Following President Joe Biden’s unprecedentedly broad pardon for his son, attorney Stephen Stamboulieh filed a Freedom of Information Act Request Monday with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on my behalf seeking documentation detailing its role and its interactions with all relevant agencies in the Hunter Biden gun case:
“[S]ince Mr. Biden has received a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon, and has acknowledged the pardon, the ATF can now provide responsive documents to this FOIA. Mr. Codrea requests copies of law enforcement and administrative reports, communications, correspondence, and work papers, including with internal State of Delaware DOJ, the Delaware State Police, any local law enforcement, and all relevant federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Secret Service. This includes any case handling instructions from overseeing administrative authorities and/or agencies. Likewise, given that Mr. Biden was pardoned, this request also seeks all records of communications, correspondence, or any memorandum related to ATF and Hunter Biden’s pardon.”
With Hunter Biden’s court record and the pardon, the government cannot credibly evade a responsive production of documents with claims it has used in the past, including that doing so would violate his privacy rights and they can’t comment on ongoing litigation and criminal investigations. ATF’s excuses are now gone and if all parties should be accountable for their actions, it’s important the public be informed of who in government did what, when, and why.
This is my third attempt at eliciting this information, an investigation that began after reports surfaced that Hunter Biden’s “lover” and former sister-in-law threw his gun into a market trash bin in 2018. While others were focused on that sensationalism, my Nov. 1, 2020 AmmoLand column was the first to note that the only way he could have procured a gun would have been by violating infringements his father and the Democrat party were demanding every other citizen obey under penalty of law. If he’d bought it through a gun shop, he’d have had to fill out an ATF Form 4473 Firearms Transaction Record, and then lie on the question about being a user of controlled substances, which is one of the things his father just pardoned him for.
My initial FOIA requests, to both ATF and the Secret Service (reported to be investigating even though Hunter Biden was not under their protection at the time), were submitted later that month. Long story short, ATF did not comply with the request and the Department of Justice backed them. So did a federal judge in response to my complaint.
However, with the DOJ filing criminal charges against Biden in 2023, the “privacy” excuse should have evaporated, so a second FOIA request was filed. Unsurprisingly, ATF denied that request, and the implosion of Hunter Biden’s plea deal stalled that effort indefinitely.
The Secret Service was a different story. Its Supervisory Freedom of Information Act Officer signed an affidavit attesting it had no records on the “lost gun” investigation. It may be that officially there are none, but that makes fair the speculation that unless the reports of involvement are wrong, someone presumed to be with that agency was involved. Who? That’s another question this new FOIA request could help answer.
By pardoning Hunter Biden, and by lying that his prosecution was political persecution that would have never happened to anyone else (a contention refuted by the DOJ’s own press release claiming “Federal Prosecutors Aggressively Pursuing Those Who Lie in Connection With Firearm Transactions”), gun owners are denied two legal avenues for advancing their rights:
- If he’d prevailed, Hunter Biden’s Second Amendment defense could have upended the Democrat agenda on guns by rendering other categories of “prohibited persons” vulnerable to challenge.
- It could have also called into question the legality of DOJ creating a class of “prohibited person” not authorized by statute with its use of permanent entry to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS).
And it denies all Americans information we are entitled to about how powerful agencies coordinate on matters of crime and justice that affect us all.
Will the third time be a charm? Don’t be surprised if ATF balks again and if a new complaint has to be filed. That’s when things will get interesting, when we see how Donald Trump’s appointees respond, particularly whomever he gets to head ATF, and if Pam Bondi as attorney general will continue with the pattern she established in Florida of defending governmment infringements against citizen challenges.
The new FOIA request is posted below:
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
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