Hunter Biden, the son of the president, is indicted on federal gun charges
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/hunter-biden-indicted-federal-gun-charges-rcna39623Open linkView original on lemmy.world301
Comments156https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/hunter-biden-indicted-federal-gun-charges-rcna39623Open linkView original on lemmy.world
Sweet. Now scour every other gun owner's publications and social media and if you find evidence of drug use ring them up on federal charges because apparently we're enforcing that shit on its own now. It's going to be interesting to have to visit all of my rural-ass relatives in a federal penitentiary.
Every one of my republican voting friends owns firearms and smokes weed. One of them has a hemp businesses that they're just waiting to switch over to cannabis as soon as it's legalized. Guess who's the most diehard Trump lover of the bunch...
It'd be fucked up, but one anonymous complaint...
So you're suggesting ruining someone's life because you're pissy about political theatrics? Be better.
Hypocrisy ain't gonna stomp itself out!
I mean if that is how they feel. Might as well be consistent. /me shrugs
This is an extremely Republican train of thought, are you sure you're on the right side of the table here?
What does political affiliation have to do with anything here?
In a global utilitarianism point of view, the best course of action is not to pursue that.
I’m a kantian point of view, there are no exceptions to rules. If you find an exception, it’s a bad rule and needs to be rewritten.
I’m taking a kantian ethics point of view. Why does this appear to be Republican to you?
FTFY.
Some crimes aren't crimes.
Some things should be though, like being a Trumpet.
No it's still a crime regardless but civil disobedience is certainly a thing.
The party of
personal responsibility...law and order... fuck you, I got mine.I'm not saying to do it. I'm simply pointing out that it's an option and not an amazing one at that.
Gro-bro culture.
Every weed grower voted against legalization when California would have been the first in the nation to legalize in 2012.
My pothead roommate was livid when that failed. Went on a big rant about it. At the end, I was like "ohh, when did you vote? I didn't see you leave all day", and he was like "well, I didn't vote... but this is fucking bullshit"
My primary concern from the perspective of someone living in a prohibition state is that it is the last cottage industry that someone can start doing when they can’t or won’t get another job. If weed doesn’t serve that function anymore, the alternatives that are left are generally much more dangerous criminal activity, such as selling coke or prostitutes. Psychedelics don’t move fast enough to pay the bills.
Or, you know... get a job in IT as a programmer? There's plenty of work out there in IT at the moment.
I am not saying this isn't valid I am just wondering if they could find new employment within the cannabis industry. I have worked with some growers before and my impression is that they were their own best customers before all of this.
I think technically alcohol too would fall under this without too much effort
It would be super fun if Hunter's expensive lawyers raise some argument about the constitutionality of gun crimes that eventually makes it to the Supreme Court - put Thomas and Alito in the position of either pissing off gun nuts or pissing off MAGA idiots (and the center of that Venn diagram is quite large).
That's almost certainly what his lawyers are going to do. But I think that it will be the appeals court that pisses off the MAGA idiots, and that the SCOTUS will not take the case.
Ass-relatives.
You're not wrong.
But it's also not incorrect that Biden's son is a piece of shit, and I would really like to see our president spend as much effort trying to get a living wage for the American people as he does trying to keep his offspring out of jail.
Lmao.. no he isnt.. It's not shity, to like your own penis and take pics of it to send out.. enjoy having sex, even with whore (take a lesson from frank Reynolds) and to be into guns, and oh yeah, coke.
That is literally your everyday republican politician.... they just don't like Hunter, cause his massive dong made them feel confusing feelings they try to repress.
What makes him a piece of shit? Genuinely curious. Do you know him personally?
Not the person you asked, but from what I can tell based on what I read, he's a typical nepo baby who trades way too much on his father's fame. The calls to Biden were things like "hey Dad, how are you?" during a meeting to show that he could get the VP on the phone. Biden didn't even know he was bragging about his father in a meeting when he took the call. He just thought it was his son calling to say hi.
So kind of an asshole nepo baby.
Sounds kind of douchey. Not sure that makes someone a piece of shit.
I guess it depends on your definition of 'piece of shit.'
