The Message That Joe Biden’s Pardon of Hunter Sends

Despite over the past six months repeatedly and adamantly pronouncing he would not, President Joe Biden on Sunday announced that was issuing a full pardon for his son, Hunter Biden. The younger Biden was convicted in June of 3 felony charges related to his purchase of a revolver in 2018 after he lied on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Firearms Transaction Form, known as an ATF Form 4473, to purchase the firearm by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs, as reported by the Associated Press at the time.

The convictions were clear cut and Hunter Biden was found guilty by a jury of his peers for lying to a federal firearms licensee (FFL), making a false statement on the Form 4473 by asserting he was not a current illicit drug user and illegally possessing the firearm for 11 days after the purchase. The penalty for committing the crimes during his purchase and illegal possession of the firearm could have landed him in prison for up to 25 years.

Instead, he will serve no time. There will be no accountability.

Pardoning his son for the gun crimes is infuriating. NSSF, as the firearm industry trade association, takes firearm ownership and the legal requirements to purchase and possess a gun seriously. No one who is prohibited from possessing a firearm should be allowed to do so.

Additionally, no one is above the law and crimes committed in the process of purchasing a firearm are often not victimless. Afterall, Hunter Biden’s then-girlfriend Hallie threw the gun away into a trash dumpster near an elementary school. Who knows what could have happened if it ended up in the wrong hands instead of being retrieved shortly after.

The President’s pardon sends the exact wrong message.

‘Willful’ Violation

Hunter Biden lied on the Form 4473. He willfully chose to provide knowingly false information when he checked “No” on the form’s question that asks gun buyers, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”

That was a false statement. Biden admitted in his memoir that he was a crack addict at the time he purchased his revolver in 2018.

The pardon for Hunter Biden’s willful decision to lie on the federal form is in direct contrast with how the Biden administration uses their whole-of-government approach to punish and suffocate the lawful and highly-regulated firearm industry.

The administration continues to use the ATF to shutter firearm retailers at a blistering pace over minor clerical errors with a policy called “zero-tolerance,” and has had devastating effects on small businesses and the ability for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights by freely approaching a firearm retailer for a lawful purchase.

When questioned at his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, ATF Director Steven Dettelbach was grilled about the administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy and how he would continue to implement it. After being questioned by Republican Ranking Member U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) about it, Director Dettelbach had some relevant words in his answer.

“The key to enforcement programs, it has to be fair, it has to be consistent, and it has to be effective,” he said.

While putting record numbers of FFLs out of business for minor bookkeeping errors or non-willful violations, the president has shown he is just fine with letting off on the privileged easy street and serious, willful violators instead.

‘Don’t Lie’ Campaign

The firearm industry takes lying on the background check form and illegal straw purchasing of guns seriously. It’s why we’ve invested heavily in combatting that serious crime for nearly 25 years with the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy campaign. It’s to remind the public that there are stiff penalties in store for those who lie on the background check form to purchase a firearm for someone who is not able to do so on their own, likely because they themselves are prohibited. NSSF partners with ATF, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and local law enforcement to educate the public in several cities across the country each year on the seriousness of these crimes.

In fact, at the Don’t Lie public awareness campaign launch event in Las Vegas earlier this year, ATF Director Dettelbach urged would-be straw purchasers to think again, not do it and to understand how these are not victimless crimes.

“Any successful strategy to reduce gun violence requires preventing the diversion of lawful firearms into unlawful commerce,” Steven Dettelbach said at the time. “Once there, these firearms end up in the hands of people who are sometimes violent criminals and intend to do harm to the people with whom we live, the innocent people who are victims and survivors of gun violence.”

If convicted of the crime of lying on the background check form, the Don’t Lie campaign reminds the public they could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. It’s even possible there could be an additional 15 years in prison if the “straw purchase” firearm crosses state lines.

President Biden has called the firearm industry “the enemy” before and has done all he can in office to punish it. At the same time, while continually reiterating his stance that “no one is above the law” and there “are not two tiers in the justice system,” in a clear case where a serious crime was committed involving the illegal purchase of a firearm, he instead demonstrated the opposite. He pardoned a convicted criminal who actually put the public safety at risk.

 

Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.