Hypocrisy At The Highest Levels: ATF Asks Judge To Close Hunter Biden Gun Inquiry

Submitted by The Machine Gun Nest (TMGN)., 

A story not being covered by the corrupt corporate media over the past few years has been the story of Joe Biden’s Son, Hunter. Or maybe, more specifically, the story of Hunter Biden’s Handgun.

Hunter Biden purchased a .38 Revolver from a Delaware gun shop on October 12, 2018. If you’re familiar with gun law or have bought a gun yourself, you’ll know that to purchase a firearm; you’ll have had to fill out an ATF Form 4473, also known as a Firearms Transaction Record. More on that later.

Days later, on October 23, Hallie Biden (widow to Joe Biden’s son Beau) searched Hunter’s truck and found the handgun. She apparently feared for Hunter’s safety and decided to put the gun in a shopping bag and throw it in the trash outside a grocery store. During the same day, Hunter finds out about the gun disposal and notifies law enforcement of the missing firearm. The investigation that followed involved the Delaware State Police, Secret Service, the FBI, and later on, the ATF.

Eventually, the revolver was found, turned into authorities by a man who routinely searched garbage cans in the area for recyclables. Interestingly according to a report from Politico, the Secret Service visited the gun shop where Hunter had purchased the firearm and asked to take the 4473 associated with the gun. The shop owner wisely refused this request, apparently “suspecting that the Secret Service officers wanted to hide Hunter’s ownership of the missing gun if it were ever to be involved in a crime.” Eventually, the gun shop owner did turn in the firearm transaction record to the ATF.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Back in 2018, when this event occurred, Hunter Biden was famously addicted to drugs. (According to his memoir, he was smoking crack in 2018)

On a Firearms Transaction Record, there’s a question on the form about drug addiction. It’s a yes or no question, and answering yes leads to disqualification of being able to purchase a firearm.  

Now, we don’t know for sure how he filled out the form, and we certainly don’t know if he lied, but he did buy the gun and leave with it. The entire situation raises many questions, especially when you add that (as reported by TheBlaze) Hunter Biden’s Secret Service Protection ended in 2014.

In November of 2020, David Codrea of AmmoLand did some real journalism and filed an FIOA request with the ATF & Secret Service to see if there was any firearms prosecution for this event or why there was no prosecution brought if not. The Secret Service and ATF attempted to deny Mr. Codrea’s FIOA request in different ways. The Secret Service provided an affidavit under penalty of perjury denying involvement, dismissing the FOIA case.

The ATF, on the other hand, argued first that Mr. Codrea didn’t qualify as a journalist. (Which is on its face an admission that the powers that be only really take the astroturf corporate media seriously.) Then, they claimed that Hunter Biden’s privacy interests take precedence over the public’s need to know about the case.

Mr. Codrea’s lawyer appealed the decision, but the DOJ backed the ATF in denying the appeal. Mr. Codrea’s lawyer filed a complaint to compel the ATF to answer the FIOA request. On January 30, 2022, the ATF asked for this FOIA request to be dismissed, asking for summary judgment. Here’s what they had to say:

“Plaintiff seeks any records ATF might have about a firearms prosecution or about why no prosecution has been brought. Because confirming or denying the existence of any responsive records would reveal whether or not ATF conducted a criminal investigation involving Mr. Biden, and because Mr. Biden has a significant privacy interest in that information that is not outweighed by the public’s interest in disclosure, ATF followed its standard approach in such a case and properly asserted what is known as a Glomar response to the FOIA request based on FOIA’s privacy exemptions (…) Accordingly, ATF is entitled to summary judgment, as its Glomar response is the sole issue for resolution in this case.”

This is one of the most powerful examples of how in the world of anti-gun politicians and their associates, the law only applies to the little guy and not to the ruling class.

Take the Rare Breed FRT-15 situation we covered the other day. The ATF changes its mind, and all of a sudden average people become felons in possession of unregistered machine guns overnight. But if you are part of the ruling class, you might just get away with your “mistake.”

The Hunter Biden situation raises some serious questions, but it definitely doesn’t come as a surprise for gun owners. We’ll be watching this situation to see the result; it’s good to see that people like Mr. Codrea are trying to hold those in power accountable.