Crimes Committed by Presidential Family Members

I suppose it is only natural that family members of United States presidents will have exceptional advantages.  Sometimes it is a matter of getting out of trouble.  We only need to recall the pardons issued by President Clinton for his half-brother, Roger, who served time on cocaine charges.

On the other side of the presidential pardon coin are the lucrative benefits that can be accessed by members of presidential families – some more flagrant than others.  Some are even humorous.  You may recall how First-Brother Billy Carter made money peddling “Billy Beer.”  What is less known is that he was a paid representative of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi – a leading state sponsor of terrorism.  That’s right, Billy was lobbying for the guy responsible for the Olympic massacre and the plane bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.

I know that because when President Reagan defeated President Carter, the Libyans offered me the job since I was close to the new administration at the time.  I demurred even though it would have made me a millionaire.  I am glad I declined.  Gaddafi was so bad that President Reagan found it necessary to bomb the presidential palace in Libya.

Troublesome relatives have been a constant problem in American politics.  Dolly Madison’s son, John, had a drinking and gambling problem.  He was frequently jailed for assault and disturbing the peace.  He finally landed in debtors’ prison, from which President Madison had to bail him out.

In an effort to end his bad behavior, Madison appointed him to the diplomatic service and sent him to Russia.  John spent his time in Moscow in the embrace of a Russian countess.  When his diplomatic team was re-assigned to Germany, John headed to Paris instead, and ran up a substantial debt — spending on wine, women and whist.

That was not the last time a President brought an errant family member into the government.  President Lyndon Johnson’s brother, Sam, also had a drinking and gambling problem.  When inebriated, Sam would blab all the embarrassing secrets – official and personal – to the press.   Lyndon gave Sam a job in the White House so that he could not travel in public without Secret Service companionship.

Richard Nixon also used the Secret Service to keep his brother, Donald, in check by tapping the sibling’s phones.   In one instance, Donald was able to get a loan of $200,000 from defense contractor Howard Hughes to launch a fast-food franchise  No, he is not the “Donald” in Ronald McDonald.  The business failed, but not before then-Vice President Nixon was exposed to indirect scandal.  It was later discovered that Donald appeared to be procuring illegal campaign contributions as a sideline.

Then there is Neil Bush – son of the 41^st President of the United States and brother of the 43^rd.  He was accused of influence peddling – building his fortune on his proclaimed access to the White House.  He got a lucrative position with Grace Semiconductor even though he knew nothing about semiconductors. (sound familiar?)  The company paid him $2 million and an additional $10,000 for every board meeting he attended.   When Silverado Savings and Loan collapsed, Neil arranged a $1 billion bailout.  He was eventually charged with negligence and conflict-of-interest and fined $50,000 – and permanently banned from the banking industry.

I suppose I should mention President Trump since there has been a barrage of accusations about the Trump family and the Trump Organization profiting from his presidency.  In terms of the organization, that does not seem to be the case.  The value and profits have actually receded in the past four years.  Outside of the fact-challenged political accusations, there is no hard evidence of any wrongdoing by family members.  On the other hand, accepting a pardon is tantamount to and admission of guilt to some federal crime – even though what that crime might be is unclear.  Perhaps the only Trump family member to profit off his presidency is his niece who wrote a book accusing her uncle of everything short of burying Jimmy Hoffa in the foundation of Trump Tower. Hmmm?

And now we have the Bidens.  Even before his anticipated ascent to the presidency, family issues have surfaced surrounding his brother Frank for influence peddling.  In the most obvious and blatant exploitation of his relationship with brother Joe, Frank is now appearing in national television commercials for the Berman Law Group as a “non-lawyer” adviser – better know in the trade as a “rainmaker.”  Is he trading on his connection to brother Joe?  Well, duh!  According to reports, Frank has never paid a penny of the $1 million he owes to a family due to a wrongful death car accident 20 years ago.

Then there is Hunter, who has had a history of drug and alcohol abuse – and what can only be termed as having a “messy” personal life.  He was booted out of the Navy on a less-than-honorable discharge only to land a million-dollar no-show deal with the corrupt Burisma Holdings in Ukraine.  Daddy Joe even took Hunter on Air Force Two to be introduced to Chinese officials and business leaders – resulting in a billion-dollar deal for Hunter’s newly formed firm.

While most of the other examples are for the history books, any scandals or wrongdoing by members of the Biden family are not likely to bring down a president.  They never do.

So, there ‘tis.