298 cases. The numbers were roughly similar for fiscal 2020. At issue is when Biden answered “no” on the question that asks about unlawful drug use and addiction when purchasing a gun. Biden had been discharged five years earlier from the Navy Reserve for drug use and based on his 2021 memoir, he was actively using crack cocaine in the year he bought the gun. The data do not show how many people might have been prosecuted for falsely answering the question about active drug use. A 1990 Justice Department study noted how difficult it was to bring cases against people who falsely answer questions on the form, especially because there is no paper trail for drug abusers like there is for felons.

As Dan Abrams objectively explains in the transaction beginning at 10:38:

 

Nonetheless, lying on a form to obtain a firearm is a serious offense- or should be treated as such. Democrats could (would) call the GOP's bluff by proposing to congressional Republicans that prosecution be mandatory for lying on the ATF application for a gun license.  Democrats are serious about gun safety laws (when race is not a direct or indirect factor) and Republicans are troubled about Hunter Biden and (during an election campaign) crime. Democrats might even suggest that lying on the drug use question (11e) prompt mandatory jail/prison time.

It's great occasion for that kind of approach, not only because of Hunter Biden. James Carville, James Clyburn, and others have slammed fellow Democrats for allegedly supporting "defund the police."  Condemning the elder Biden, ihe leading Republican on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson, arged "real reform cannot begin soon enough."

So real reform might begin with an effort to keep firearms out of the hands of irresponsible or dangerous individuals. Just kidding! Johnson has no interest in gun safety, whatever it is he meant by "reform."  Democrats are adjusting to the reality of being steamrolled next year by the Party of Trump, and the mass incarceration (especially of blacks) encouraged by President Clinton's 1994 anti-crime legislation has made them gunshy about mandatory prosecution, let alone imprisonment. And so this Biden tempest in a teapot will go on or with any luck, will not.

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