Hunter Biden Reflects On His Dad’s Biggest Mistake
Joe Biden made no shortage of mistakes during his presidency and the campaign that put him in office. The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan is an obvious one. Choosing Kamala Harris as his running mate belongs somewhere on the list. So does deciding to run for another term despite mounting questions about his age and mental […]
Joe Biden made no shortage of mistakes during his presidency and the campaign that put him in office.
The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan is an obvious one. Choosing Kamala Harris as his running mate belongs somewhere on the list. So does deciding to run for another term despite mounting questions about his age and mental sharpness. There was the “Where’s Jackie?” moment, the attempted vaccine mandate and the bizarre “lying dog-faced pony soldier” remark.
The list is long. Somewhere below the biggest failures, but still worth mentioning, was Biden’s decision to nominate Merrick Garland as attorney general.
Garland was hardly an impressive choice. Under his leadership, the Department of Justice faced criticism over investigations involving traditional Catholics, parents who spoke out at school board meetings and other politically sensitive targets. Whether that reflected ideological bias, poor judgment or an agency with too much reach is open to debate.
Still, with the benefit of hindsight, Biden could have chosen someone worse. Hunter Biden apparently disagrees.
Hunter, who was prosecuted twice under Garland’s Justice Department, recently appeared on Jennifer Welch’s “I’ve Had It” podcast. During the episode, Welch complained that Garland’s DOJ failed to prosecute Donald Trump while choosing to prosecute Hunter.
That claim does not hold up particularly well.
Garland appointed special counsels in both matters. David Weiss oversaw the investigation of Hunter Biden, while Jack Smith handled the federal cases involving Trump. Both men were charged.
Hunter was convicted on federal gun charges and later pleaded guilty in his tax case. President Biden eventually pardoned him. Trump, meanwhile, was charged in multiple federal cases, including one related to the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Smith’s prosecutions ended after Trump won the 2024 election, consistent with the Justice Department’s longstanding position that a sitting president cannot be criminally prosecuted.
Hunter nevertheless called Garland’s leadership “the single greatest mistake” of his father’s administration.