The return of Hunter Biden into the news cycle is a reminder that most of our big mainstream media institutions are not merely biased, but partisan. They don’t merely lean in a particular direction; their level of interest in a story is often directly proportional to the amount of damage that story could do to the Democrats at that time.
It’s not just that the son of a prominent political figure spent years working as a lobbyist and influence-peddler in Washington, while insisting he never influenced his father’s votes or decisions. It’s not just that the son of a prominent political figure has a serious drug problem; that’s a tragedy, and lots of American families can relate to seeing a loved one struggle with the all-consuming demon of addiction. It’s not just that the son of a prominent political figure has had messy relationships, or hooked up with his late brother’s widow. It’s not just that the son of a prominent political figure had a child out of wedlock with a stripper. It’s not just that the son of a prominent political figure is cashing in on his family name, or that he has shady business partners. It’s not just that the son of a prominent political figure was hired do to minimal work on the corporate board of a foreign gas company.
It’s that Hunter Biden is all of that, combined, and then he decides one day he’s going to be an artist, and starts selling his paintings for five-figure sums to buyers who will not be disclosed to the public, in an arrangement that enraged even Walter Shaub, head of the Office of Government Ethics in the Obama administration. “That’s $6.5 million going to the president’s son for being the president’s son, not for being an artist and I just think that’s absolutely appalling,” Shaub said.
Throughout it all, Joe Biden sticks to sweeping, utterly implausible denials, like, “there’s not one single bit of evidence — not one little tiny bit — to suggest anything done was wrong.”
In fact, time and again, the president and his representatives like Jen Psaki act like you’re the one who’s doing something wrong by bringing up the subject of Hunter Biden. That there’s something rude or unseemly about pointing to Hunter Biden and saying, “hey, this looks like backdoor bribery, or influence peddling.” As if you’re being unreasonable for pointing out that all kinds of unsavory characters would like to purchase a friendship with the president’s son.
If Joe and Hunter Biden were Republicans, Hunter Biden’s name would rarely if ever leave the news cycle. But because Hunter Biden is an embarrassment to his family – and to the rest of the Democratic Party – a lot of people choose to avert their eyes and change the subject.