The inability of Republicans to move past “what-aboutism” is not the fault of Fox News alone. The Washington D.C. press corp’s refusal to understand that the world has changed, and the normal rules of “he said, she said” no longer apply carries much of the blame, including to Hunter Biden. The illusion that fairness means giving equal weight to the liar and lied-to should be dashed until at least Donald Trump leaves the political scene and the Republican Party returns to its moderate self.
The biggest and most current example of this phenomenon is the way the networks from CNN to NBC and newspapers from The Washington Post to The New York Times are treating the Hunter Biden investigation versus the Donald Trump indictments.
On one hand, you have a former President charged by four different grand juries of serious felonies before he was in office, during his Presidency, and as a private citizen holed up at Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster.
He is charged with attempting to hide a payoff to a porn star with whom he cheated on his wife, carelessly displaying top secret documents including war plans against Iran, leading a conspiracy to overthrow the duly elected government of the United States, and separate federal charges of trying to illegally stop the January 6th certification of Joe Biden’s election. Actual felonies, charged in actual court, against a former President. Let that sink in. Never happened before. Full stop.
On the other hand, there is Hunter Biden, a troubled man who it appears to have thrown his father’s name around to drum up business. Unethical, but not illegal. He is charged, however, by a Republican U.S. Attorney appointed by Donald Trump and Bill Barr with two minor tax violations which in most cases are settled in civil proceedings. By the way, taxes he has already paid back, and a paperwork gun violation for a weapon he no longer possesses. That is it.
Republicans are hoping there is more and pressured the Attorney General to make that same Republican U.S. Attorney a special counsel. The same man who has been investigating the President’s son for five years with what he has sworn was total autonomy and produced a plea deal that settled for no prison time or fine for Hunter. None of the charges involve the actual President and months of Congressional investigation led by angry Republicans attempting to distract from the real danger have not produced any criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.
Those two cases are not remotely similar. One involves serious crimes against the Republic by a public official, the highest public official in the land, the other involves a private citizen who happens to be related to the President and are minor tax violations none of us would be jailed for or even charged without being offered an opportunity to pay up and go away.
Unequal treatment for Hunter Biden? Absolutely, but not the kind the GOP accuses, in fact, the exact opposite. Most legal experts agree if his name was not Biden, this would have been handled quietly in civil proceedings. Yet, here is what we see from the political press.
The New York Times from Saturday, August 12.
Headline: “For President Biden a political headache that may not go away”.
Second headline: “With naming of special counsel, Hunter Biden inquiry enters new stage”. Third headline: “Here’s why appointing a special counsel in the Hunter Biden case may not change much”.
Fourth headline: “Prosecutors and Hunter Biden team were still trying to negotiate a plea deal this week”.
Fifth headline: “See a timeline of Hunter Biden’s life and legal troubles”.
All of that above the fold on the front page, complete with a file picture of Hunter with his father, Joe Biden exiting Air Force One.
Axios headline: “2024 has become the scandal election”.
Wait a minute! Hunter is not on the ballot, and Joe Biden is not mentioned anywhere by any prosecutor. NBC News online carries a lede that reads “Hunter is a fresh headache for Joe Biden and is distracting from President Biden’s message”.
It goes on and on inside the political echo chamber that is the Washington D.C. press. Having been in that circle for five years covering the White House for ABC News, I can tell you we all pay attention to each other. All are worried about being considered biased, but objectively, treating Hunter Biden’s embarrassing personal conduct equally with Donald Trump’s personal alleged criminality is not journalism in today’s world.
In this atmosphere, where one Presidential candidate — who has cult-like control over the Republican Party — it is essential not to equate the conduct of a Presidential relative with the conduct of the actual opposition candidate. In fact, as an article by Dan Frookin in Press Watch suggests, every article highlighting Hunter Biden’s legal troubles should include a disclaimer that reads “Trump faces a slew of incredibly serious criminal charges including conspiring to steal a presidential election; (Joe) Biden has been credibly accused of nothing”.
This is so important right now because Trump’s followers believe everything he says, and ignore voices outside his social media propaganda. A recent CBS News poll shows that 71% of Republicans trust Trump more than the media, their own families, or religious leaders. It is the definition of a cult.
The Washington press must not validate his efforts to distract with false equivalencies. Call lies, lies, call crimes, crimes, and do not forget it is Joe Biden who will be on the ballot and is not on any court docket.
Jim Avila previously served as a weekly columnist for Barrett News Media. An Award-winning journalist with four decades of reporting and anchoring experience, Jim worked as Senior National Correspondent, 20/20 Correspondent, and White House Correspondent for ABC News. Prior to his time with ABC, he spent a decade with NBC News, and worked locally in Los Angeles and Chicago for KNBC, and WBBM. He can be found on Twitter @JimAvilaABC.