I would vote for Hunter Biden's penis for president
Apparently so would Marjorie Taylor Green
Ok, I just cackled. I've never cackled before. Thanks for that.
Once you start, you can't stop. Next thing you know, you're living as far from society as you can, cooking strange things in large pots, and communing with nature.
It's a curse. An absolutely wonderful curse.
Don't forget. Also burning incense and lots of candles.
I don't know, seems like a different kinda leader, not a beltway insider.
If he shoots someone in the street I might be persuaded.
“Is that your crack rock?”
“…it’s A crack rock.”
The NRA is going to leap to his defense, right?
Just like how they leapt to the defense of Philando Castile and Breonna Taylor.
.
Is going after gun owners who lied about their drug usage while purchasing their guns really the road Republicans want to go down? That is fine by me! Go get all that drug using gun owners Feds!
Hurting themselves to own the left again.
Honestly, that's a horrible idea. Far more minorities are convicted on drug charges than their population represents. It's likely that the document violates people's 2nd amendment rights (for those who think that it still applies when a well regulated malitia is not required for the protection of our free state). Regardless, it's a bad precident. I don't care about Hunter, but this should not be used on anyone else. If I had my choice, he'd use his resources, which he has plenty of, to fight it for the good of all other people, but that would be bad politically.
If its a horrible idea, the law should be changed. It shouldn't be determined by one rich, white guy's ability to fight it in court. Precident isn't going to help any minorities or majorities with this type of case.
If it's ruled unconstitutional then it's unconstitutional. It won't just be for him. I believe it's happened once for this form, but it was in a stare court, so the precedent isn't set at the federal level. I might be wrong though. It might just be strong suspicion that it's unconstitutional that hasn't been tested yet.
He is charged with lying about using drugs in order to buy a gun. Today I learned it is illegal in the USA to have a gun if you have ever used drugs. Alright police.... Go round up all the guns from anyone who has ever used drugs.
It's been ruled that the question itself is unconstitutional. Soooo...who cares because the question shouldn't have been on the form in the first place?
Republicans. Because they are jonesing for a way to impeach the other guy so they can feel better about Trump.
The son of the other guy, but same thing I guess lol
I'm pretty sure Hunter is just a lever to pull to try to stain Biden.
To be fair, the outrageous allegations I've heard the Republicans make would be insanely problematic and evil if true, but I just haven't seen any reasonable evidence to think they are. If I saw the evidence I'd want Biden impeached in a heartbeat. Nobody is above the law.
Used drugs... ever??
That sounds quite absurd honestly. So who would be left to even own guns? People who never even touched alcohol once in their life? I feel like that's almost nobody left in the US.
The text of the statute refers to someone who is "an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance," so alcohol wouldn't count. You're asked on the form to attest that you are not either a current user or addict, so I don't think past use applies either. You just can't both own a gun and do illegal drugs simultaneously, which I guess they think they can prove Hunter did. It's one of those stupid laws that can be enacted selectively to add charges and put people in prison for longer.
I've never been asked if about prior drug use in connection with buying a firearm. Is it normal to ask that? Or is it something that isn't asked about and happens to be obscurely illegal?
Pretty sure it's the first question on the form you have to fill out. I believe all the answers are no, but it's been a while.
You've never done an ATF 4473? It's required if buying from a dealer. It may vary by state for private sales.
Yes, they said iirc it says are you now or have you ever been addicted to xyz.
Ed: 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.
Yeah, it's only about current use, not past use, that's true.
Yes you have. You just didn't read the documents you signed.
That's it, I'm convinced -- I definitely won't vote for him now!
Hunter Biden didn’t get many votes in the last election either. He doesn’t seem to be too popular.
But this is DEFINITELY the end of his political career!
Certainly fewer votes than the last president who lost the popular vote
Honestly he got the exact same amount of votes as me, and I'm not even a US citizen!!
He’s no longer my president!
now I'm upset that his father gave him a government job and placed him in charge of peace in the middle east...
/s is still needed today. In fact the past 8ish years have clearly demonstrated that the /s is needed now more than ever!
