Politics

Report: Secret Service was involved in a 2018 Hunter Biden gun incident

Published

9 months ago

March 25, 2021

Staff Writer

The Secret Service intervened in a 2018 police investigation after Hunter Biden and Hallie Biden, the wife of Hunter Biden’s deceased brother, Beau Biden, were involved in a firearm-related incident, POLITICO has revealed in a report.

On Oct. 23, 2018, Hallie Biden discovered a .38 revolver gun in Hunter Biden’s pick-up truck. Hallie, worried that Hunter may harm himself with it, wrapped the gun in plastic and threw it away in a grocery store trash can.

Hallie told Hunter what she did and Hunter ordered her to retrieve the gun from the trash can, but by the time she returned, the gun was gone.

Delaware State Police and the FBI began investigating the incident, with concerns that the gun could be used in a crime.

The FBI asked Hunter if he was doing drugs or drinking. Hunter denied and said that Hallie was concerned that he was going to commit suicide.

“Listen, it isn’t like that. I think she believes I was gonna kill myself,” Hunter told the authorities, according to the report.

Moreover, Hunter reportedly told the FBI he used the gun for target practice.

Secret Service agents then visited the store where Hunter purchased the gun and asked for records that proved Hunter owned the weapon.

The store owner refused to hand the records to the agents.

“The gun store owner refused to supply the paperwork, suspecting that the Secret Service officers wanted to hide Hunter’s ownership of the missing gun in case it were to be involved in a crime, the two people said. The owner, Ron Palmieri, later turned over the papers to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which oversees federal gun laws,” POLITICO reported.

POLITICO obtained copies of the Firearms Transaction Record and a receipt for the gun dated Oct. 12, 2018.

“Hunter responded ‘no’ to a question on the transaction record that asks, ‘Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?’ Five years earlier, he had been discharged from the Navy Reserve after testing positive for cocaine, and he and family members have spoken about his history of drug use,” POLITICO reported.

Lying on the form is a felony that can carry a 10-year prison sentence with a $250,000 fine.

The gun was reportedly returned days later by a man who regularly rummaged through the store’s trash bins.

There were no charges or arrests, according to POLITICO.

At the time, the FBI was monitoring Hunter as part of an ongoing investigation involving his taxes.

The Secret Service reportedly says it has no record of its agents investigating the incident and the White House reportedly claims that Joe Biden was not aware of the Secret Service’s role in the incident.

“President Biden did not have any knowledge of, or involvement in, the Secret Service’s alleged role in this incident, and neither he nor any family member was a protectee at that time.”

Read the full report here.

Follow Annaliese Levy on Twitter @AnnalieseLevy

Politics

Kamala Harris Loses Two More Staffers

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2021

Staff Writer

Two more staffers are reportedly leaving their jobs in Vice President Kamala Harris’ office, according to the Washington Post. The news comes just after Harris’ chief spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, announced her departure.

“Symone Sanders, the senior adviser and chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, is expected to leave the White House at the end of the year, according to five administration officials familiar with the matter,” Politico reported.

In addition to Sanders, “Peter Velz, director of press operations, and Vince Evans, deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs in the vice president’s office, have also told others in the vice president’s office that they are leaving, according to two administration officials,” the Washington Post reported.

Earlier this week, Sanders officially announced her departure in a note to the Vice President’s team.

“I’m so grateful to the VP for her vote of confidence from the very beginning and the opportunity to see what can be unburdened by what has been. I’m grateful for [Harris chief of staff] Tina [Flournoy] and her leadership and her confidence as well,” Sanders wrote. “Every day, I arrived to the White House complex knowing our work made a tangible difference for Americans. I am immensely grateful and will miss working for her and with all of you.”

The news comes just weeks after Harris’ communications director Ashley Etienne filed her resignation.

“Ashley is a valued member of the vice president’s team, who has worked tirelessly to advance the goals of this administration,” a White House official stated. “She is leaving the office in December to pursue other opportunities.”

“Harris’ office has been beset by disorder, bad press, and, at times, internal frictions,” Politico reported, adding, “ … in recent weeks, chatter has grown increasingly loud that Harris wasn’t positioned well to be Biden’s heir apparent in 2028 or, if he opts not to run again, in 2024.”