By Noreen Marcus, FloridaBulldog.org
Little-known fact: Hunter Biden stands in a long line of U.S. politicians’ offspring who’ve had trouble with the law.
Through the years elected Democrats and Republicans may have suffered politically, at least briefly, for the sins of their sons and daughters. During an especially vicious campaign, President Joe Biden is dealing with blowback from the case of Hunter, his only surviving son.
Hunter Biden, who was convicted this week of three felonies for lying about his drug addiction so he could buy a revolver, stands out because, at 54, he’s probably the oldest member of this group. He may well be the only one to face tax-evasion charges, with that trial set for this fall.
In 2001, then-President George W. Bush’s 19-year-old twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, committed twin misdemeanors by drinking while underage at the University of Texas. Jimmy Carter’s rebellious daughter Amy was arrested in 1985, after her father left the White House, for protesting against apartheid; Brown University dismissed her two years later when she didn’t finish her coursework.
Based on an informal survey of the past year-and-a-half, the Democratic Party seems to be the one that favors protesting as an extracurricular activity. Two children of U.S. House members, both Democrats, were arrested during demonstrations in Boston and New York.
Isra Hirsi, 21, was one of 108 people arrested for trespassing at a pro-Palestinian protest against the war in Gaza that took place on Columbia University’s Manhattan campus. She’s the daughter of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the first two Muslim American women elected to Congress.
Hirsi, a student at nearby Barnard College, said on the social media platform X she was suspended for “standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide,” NBC News reported on April 18. “Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated,” she wrote.
(Israel has called the allegation of genocide in Gaza “baseless.” But the International Court of Justice in the Hague, responding to a request from South Africa, ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to avoid killing civilians and refrain from other violations of the United Nation’s 1948 Genocide Convention that show an “intent to destroy” Palestinians as a group.)
HOUSE WHIP’S CHILD A PROTESTER
Not all demonstrations are non-violent. Last month Riley Dowell, 23, got pre-trial probation on charges of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and using spray paint to deface the Parkman Bandstand monument in Boston Common.
The case against her will be dismissed after a year if she completes 30 hours of community service, stays in therapy, pays to remove the spray paint and keeps away from Boston Common, the Boston.com website reported. She’s already apologized to the police officer.
Dowell, whose mother is House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., was arrested during a Jan. 21 rally to show support for the people of Atlanta and Memphis, sites of recent police-involved deaths. Caught in a scrum, Dowell said she flailed her arms and accidentally struck an officer; she was charged with assault and battery.
“I love Riley, and this is a very difficult time in the cycle of joy and pain in parenting,” Clark said in a statement following the arrest. “This will be evaluated by the legal system and I am confident in that process.”
Does it help or hurt to have a politically potent relative?
“There’s certainly an advantage to being from a well-known, well-connected family in the sense that you have access to resources and potentially access to influential people,” Northeastern University law professor Daniel Medwed was quoted as saying on the nonprofit GBH News website.
“But on the other hand, of course, with fame comes media attention,” he continued. “And that media attention could put some pressure on the prosecution to not be perceived as being lenient or soft on someone from a prominent family. And that could affect how the case proceeds, the trajectory of the litigation.
“So I think it’s a really mixed bag, and hard to predict,” Medwed said.
BOEBERT SUPPORTS HER SON
During the same 17-month period, three children of Republican lawmakers, plus the child of a Republican primary candidate, were brought up on charges unrelated to political protests.
In February, Michael “Patton” Guest, 20, was arrested while partying in Nashville, Tenn., and charged with assaulting a police officer, disorderly conduct and underage drinking. His father is U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss.
James Womack, 35, had to post a $10,000 bond for criminal mischief after a January, 2023 incident in which he tried to outrun police in Tontitown, Arkansas. He was also charged with fleeing, possession of a controlled substance and multiple vehicular violations. Womack is the son of U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark.
In April, Brooks Hampton Templeton, 18, was charged with felony assault and battery at a house party that had taken place in January. He lost his salaried job with his mother Catherine Templeton’s primary campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Mace won her race on Tuesday.
The highest-profile GOP-linked arrestee was Tyler Jay Boebert, 18, son of the flamboyant U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. He was charged in February with a string of vehicle break-ins and property heists that yielded a large number of ID documents. A magistrate released him without bond, according to the Durango Herald.
Lauren Boebert said in a written statement her son “has been through some very difficult, public challenges for a young man and the subject of attention he didn’t ask for.
“It breaks my heart to see my child struggling and, in this situation, especially when he had been provided multiple opportunities to get his life on track. I will never give up on him and I will continue to be there for him,” the statement says.
That sounds like the statement President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden released after Hunter’s conviction. But Boebert’s empathy doesn’t stretch far enough to cover them.
“Hunter Biden was proven GUILTY!” she posted on X Tuesday. “How long before dear old dad fixes this all up for him?”
Leave a Reply