I think it might have been a reference to Jared Kushner.
Yeah I know that, but a lot of people wouldn't, which is why it needs a tag
Uh, yeah. Duh. That's explained by every word in their comment...
I always wanted that job. You can't really be blamed for not being good at it also job security. Besides I could host peace events where a bunch of rich ex-pats from those places hangout in an embassy eating middle eastern food and it looks like we are doing something.
That's neat part, we don't care.
Republicans: "Ha ha ha, now the tables have turned! Vengeance is ours!"
Democrats: "Cool, whatever"
Yeah, idk looking tough this thread that's not exactly the impression I'm left with.
Yeah you think we give a fuck about nepo babies? 😂, 🤣 Even
K. Make sure that is standard for all gun owners.
You can have him. Set some precedents around gun control.
The only good thing that could come from him
so... all those people who argued that trump getting indicted because is no big deal because an indictment is not a conviction, and it's all poltical... they feel the same way about this, right?
On one hand if he broke the law he broke the law. Charge him.
On the other hand I'm completely convinced he only got caught because Republicans have been "investigating" unnecessarily for years.
Which is super ironic considering Republicans are the party of "small govt" yet "big brother" is why Hunter got hit with anything.
I mean, he didn't exactly keep it a secret. He wrote about it in his book and talked about it on the promo tour for said book.
This is not new behavior from the repubs. They went after Clinton the same way and could only get him for purgery (iirc) because he lied about something that honestly should have stayed between Bill and Hillary.
It's insane how much time and money they waste on trying to get the democrats instead of actually legislating and helping the idiots that voted them in. These morons keep voting for them though.
It's because they broadly don't care about legislation. They care about what was written in some book thousands of years ago and the dream that they could be rich and matter someday (most won't).
Yeah, the ones with power don't care about that book. They'll use it, but they don't believe it. Look at their actions and compare them to what written in the book. They care about power and money, the book is just a useful weapon to keep their "lessers" in line.
They like to skip the parts that suggest, you know, loving thy neighbor, or don't idolize people/things, or don't be greedy.
You know, the stuff that doesn't fill seats like some miracle child being born or dragging a cross through town or disappearing from his grave.
To be fair, fucking your intern is an abuse of power even if the intern is into that shit. Yes, Clinton probably wasn’t the first or the last but that doesn’t make it ok.
I say that as someone with a partner that fucks one of their managers. I still say that’s an ethical fail. But she ain’t my primary partner so her ethical failings aren’t really my concern. Just excellent gossip.
To be fair. She was an actual adult, not a kid and she only "regretted" and made it a problem after Linda Tripp convinced her it was a problem.
Maybe you don't have the full story but while it was inappropriate, it should never have been made public like that and it wasn't illegal for them to have a relationship
While I don't disagree, comments like yours pointing out the nuance of it only serve to give them ammunition to pull this shit instead of running on policy and accomplishments, instead of fighting fair and winning elections on merit, they attack and tear down the dems when they win.
I'd also suggest that you and others look up the number of republicans caught having affairs with underage staffers, not just their subordinate but actual teenagers.
It was a problem because Clinton should not be having sex with his subordinates. That’s a clear abuse of his power. It doesn’t matter if Lewinsky was perfectly fine with it. It’s no different than why a college student isn’t supposed to have sex with their professors.
And yes I have the full story. I was alive and an adult at the time.
It should’ve been made public. We have a right to know our tax dollars are being spent to allow him to get his dick wet. If Clinton had been involved with someone that wasn’t a government employee I wouldn’t care. But that’s not the facts of the situation.
The best way to not give conservatives ammunition is to not fuck your direct reports. See? That’s really easy!
You really have no strategic sense at all.
No, it should not have been made public like that. Sure, leak that shit via a news article or something but it should never have been used as an impeachment offense. The left has a big problem and until it's solved we will never be able to take this country back completely from the magats. We throw people under the bus way too easily for offenses that aren't world ending and have no bearing on doing their job or serving the country. I've lost count since I started paying attention in the early 90s, way too many good politicians (if questionable people/partners) have been kicked out of the mainstream and left in the virtual gutter because they did something like cheat on their wife with another adult.
