Robinson: Presidential scrutiny and false equivalence

Webb Hubbell, former assistant attorney general under President Bill Clinton, tells an interesting story about meeting with then Sen. Joe Biden, who chaired the Judiciary Committee, before his confirmation.

Hubbell served prison time for the Rose Law billing scandal. He said Biden had warned him before he took the job that he would be investigated with a story. When Biden ran for president in 1988, he first went to his most loyal high-income donor and asked for support. The donor said, “Joe I think you’d make a great president, but I can’t help.”

Biden was taken aback. This was not only a donor, but a good friend who had always been there in all his campaigns. When Biden asked why not, the donor said, “Joe the best friend of the president always gets indicted.”

Later, after his conviction, Hubbell said he saw Biden at the train station in Washington, D.C. Biden pointed at Hubbell, who said, “I told you.”

Now, Biden’s own son has pled guilty to federal crimes, mostly because he is the victim of political retribution by the Traitor Trump forces. Yes, he made mistakes, but the harsh reaction and public humiliation would never have occurred if his father was not president.

Juxtapose his actions with the Traitor Trump Crime Family and the false equivalence is ever so glaring. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, who unlike Hunter Biden actually worked in the White House, got a $2 billion cash infusion from a Saudi fund controlled by Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Their father, former President Donald Trump, has been indicted on 71 counts, with more to come, but his crimes took place years ago and he remains free despite the obvious danger he poses to our nation.

All because of the cowardice of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Trump’s crimes involve sedition, treason, espionage, potential leaking of top secret information, money laundering and intentional hiding of hush money payments to influence an election. Still to come are charges in Georgia, more federal charges in Washington, D.C. and a Michigan investigation that parallels the Georgia cases due to federal inaction and Garland timidity.

In full disclosure, I only met Hunter Biden once, in San Francisco. He is a fiercely loyal son with a famous father. As for Joe Biden, there were times I was the only person at his fundraiser in California, and I introduced him at a fundraiser for him at the Capitol Club in 2008.

Joe Biden is an honest man, who I first met in 1986. More on that later, but his family comes first. At 30 years old, after having been elected senator at the age of 29, he lost his first wife and daughter in a car accident. His two sons were severely injured, but survived. Beau Biden later died of cancer after serving near toxic pits in Iraq. Hunter is the president’s sole remaining son.

Hunter has not had an easy life. Not an excuse, but a fact. His mistakes are his own, but the punishment has been exacerbated because of his father. Meanwhile, Trump and his criminal children walk the earth free after abusing their positions in government and committing treason against our nation.

One can’t help but note the irony and false equivalence. Justice may be blind, but it ought not be stupid. It is long past time to put the real danger to our society in jail. Not only Trump, but all his minions and co-conspirators as well. They include Sens. Lindsay Graham, Ted Cruz, Rob Johnson, Mike Lee, Tommy Tuberville, Roger Marshall, John Kennedy and Josh Hawley.

It also includes Reps. Andy Biggs, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn and Paul Gosar.

The only reason Trump was not impeached is that his Republican defenders, who were literally his jury, were part of the conspiracy. Leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, who initially were outraged by Jan. 6, stood down to protect their members. That is the truth.

If our nation is to prevail, if justice is to mean anything, if we are to save our democracy, we must end the Traitor Trump era and cast his cultist enablers on the trash heap of history. As for Hunter Biden, I hope his father will pardon him.

As Harry Truman once said sending a threatening letter to Paul Hume, a music critic of his daughter, “I was a father before I was president and I’ll be a father after I’m president.”

San José Spotlight columnist Rich Robinson is a political consultant, attorney and author of “The Shadow Candidate.” His columns appear every fourth Wednesday of the month.