The Hunter Biden case is, at its core, a story about the harmful, careless choices made by drug addicts. It's about the fact that addicts weave tragedy into their own lives and the lives of those around them. Addicts only think about themselves, not others. And they lie, which is how they compensate for their addiction.
I was addicted to amphetamines throughout my teenage years and early twenties, preferring prescription amphetamines to pills I'd hit up in someone's garage (though I took those too), lying to doctors' offices, and when my love of speed extended to cocaine, I'd drive home all night on dangerous, twisty canyon roads with no thought for the fact that I might kill someone or myself along the way.
Some commentators argue that if Hunter Biden wasn’t the son of a president, he would not have been put on trial for buying a gun while he was addicted to drugs. He only had the gun for 11 days and it was never used in a crime. I’m not a legal expert. I’m not qualified to comment on that point. But as the daughter of a governor and a president, I know what it’s like to live under a bright, unforgiving spotlight that never fades. Your choices, mistakes, and stumbles in life are preserved forever, and sometimes thrown in front of you like a minefield that you have to cross. Hunter Biden had to sit in court and listen to his ex-wife and ex-lovers testify about the chaos and insanity of his drug addiction. If I had to guess, they probably said things he didn’t remember. He had to watch his daughter take the stand and testify. That’s intimidating, even frightening, under any circumstances. And no matter what the politics around you are, you have to know that ultimately you are responsible for it all.
Some have noted the fact that if he had agreed to a more modest plea deal, he could have spared everyone this very public trial and spared his family all the pain. Maybe, but selfishness leads addicts down many wrong paths, sometimes even long after the addiction itself has subsided.
It also forces those around us to make difficult choices.
As I watched President Biden answer two questions about his son last week, I saw deep hurt behind his responses. ABC News anchor David Muir asked the president if he would accept whatever the jury's verdict was in his son's case. He answered “yes.” He was then asked if he would not grant a pardon if Hunter was found guilty. He again answered “yes.” His answer came from a keen awareness of his own and his family's very public lives, lives burned by the bright lights of politics, a light that defines and reshapes everything.
It's certainly not the answer the grieving father wanted, but his son's actions and illness have forced him to choose between his instinct to protect his child and his public responsibility to uphold the law. It's a terrible situation.
Addicts must take responsibility for their lies, just like anyone else. But being held accountable under the critical eye of the world means being defined by your sin, not the person you are becoming. Progress is a favor owed to others, not you.
It may sound naive in these bitterly partisan times, but I hope all of us, most of us, will open our eyes to just how sad this story is. A man with a loving, supportive family and every advantage and opportunity found himself falling into the swirling abyss of drug addiction, unable to stop himself from continuing to swim in its dark waters. Despite his efforts to break free, the mistakes and sins of his past haunt him, clashing with him, demanding resolution. They continue to pile up collateral damage today, causing great pain to those he loved and those who loved him, and potentially even jeopardizing his father's legacy.
The world is full of people like Hunter Biden, people who have found themselves in situations beyond their control and who just want someone to believe they can bounce back and get on with their lives, but we just don't hear about them on the evening news.