Plenty of these relationships happen all of the time and no one goes to prison for it or loses their job, etc.
From what I remember when the real story finally came out, she was okay with it. He didn't rape her or coerce her, she was using her mouth and pussy to get closer to power. You lot need to stop giving her and other women like her a pass just because he was her superior. She wanted and liked it until Tripp convinced her that she had been wronged.
Again. Playing this nuance game only hurts the argument from the side of common sense. Not unlike trying to explain that climate change means more than just hotter summers, it also means colder winters in some places as well.
Questionable people make great politicians. That’s sorta a problem, though, isn’t it? Maybe we should try letting people who aren’t so questionable have a shot instead of strategizing about how to keep shitty people in positions of power because it serves partisan goals? I know… crazy thinking, right?
So he broke the law, but it's also likely unconstitutional. I don't care about him, but he has the resources to fight it for the rest of the people who don't. It's not like this is every really enforced, but if he wanted to do good he'd fight it. If he wants to do what politically convenient he probably won't. I have no expectation of him doing good though, nor should anyone. He's a wealthy private citizen.
Who gives a shit. If he broke the law, convict him, as long as it's consistent with anyone not the son of a famous politician. By the same token, these same rich and powerful people have to be accountable to all of same laws...
As the article notes, it is not consistent, and the charges were likely brought due to political pressure.
Your average addict would have these charges dropped and a diversionary program offered, as was in the initial plea deal (prior to political pressure being leveraged).
Well then, I oppose it. But not because I'm part of some cult-of-personality about the man... That would just be pathetic!
I thought the people bringing the charges are the ones against all the regulations and background checks on firearms to begin with. So all of a sudden they're just changing their minds, as a party, on an issue that's one of the foundations of their entire platform. Yeah, no one is going to see right through that giant pile of hypocritical bullshit.
So Republicans are cool with Hunter's indictment over his gun license application details? I guess that means they hate the Bidens even more than they love guns.
"Bobby, if those Republicans could read they'd be very upset."
If they actually had principles, they'd be really conflicted right now.
It's quite interesting from a religious perspective. Most of these people pretend to be devout christians with christian principles, but they judge Joe Biden harshly for loving his son and for the fact he has forgiven him his many missteps.
If they were actually devout christians, they would realise the way Biden treats his son is quite reminiscent of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It's been a while, but the whole point of that parable, is that just like a father forgives his wayward son, God forgives his children for our many missteps and sins, and celebrates our return to the fold as the father celebrated the return of his prodigal son.
I honestly don't know how you can hate Joe Biden for forgiving and loving his son, then expect God to forgive you for your sins.
Personally, I'm not religious. The interesting thing is that in practice, despite their loud prostestations and virtue signaling, the conservative right seem to be becoming increasingly secular too. I don't think many of them actually believe. They certainly don't seem to believe in Christian values or the bible anymore. They just hang on to the symbols of religion because it is politically expedient and allows them to differentiate their in-group, then often seem to do the exact opposite of what the bible tells them to do.
Religious people will twist the bible according to their requirements. Are we surprised here?
If they followed the bible, women wouldn't be treated equally as men, which interestingly there are men that think like that, and even more interestingly there are women that allow it
its so much worse than that. not only do they believe, but they believe their version of christianity that allows for racism, hate and just about whatever the priest feeds them. for a non-trivial percent of the population, jesus isnt about loving your neighbor anymore.
You have a point but the Bible can be used to prove or disprove anything. Read Mark 4:12 in context. Jesus does not want people who don't instantly accept him to ever be given a chance to repent. Going completely against what you just said.
If they knew their Bible they could use this argument. You are right however that they don't.
Dunno about Republicans in general but a lot of Gun Owners are because they've wanted question 11e on the 4473 removed for a LONG time and Hunter's situation was a way to force the Federal Goverment / ATF to address the issue.
To be clear Hunter shouldn't be in trouble for this BUT neither should anyone else and it was always bullshit they'd dismiss his charge but toss other people in prison over it.
