Hunter Biden, Jan. 6 and the southern border

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

Hunter Biden was subpoenaed to appear before a congressional committee on Dec. 13 of last year, and he snubbed the authority of Congress. He grandstanded outside the building and left, not appearing as ordered to do so.  

This week, when the same committee was holding a hearing to hold him in contempt, Hunter showed up in the gallery, to everyone’s surprise. It appears Hunter Biden is not used to having things not going his way. From other anecdotes over the years, Joe Biden has apparently had trouble, controlling when younger and influencing when older, Hunter for most of his life.

These antics led me to the thought, what is the difference between Hunter Biden’s actions, especially this week, when compared to those who visited the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021?  

My take is that there is not much difference, at least from the guests’ perspective. Hunter no doubt made it through the doors at the appropriate place and proceeded to the hearing room without incident, no doubt guided by the authorities in charge.

On Jan. 6, it seems as though the authorities in charge either (a) abandoned their duty posts and/or (b) were not of sufficient force. Could anyone entered the Senate chamber, indeed, any chamber in the Capitol building, without permission had the enforcement authorities been of sufficient strength?

The chief of the Capitol Police reports to the Capitol Police Board (USCP) which is composed of the sergeant of arms of the U.S. House of Representatives, the sergeant of arms of the U.S. Senate and the architect of the Capitol.  

“The chief of police is responsible for overseeing the personnel, operations, and assets of the USCP; interacting with various congressional committees, individual members of Congress and their respective staff; and planning and directing the activities of the USCP in accordance with CPB guidance to preserve peace, protect Congress, and ensure the continuity of operation of the legislative function of our government.” (Source: Police Executive Research Forum).

“Currently, the USCP has an authorized strength of over 2,000 sworn positions and 500 non-sworn professional employees, with an annual salaries budget of $424.4 million and a general expenses budget of $87.5 million. The Department is poised for growth as Congress is currently reviewing recommendations that would increase personnel, training, equipment and other resources.” (ibid.)

Let’s look at the southern border. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has approximately 60,000 employees, of whom 19,357 are Border Patrol agents (Source: US Customs and Border Protection, 2022 stats).

According to Wikipedia, approximately 2,000 unauthorized people entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to the New York Times, the fiscal year 2022 set a record of 2.2 million illegal border crossings.

So, let’s summarize.
    
• Hunter Biden does not understand the law or respect the law or common decorum.  He appears to be a spoiled child in an adult body.
    
• On Jan. 6, 2021, the ratio of Capitol Police to interlopers was approximately 1:1 (2,000 divided by 2,000).

• During 2022, the ratio of Border Patrol agents to interlopers was approximately 0.0087:1 (19,2357 divided by 2.2 million).

Point 1 is self-explanatory. Points 2 and 3 indicate that either the Capitol Police did not do their job, or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is severely understaffed.
Another possibility is that Congress is really bad at simple math.

And…it is just my opinion, the 2,000 who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, were of no more and probably less evil intent that many of those crossing the southern border during 2022.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.