OPINION:
Public scrutiny of leadership distinguishes democracy from autocracy. The job of shedding light on activities undertaken in the name of the people falls to an inquisitive and fair press. Just how far legacy U.S. media have strayed from their central role in supporting an informed public is glaringly exposed in their failure to cast an objective eye upon the activities of President Biden’s reckless scion, Hunter.
Like the telling of an epic tale, fresh episodes add to the lore of the younger Mr. Biden’s misadventures as the archives of officialdom surrender their secrets. In a recent revelation, Hunter is found looking for ways, apparently, to complete a bank transfer to a Russian national without triggering the suspicion of U.S. bank regulators.
The charge is contained in a July 7 letter Republican Sens. Charles Grassley and Ron Johnson sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss. The senators cite reports describing texts Hunter sent to “Eva,” regarding payment for “escort” services. “Email with .ru flags wires,” he wrote, and the amount he desired to transfer was “too much red flag for bank.” The communications coincided with a period from December 2018 through January 2019 when Mr. Biden reportedly had agreed to wire his son $100,000 and when the younger Biden was spending $30,000 on escorts.
Banks have indeed flagged Hunter’s overseas financial dealings by filing Suspicious Activity Reports with the U.S. Treasury Department. The president-to-be, in effect, may have inadvertently funded his son’s “participation in an escort ring tied to Russia,” write Mr. Grassley and Mr. Johnson, prompting them to ask: “What is the Justice Department trying to hide from Congress and the American people?”
The newest chapter in the Hunter Biden saga was not reported by the so-called newspapers of record, but by the scrappy Washington Examiner. Until recently, the exalted Washington Post and other self-described fonts of fact have shown limited interest in peeking behind the carefully crafted narrative of “Uncle Joe” Biden and his all-American family.
In principle, of course, all Americans are entitled to privacy in their personal affairs. Still, the public has a right to know whether powerful elected officials and their families are compromised by U.S. citizens — or foreign governments — privy to their embarrassing secrets and who would demand favors in return for silence.
The irony of it all is that charges of underhanded dealings with Russians — the potential blunder for which Hunter and Joe Biden have escaped proper scrutiny — formed the basis for the years-long collusion probe of former President Donald Trump that fixated the dominant media for the entirety of his presidency. How fair is that?
Not very, and the press doesn’t much care. A recent Pew Research Center survey finds that 55% of journalists say every side of an issue does not always deserve equal coverage. Consequently, only 29% of the public express a fair amount of confidence in the institution that misapprehends its fundamental purpose.
If, as The Washington Post asserts, “Democracy dies in darkness,” a brighter light should be cast on the troubling trail left by Hunter and the Bidens.
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