Patrick Daniels got four years and the 5th Circuit only over turned that conviction in August of 2023 which was after the details of Hunters deal were released.
How'd you like to be the guy sitting in prison watching CNN tell you about the President's Son getting a pass on the same thing that put you inside?
Can we stop pretending the offspring of famous people matter?
If the Republicans weren't using this as a lame attempt to attack the president then it might be easier to ignore.
The Republicans of the House of Representatives announced an Impeachment Inquiry into Hunter Bidens penis today.
I hear they're calling Donald Trump Jr for a witness testimony. It was clear he was obsessed with him for a reason.
Hear me out... General election debate... Biden called out on it.. he responds:
"My son has a problem with pills and drugs. I lost my other boy after his time in the service. This guy and his kids are under scrutiny for insert implications of their wealth and status. Who do you all relate to more? You don't have that one cousin who..? "
added
Not a terrible point, but goddamn learn how to form a sentence
Are you that worked up about a missing period and a single letter capitalized? Just so you don't have a stroke I'll fixed JUST for you. :)
"I lost my other boy to cancer after years of navigating year of the complicated and expensive US healthcare system .This was after he served in war zones in Iraq."
Still got it wrong lmao
After all the Republican posturing this is all they got?
Would have been far better for them to continue the “charges coming” and “laptop incoming” charade to rile their crazy base up. These charges aren’t going to move the needle at all.
I'm sure "son of President Biden has his guns taken away by liberals" will cause quite a few exploded Republican heads
It is settled case law that you can't penalize a drug addict for being a drug addict.
Right? This law is rarely prosecuted, probably unconstitutional, and certain people still think that he's getting a sweetheart deal because of his name.
But the Constitution is only there for Trump supporters, right?
One another note, as a Canadian watching this soap opera, it's getting boring already. I mean the level of backstabbing, whinging and general vindictiveness is like watching As the World Turns (21st century version).
I dunno, they still haven't done a good, evil twin sub plot.
Doesn't apply. He's not being penalized by a State but rather by the Federal Government. Plenty of examples out there of people getting prison sentences for lying on question 11e of the 4473.
I've filled enough of the damn things out, no idea why I had 11e stuck in my head. It's question 21f.
"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"
Shall. Not. Be. Infringed!
That's what MAGA like to say, right? I'm sure they'll be out to support him.
How awesome would it be if Hunter ends up being cell-mates with Donald Trump‽
Finally, a reality show idea I can get behind
If he was any other US citizen you'd have every single republican screamer coming out to denounce his "politically motivated" and "unconstitutional" charges.
I wish I could watch the exploding heads at the NRA right now...
Ok good. Prosecute criminals. Conservatives think that liberals are also in a cult because it's the only way they can imagine being
The fact that a lot of the laws on the books are almost never enforced unless cops want to punish someone is a conversation we are not ready to have yet as a nation.
The law that snagged hunter biden was one of thousands that create a kind of web of infractions, to the point that almost everyone is violating at least one law every day.
I'm fine with locking up Hunter if he did something wrong, which is different than if he broke the law.
Imma say it, he's kinda based, evades taxes and "illegally" owns guns, free my boy.
The libertarian hero
I don't know why people are acting like this is on Biden that his adult son broke a law or laws. Everyone's got people in their family who are assholes.
bc one of their famed boogeymen is finally finding themselves in some sort of legal hot water. They've been foaming at the mouth to have HRC and/or George Soros locked up for years. This is the closest they've come to a "victory", according to their dumb propaganda.
Also because so many Republicans are running on a platform of Pres. Biden being complicit in his son's shady business dealings. As the evidence on that has gotten thinner and thinner, they are clinging to the gun charge to retain credibility with their voter base. They are trying to say "See?! He is a criminal just like we said, therefore we were right and the president is trying to protect him. That means he's should be impeached, just like they impeached Trump!"
A person broke the law. Justice as expected then.
I don't see how this is a political news point though. Has this person been given government positions or control by their relationship to Biden? Is there corruption happening?
You don't see how the Republicans are using this as an attempt to disparage the president by proxy?
That doesn't mean we have to give them attention.
