Joe Biden's Son Hunter Biden Discharged From Navy After Positive Cocaine Test

[Omaha Steve]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Raine1967 (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: ABC News

By LUIS MARTINEZ and ARLETTE SAENZ

Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was discharged from the Navy in February after testing positive for cocaine, a person familiar with the case confirmed to ABC News.

The person said Biden had failed a urinalysis test administered in June 2013 before he was discharged from the Navy.

“It was the honor of my life to serve in the U.S .Navy, and I deeply regret and am embarrassed that my actions led to my administrative discharge,” Hunter Biden said in a statement distributed through his lawyer. “I respect the Navy's decision. With the love and support of my family, I'm moving forward.”

The person familiar with the case said he “was treated no different than any other sailor.”

FULL story and video at link.




Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/joe-bidens-son-hunter-biden-discharged-navy-positive/story?id=26257601

[eossipov]

1. No Date of Discharge - I saw?

I didn't see the actual date of discharge? is there one, and if not, isn't this public information that we should be able to access?
So Hunter Biden along with one of Kerry's friends, were placed on the board of directors of a previously public, turned privatized with no compensation gas/oil company, the largest in Ukraine.

Was he still in the Navy when this occurred? Or, seems more likely he just stepped into another service who is much more quite about their rank and members.

[karynnj]

7. Not Kerry's friend, but a friend of Chris Heinz' s when they were in college.

who had long been involved in hedge funds.

He had just joined the Naval reserve the month before, when he failed the drug test. I think that was June.

[markpkessinger]

2. I really fail to see how this even qualifies as news . . .

. . . This is a personnel matter between Hunter Biden (who is not an elected official in any sense) and the U.S. Navy. I was disgusted that Rachel Maddow chose to report on it, and I am equally disgusted to see it posted here.

[former9thward]

3. I guess you forgot about Joe Biden and the War on Drugs....

As for the war on Drugs, Zeese says, “Pick a drug law you don’t like from the last 25 years and thank Sen. Joe Biden. He deserves a lot of the credit for the U.S., with 5% of the world’s population, having 25% of the world’s prisoners —-and the racially disproportionate impact of the drug laws.”

As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden was responsible for the mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines passed in 1986. “The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 had forced judges to harshly sentence within a narrow range,” Zeese recounts. “So Biden knew in ’86 that mandatory sentences were not needed… But he pushed for and passed mandatory sentencing anyway, because that’s what the narcs and prosecutors wanted. He held hearings at which they got opportunity to testify while opponents of mandatory minimums were kept out.”

Biden also pushed for much harsher penalties for possession, use, or sale of crack (prevalent in the ghettos) than for powder cocaine (favored by white folks). Zeese notes: "In the past year Biden has said that was a mistake based on lack of information. He said the same thing about the Iraq war approval. In that case, as in many others, he helped ITAL cause END ITSthe lack of information. As Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee he put on phony hearings where only pro-war viewpoints were heard. He would not allow testimony from weapons inspectors, former military officers opposed to the war, or foreign policy academics opposed to the war. He used the hearing to mislead his colleagues and the public."

Biden was also instrumental in creating the Office of National Office of Drug Control Policy and takes credit for coining the phrase "Drug Czar" to describe its director. He introduced the “Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Ecstasy (RAVE) Act of 2002,” which, Zeese called “an election-year bill, sloppily written and overbroad, based on exaggerated fears.” Zeese says, "Biden also beat the drug-war drum for escalating penalties for methamphetamine. He never sees drug absuse as a medical problem, only a law enforcement problem. His heart is always with the cops and prosecutors.”

http://www.counterpunch.org/2008/09/06/joe-biden-drug-warrior/

[OnlinePoker]

10. I see it as equivalent to the Bush daughter's drinking

It got some, though not a ton, of play here on DU at the time.

[Shemp Howard]

11. How does a 43 year old get an ensign's commission?

Last edited Fri Oct 17, 2014, 08:12 PM - Edit history (2)

As far as the person goes, this is a private matter, and it should not be news.

Except for one thing. How in the world does a 43 year old get an ensign's commission? The max age for naval ROTC commissioning is 30, and that's with previous service experience. The max age otherwise is 27.

I know that commissions are offered to older people (rarely) when a person has very special or unique qualifications. And as far as I can see, Hunter does not fall into that category.

This smacks of favoritism, a move by somebody to give Hunter some military experience to put on his resume. That should be the story. The drug thing? Meh. That's a private matter.

But I will give Hunter credit for one thing. Regardless of his motivations, he did not run from the uniform, like Cheney did.

[fbc]

31. Exactly what I was wondering

[7962]

18. Oh please. Bush's daughter drinking underage was all over the news here.

A Naval officer with cocaine in his system is a damn disgrace. Bidens daughter also had her share of drug issues too. He's the VICE PRESIDENT, his grown kids should be thinking before doing stupid shit like this.

[razorman]

21. Biden the Younger gets no sympathy from me. As a commissioned naval officer,

he was completely aware of the risks and penalties associated with illegal drug use. Random tests are common, and he knew this. A junior enlisted person might be cut a little slack, but there is absolutely no excuse for a senior enlisted or a commissioned officer. More is expected from them. He will now experience the consequences of violating the rules. Tough shit. I don't think "Daddy" will be able to get him out of this.

[7962]

22. Very well said.

[markpkessinger]

24. I wasn't here then . . .

. . . but I didn't particularly approve of that news coverage either.

