After the Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a win with its recent ruling on presidential immunity, President Joe Biden gunned the engines to “reform” the Supreme Court.
If Biden were really concerned with bolstering the credibility and integrity of our democratic institutions, he would better spend his time Hunter-proofing the White House.
The High Court is too conservative by Democrats’ standards, the ruling in favor of former President Trump just one decision too many that rankled the left. Biden’s solution: limit the tenure of justices to 18 years and have Congress pass legislation to create a system in which the sitting president would appoint a justice every two years, and they’re out after 18.
“I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers,” Biden said in a Washington Post op-ed. “What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.”
How much confidence can the public have in the White House when a presidential relative racks up investigations into their foreign business dealings?
Hunter’s five-year stint working for Burisma, a Ukrainian energy firm under criminal investigation, gave him a hefty paycheck but also gave rise to probes into possible influence-peddling as Joe Biden was then serving as vice president to Barack Obama.
This week, prosecutors said in court papers that Hunter was hired by a Romanian businessman accused of corruption who was trying to “influence U.S. government policy” during Joe Biden’s term as VP.
Special counsel David Weiss’ team said Hunter Biden’s business associate will testify at his upcoming federal tax trial about the arrangement with the executive, Gabriel Popoviciu, who was facing criminal investigation at the time in Romania, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors plan to introduce evidence that Hunter and his business associate “received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion,” according to the filing.
Biden’s move to cease his re-election bid is looking savvier by the day as his son’s trials and alleged deals keep returning to the spotlight.
What Biden could do, if he were genuinely concerned with reform and integrity, is to get Congress to pass legislation forbidding the relatives of sitting presidents, vice presidents and other leaders of influence from working for foreign enterprises seeking to do business with, or receive favorable treatment from, the United States.
With the prominence of multinational firms, it may be that future White House progeny will find work with a global company. In that case, their salaries, job description and meeting participants should be fully disclosed.
Democrats and Republicans trade fire over investigations into the Biden family’s business dealings, but the American people aren’t stupid.
The average person doesn’t make millions for serving on foreign boards, and the notion that such an arrangement would coincide with their father’s stint in the White House is naturally going to raise eyebrows.
As they might say in Scranton, that just doesn’t look right. Get out the executive order pen, Mr. President, and stop potential scandals in the future.
Editorial cartoon by Bob Gorrell (Creators Syndicate)
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Publish date : 2024-08-08 17:09:00
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