This is true. But we didn’t vote for Hunter. He performs no official duties. And he’s a bit too busy with his various legal entanglements to perform any unofficial duties AFAIK. If anything, seeing Biden have to deal with this makes me feel more sympathetic to the man. He lost one kid to the military and appears to be losing another to debauchery.
If the rest of the voters start feeling that then Biden will get re-elected. That assumes anyone will even care about this subject beyond the sensational nature of it all.
I am optimistic that the Republicans misguided attacks will blow up in their faces
Those background check questions are bullshit anyway. I mean, who hasnt been addicted to a bit of the old cracky-wakky? Its just so moreish.
This is major news and such an incredible development! I never realised Hunter Biden was such a good match for Solid Snake!
Wow, he really does look like snake. I guess that makes some sense because of who snake represents, but it's pretty perfect. I just hope he smokes tobacco too.
I'm going to be honest, when the craziest, most armed people in the craziest, most armed nation, want you dead, you should be able to have whatever weapons you want to protect yourself. 🤷
People with serious drug addictions should not be able to purchase firearms
America is a terrifyingly broken country.
It's like 'every day is backwards day' crossed with an infinitely-recursive manifold.
Cool, will republicans finally shut up now? That was like the only thing they had going for them for the last 4 years lol.
So it a federal charge, can't the president pardon him? Trump pardoned so many asswipes right before leaving office.
He probably could pardon Hunter but there's no way he'd do so before election day.
The way Biden is acting about it he might let his son sit in prison to teach him a lesson. If Hunter was my son I’d definitely let him enjoy his time out if he lost his case. Some lessons need to be learned the hard way… especially for the over privileged.
It kinda seems like it is politically motivated in the other direction. They are taking this much more seriously and a wealthy white man usually would have to deal with.
I wish our system was unbiased and treated everyone equally
The specific charge might be even more political. Lying about drug use in the questionnaire. It gives me some conflicting thoughts.
On the one hand, I don't gaf about Hunter Biden and if he's guilty of crimes, he shouldn't be shielded from that because he's the son of the guy who was elected because he wasn't Trump.
But on the other hand, the charge is such a beaurocratic safety theatre bullshit charge and I don't think any kind of justice is served by charging anyone with this.
I think they are going for a "they not only wanted to change the law to protect the person they supported, but even reduced gun control to do so".
Though a way around this might be to charge Hunter for the Ukrainian corruption stuff (if there's merit to it) and fight all of the bullshit laws still on the books. Not to save Hunter, but so that no one ever has to deal with that bullshit.
Yeah same. I don't care about the Biden's. If they are corrupt then charge them and go through a trial.
Corruption is largely not illegal though from what I understand. Hell Trumps kids very transparently used their office to get wealth and afaik they have no pending charges at all.
They finally caught their boogie man
my understanding is it is not just the "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. "....... but also the school issue....Biden's girlfriend discarded the gun in a trashcan across from a high school.[14] This was also an alleged violation of the Federal Gun Free School Zone Act as the firearm was within 1,000 feet of a public high school.
He's named "Hunter" for a reason, no?
Why do so many modern presidents have such embarrassing relatives?
Biden's son, Dubya's siblings, Clinton's brother, all of George H.W. Bush's kids, Reagan's wife, Trump's entire family...
Most people have embarrassing siblings.
You're seeing it more now because there is heightened interest from people, so it sells clicks, and before that, it sold newspapers.
Maybe it's just the combination of high profile and very rich that makes them seem way way worse than any embarrassing siblings of anyone I know.
Yeah, so my friend's sister has an alcoholism problem, but she's never, say, posed for nude photos and then campaigned on a family values platform, and you have to admit the incidence of serious substance abuse issues in the families of US presidents is... well, embarrassing. I don't know what the statistics are compared to the average, but goddamn there seem to be a lot of drug problems among and around people with so much influence.
I take your point that it's likely nothing new, but it's disingenuous to imply that it's normal compared to the average person.
Good. Nobody cares. Send him to ADX Florence and throw away the key and I doubt even his dad will shed more than a few tears over him.