[yeoman6987]

26. What? Public information

We are bombarded with news on Bristol Palin. It is nice to see another story.

[markpkessinger]

27. The Navy said these details are normally not disclosed to the public n/t

[yeoman6987]

28. There not! I was in the Navy 24 years and never

Saw a news story about a Sailor getting kicked out for drugs. However we have never had a Vice Presidents child in the military before. Although we came close with Sarah....lol.

[Iamthetruth]

29. More favors for the elite

Do you think you could get into the navy at the age of 43 as an officer without attending OCs and having an arrest record to boot. It's laughable, the guy is a POS scum bag with a powerful daddy.

[karynnj]

4. I feel so bad for Joe and Jill Biden that this was reported

There is no way a father has any responsibility for a 40 plus year old son. Biden's commitment to his sons was one of the most touching stories in DC. More than almost anyone in DC, his life for years was those boys and his Senate job ... and then - in great happiness for all - Jill too.

It is unusual that someone would live a life as public as Biden's has been for half a century that has shown him to be a good, moral man committed to his children and his role in government.

[former9thward]

6. Biden is responsible for untold thousands being in prison

for what his son does. Mr. War on Drugs. He wrote the laws.

[uppityperson]

12. or kale?

[1StrongBlackMan]

8. Sadly ...

The person familiar with the case said he “was treated no different than any other sailor.”

I suspect ... when it comes to his job search, he will be treated quite differently from the typical sailor, administratively discharged.

[karynnj]

9. Well - his entire "military" career was one month in the reserve

He already is an investor and lawyer. I wonder if he joined to emulate his older, more successful brother.

[KoKo]

13. Aside from VP Biden's Stand on Drugs it's a "Power/Privilege" Issue for Dems

It's about power and privilege whether it's Dems or Repubs. If this were Mitt Romney's Son it would be huge news about Bain Capitol Boy's privilege...

As far as we know, Biden isn't wealthy but he's used power and influence to help his son along (or, his son took advantage of power and privilege and used it on his own) and if the son were black or poor and had to be discharged from the Navy (which was a special exemption job because of prior cocaine use when he was younger) he could be in jail and who his dealer was would be investigated.

Instead Hunter gets a job in the WH after Biden's election and then joins an Investment Firm as Board member that gets a contract for drilling in Ukraine after the Govt. was toppled and the new unelected one signs a deal with European Union. Also John Kerry's Stepson is involved in the deal and this all happens after the Coup in Ukraine and Biden's speech there.

It looks like "crony capitalism" and VP Biden should have know this would come out about the discharge and told his son not to take the job on the Board of a company that is going to be drilling in Ukraine after their Govt. was overthrown because it would look very bad for him and his father politically given we've put sanctions on Russia because of the Ukraine situation but Biden's son lands cushy job and profits.

Sad to see this...but, it's not something we should sweep under the table when we would be all over it 24/7 if it was Romney's son or son of another leading Political Figure who was a Repub.

[7962]

19. +1! Thank you for NOT being a hypocrite.

Your last sentence says it all.

[karynnj]

20. No report has said that Kerry's stepson is involved -- they have said a college friend

of Chris Heinz is. He is a hedge fund guy - it is a pretty weak connection to the Secretary of State.

[KoKo]

23. Are they still Close Friends or Not? Doesn't the Biden Son/Kerry Connection in Ukraine

Seem a bit like Nepotism...or Crony Capitalism of the Privileged?

Biden's Son, Kerry Family Friend Join Ukrainian Gas Producer's Board
Ukraine's Burisma Holdings Is Controlled by Former Energy Official Under Yanukovych

Vice President Joe Biden’s son and a close friend of Secretary of State John Kerry’s stepson have joined the board of a Ukrainian gas producer controlled by a former top security and energy official for deposed President Viktor Yanukovych.

The move has attracted attention given Biden’s and Kerry’s public roles in diplomacy toward Ukraine, where the U.S. expressed support for pro-Western demonstrators who toppled Mr. Yanukovych’s Kremlin-backed government in February. The uprising provoked a pro-Russia backlash that has plunged the post-Soviet republic into conflict and brought it to the brink of civil war.

Hunter Biden, a lawyer by training and the younger of the vice president’s two sons, joined the board of directors of Ukrainian gas firm Burisma Holdings Ltd. this month and took on responsibility for the company’s legal unit, according to a statement issued by the closely held gas producer.

His appointment came a few weeks after Devon Archer--college roommate of the secretary of state’s stepson, H.J. Heinz Co. ketchup heir Christopher Heinz--joined the board to help the gas firm attract U.S. investors, improve its corporate governance and expand its operations. A State Department spokesman declined to comment.

“The fact that I joined the board of directors is largely based on the company’s will to grow,” Archer said in an interview with Ukrainian media published on Burisma’s website. “Last year alone witnessed a lot of transformations.” He vowed to make the company more transparent.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303851804579560542284706288

[karynnj]

30. Your link says he is a close friend of Chris Heinz

It is a pretty big jump to suggest that Kerry had anything to do with this, nor is it at all clear that this will be a good investment for a hedge fund.

[840high]

25. Thank you.

[KamaAina]

14. Tell your kids to Say No To Drugs!

[JonLP24]

16. I really don't care

but I can see how this qualifies as news.

[whereisjustice]

17. 44 yr old joining reserves? Grooming himself to run for office, would've looked good

on his resume and campaign spots. Best laid plans...

[Raine1967]

32. Locking .

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