What Hunter Biden's indictment would say about America

It’s not unusual for an addict to make a catastrophic mess of his life, but Hunter Biden’s case may be one for the record books. 

Biden, it seems, leveraged his father’s position as vice president of the United States to make a fortune as a consultant to foreign entities, despite having near-zero experience in the industries involved. The money helped bankroll his reckless and highflying lifestyle, no doubt. Then he failed to pay federal taxes on the millions he received.

Now comes the hangover for Biden and his father, President Joe Biden, who is famously protective of his children. Besides having to pay back what he owes the government, which he's evidently done, the younger Biden now has to defend his activities to the Department of Justice, which has acknowledged a formal investigation into his finances and work overseas. Talk about amends. 

If rumors out of Washington have merit, there’s a good chance that the president’s son could soon be indicted on at least one of several potential charges. It would be a scenario that would render Billy Carter’s public urination — Billy Beers! — and Roger Clinton’s assorted shenanigans child’s play. This case looks like international nepotism on steroids by a sitting president’s son; chances are we’ll be talking a lot more about it.

The Hunter Biden case is explosive for another reason, of course, and it’s not that the payments came from China and Ukraine, which also raises eyebrows. Conservatives argue, with merit, that some members of the news media gave this story a pass in the months leading up to the 2020 election. Had they not, they maintain, Donald Trump might still be president. That isn’t crazy talk — no “stop-the-steal” nonsense — it’s an easily imaginable scenario. The election was that close. 

So let’s say the younger Biden does get indicted, stipulating, of course, that he may not. What would that mean for the country, and how should President Biden handle it? Would it stop dead-in-its-tracks all hope of reelection? 

Probably, is my best guess. Biden too easily skirted questions about his son during the 2020 presidential debates, but he won’t be able to do that as president, and a fairly weak one at that. The White House press corps, liberal or not, will demand real answers, and the picture likely to emerge won’t be pretty. It will be of a vice president who knowingly allowed his son to sell his name to foreign dealmakers. Doesn’t pass the smell test. 

Recall that former New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) went to jail for helping his son get a job from a company with contracts before the state. Joe Biden didn’t land these gigs for his son, but c’mon; he knew why he was being hired. The practice might be legal, but it’s not ethical. 

President Biden could do something else entirely — and one hopes that he does. He could let the chips fall where they may, and in doing so, show the world that no one is above the law in the U.S., not even a president’s son. It would make a nice counter-image to Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Xi Jinping’s China. It would also teach a son what it means to be accountable.

Then again, who’s kidding whom? The Biden White House will fight this tooth and nail. 

Opinions expressed by William F. B. O’Reilly, a consultant to Republicans, are his own. 

By William F. B. O'Reilly

@wfbor

William F. B. O'Reilly is a Newsday Opinion columnist. He works as a corporate and political communications consultant. He works with clients on the Republican side of the aisle.