"Peter, you are wrong: Kushner's corruption is worse than Hunter Biden's. Way worse."
The comments rolled in.
Some said that yesterday's blog post misunderstood addiction and its affect on family members.
Most of the comments said I was wrong, wrong, wrong to compare Hunter Biden to Jared Kushner.
One of the first comments I got was from a college classmate, Steve Wolfram.
I agree that it should not be the responsibility of Democrats to defend or seek to excuse Hunter Biden. Yes, he should be cut loose politically.But I would not put him on the same plane as Jared, as Republicans will no doubt seek to do.Hunter never had his hands on the levers of power. He exploited his proximity to power and the appearance of power.
Wolfram What we are learning about Jared is far worse. He shaped policy in favor of a foreign leader by exercise of the very real power conferred on him by his position within the Administration and proximity to his father-in-law and he now appears to be pocketing a pay-off that has all the hallmarks of having been agreed with MLB at the time in exchange for Jared's critical help in getting the murderous Prince off the hook.
I think we need to be very clear on the vast difference in gravity between the two cases.
Steve has lived in Paris for the last three decades. The building over his right shoulder holds Napoleon's tomb. Until his recent retirement he worked as a lawyer in the field of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He follows U.S. and French politics.
Most comments from college classmates were along the lines of Steve's. They emphasized the different moral and legal responsibilities of people holding office from those of private citizens. No one minimized the mess Hunter Biden has made of himself. They recognized that he got job opportunities because of his father. But his is a kind of garden-variety private-citizen sleazy nepotism, where businesses likely hoped to get indirect benefit by association with the family of a powerful person. As a private person, Hunter Biden has the right to drink himself to death and to seek employment where he can. He is free.
Kushner is different. He was in government. He was the face of the U.S. in negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Kushner gave cover to the Saudi government at a time when its international standing was under heavy fire its having murdered and dismembered Jamal Khashoggi. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bragged that Kushner gave him CIA intelligence--"here are your enemies"--before his "corruption crackdown" that rounded up suspected rivals in the royal family. The Saudi government's having hired Kushner's new hedge fund, over the objections of their own money management professionals, looks like a payoff. Hunter Biden got a job paying $50,000 a month to decorate a board, which looks sleazy. Jared Kushner's firm gets over $2,000,000 a month. There is a difference in kind and in quantity. Kushner's sleaze is public, direct, and huge. Hunter's, in comparison, is pathetic. It's chump change.
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| With Mohammed bin Salman |
Kushner's deal exemplifies the worst of the revolving door of holding office then cashing in. We see the pattern: Congress to K Street, top military rank to defense contractors, executive branch to the speaking circuit. Kushner shows yet a new, even more lucrative, way to cash in: Brand a hedge fund and get really paid.
I agree with those comments. Kushner's corruption is different and worse than Hunter Biden's.
A majority of comments I got were on a different topic completely, and most were sent to me privately. They made the point that my casually saying Joe Biden should "cut loose" his son Hunter misunderstood the family dynamics of parents with addicted children. It was complicated, they wrote me. A family member's addiction affects everyone in the family.
I agree with those comments, too.
The real point of my blog post yesterday was that Democrats should not feel they need to defend Hunter Biden, whatever the severity of his addictions and sleaze. Fox, Trump, and the MAGA world try to make Hunter the alter-ego of his father. Democrats implicitly confirm that if they close ranks around Hunter. It is OK for Democrats to condemn Hunter Biden's messes. Isn't that "ceding ground" and giving in to MAGA? No. It is the opposite. Hunter Biden is only ceded ground if Democrats claim him as part of its team. It is OK for Democrats to say that Hunter Biden messed up big time. He is a sad case.
Jared Kushner's behavior isn't just sad, though. It is dangerous.
8 comments:
Underlying all of this is the lust for money and power, an addiction in its own right. Bribery has effectively become legal in the U.S. by renaming it - dark money, PACs, etc. If we want our politics to become less corrupt, we need greater separation of wealth and state.
Shades of gray in law are often considered after conviction by the court and the trial enters the penalty phase of sentencing. Clearly neither Hunter nor Jared have yet to be convicted in court. Guilt in the eyes of the media court of public opinion has been handed down. Such action is not justice and complicates prosecution on real and serious charges. If a case can be made by DOJ, I suspect an indictment will follow. The wheels of Justice move glacially when compared to the 24/7 cable news feed.
Aside from Hunter Biden, it must be difficult for the children and relatives of high-ranking government officials to work and earn a good living without being "accused" of using their name and connections for personal gain.
I agree with you, but are there any children of government officials (or celebrities/athletes) who would downplay it?
I'm sure some parents encourage their children to take advantage of it.
The recent college admissions scandal comes to mind.
The only thing my name got me was questions on the first day of school, asking if my siblings were the teachers' former students.
Peter, good column. I appreciate the clarification.
A couple of points:
Hunter Biden is a lawyer. I imagine that had some value on its own. I don't know his specialty or competence.
Hunter Biden is not doing anything different than the children of any other politician, or any former politician. It sickens me.
If Hunter has broken any laws he should be prosecuted, as should Trump's spawn.
President Biden will be doing himself, the Party andcthe Country a good service if he he makes it clear that " no one is above the law " includes his family members.
Agreed, that's a statement Speaker Pelosi has made before and likely more than once.
So we have Democrats who proclaim "no one is above the law" while republicans want think to excuse their crimes because they are all "political witchhunts".
What a difference!
Speaking of trying to peddle influence, greg walden and his relatives are now getting paid to help a California millionaire control Oregon politics.
https://www.gazettetimes.com/corvallis/news/local/govt-and-politics/largest-private-landowner-in-us-jumps-into-oregon-politics/article_d27ec4f6-f42c-5c0a-b409-016591167966.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
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