In December 62 BCE Publius Clodius Pulcher attended illegally a women-only religious rite in an attempt to meet and seduce Julius Caesar's wife, Pompeia. He did not succeed as he was discovered and ejected from the rite. After Publius' trial, Caesar divorced his wife though he was confident she would have rejected any advance from Publius. He divorced her as he felt that it was intolerable that his wife be suspected of illicit behavior even if not true. We learn from this event almost 2100 years ago that relatives and close associates of political leaders need to behave responsibly and legally at all times as their behavior reflects on the integrity of the leader as an office holder and public figure.
Unfortunately, in recent years public office has been abused in a variety of very creative ways to enrich elected officials who seem to have forgotten that they are public servants and the reward for their service should be knowing that they fulfilled their term in office in an honorable manner. Getting rich is not part of public service. When Harry Truman left the presidency, he worried how he would survive during his retirement. President-elect Dwight Eisenhower turned down a lucrative investment offer as he felt it was unseemly to be offered such a deal as he was about to assume the presidency. On the other hand, Lyndon Johnson, who served as the most powerful senate majority leader in history prior to assuming the Vice Presidency and presidency famously arrived in Washington with one suit and left thirty-five years later with twelve million dollars and radio and television stations in Texas. He claimed it was all the result of business dealings by his talented wife Lady Bird and that he personally had no knowledge of them. One can draw their own conclusion about how the Federal Communications Commission would rule on broadcast licenses when the applicant was Mrs. Lyndon Johnson.
Richard Nixon faced impeachment over Watergate and resigned; the only President in American history to do so. Despite Nixon's participatIon in the Watergate cover-up, no money ever went to Nixon or hIs family, and he did not seem to be enriched from his years of public service. Bill Clinton was a different story. He arrived in Washington with a poor reputation as a sexual predator and with rumors about his involvement in an Arkansas real estate scheme known as Whitewater. Despite incriminating investigations he was never charged on his involvement in that affair. He was impeached for lying under oath, but found not guilty after a Senate trial. He was subsequently disbarred. After leaving office, his wife Hillary became a U.S Senator from New York and was immediately spoken of as a future presidential candidate. The Clinton's established a foundation, the Clinton Foundation, and money poured in from influence seekers both in the United States and from the rest of the world. Daughter Chelsea was an executive of this foundation. Her husband established a hedge fund, with billions pouring in from investors who sought to get close to the Clintons. Their fortune rose even more as Hillary became Secretary of State in the new Obama administration. Additionally, a major television network paid an extremely large retainer to Chelsea Clinton as a stand-by news consultant. She was never called upon by the network, but retained her "salary" until her mother lost the 2016 presidential election. As a result of Hillary's defeat, the foundation was dissolved, Chelsea lost her consultancy and her husband's hedge fund, which performed poorly, folded overnight as investors withdrew their funds. The Clinton's were finished. Influence seekers had no further need to fund them. The post-White House wealth of the Clintons is estimated at one hundred million dollars.
This brings us to the case of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. He served six terms in the Senate, made several unsuccessful runs in Democrat primaries for president and ceded to be ready for retirement when 2008 nominee Barack Obama plucked him out of the abyss and took him as his running mate. Biden's family prospered during his vice presidency. Son Hunter, a Yale law graduate with an undistinguished legal career and no foreign experience at all, suddenly received lucrative multi-million dollar contracts from oil companies in Ukraine and China (PRC). Various e-mails spoke numerous times about the "big guy"; whom he is can be imagined by the reader. Hunter and his associates made numerous visits to the White House during President Obama's tenure in office. Hunter Biden continued his business dealing and after the one-term presidency of Donald Trump, again seized center stage as his father became the 46th president. Tensions have risen with the PRC, yet Hunter's business dealings with the PRC continued. President Biden has acknowledged that we face major challenges from the PRC regarding Taiwan and other adventures that the aggressive PRC is pursuing in Asia and around the world. Yet Hunter's business dealings make the news daily. President Biden's brother is involved in real estate construction deals in Bagdad despite having no prior business experience in that part of the world. President Biden becomes extremely nasty and defensive and warns all who question his family's business interests to shut up or else. At this time, it seems prudent for the President to remind himself of Julius Caesar's comment so many year ago. The presidency cannot tolerate suspicion about the president, his family and close associates benefitting from his tenure in the White House. The only decent thing for Mr.Biden to do at this point would be to resign from office or else face a House of Representatives investigation that might lead to an impeachment trial. For the sake of the country, the 46th president should resign.
Garry S. Sklar
Las Vegas, NV
April 17, 2023
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