Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- Freedom of Information Act Requests sent Monday by attorney Stephen Stamboulieh on behalf of this correspondent ask the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Secret Service, to produce documentation regarding both agencies’ participation in investigating the disappearance of a firearm belonging to Hunter Biden, son of media-designated (but as yet uncertified) “president-elect” Joe Biden.
The requests follow a report by The Blaze that the younger Biden’s gun was taken from his vehicle in 2018 by the widow of his deceased brother and thrown away in a supermarket trash receptacle. An investigation was reportedly begun after the gun could not be located, potentially for violating laws by leaving firearms where children might retrieve them, and the article says the Delaware State Police turned matters over for prosecution to the Delaware Department of Justice, which has yet to reveal if anything was done.
A much bigger issue than unsafe disposal in violation of state law was relevant, which AmmoLand Shooting Sports News reported on: Biden has been a documented substance abuser since his less-than-honorable discharge from the Navy in 2014. His drug abuse has reportedly been ongoing, from his 1998 possession arrest to a crack pipe found in a rental car he damaged in 2016, to the latest revelations from his laptop computer that “includes a raunchy, 12-minute video that appears to show Hunter, who’s admitted struggling with addiction problems, smoking crack while engaged in a sex act with an unidentified woman…”
The issue here is that by purchasing his gun from a dealer, Biden would have had to answer “No” on the ATF Form 4473 question about being an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Lying on that form is a federal felony.
“[A]gents from the United States Secret Service as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives visited the shop where Hunter Biden purchased the gun,” The Blaze report noted, and, “asked the shop owner for the file on Hunter Biden's gun purchase — and that a copy was provided.”
Why the Secret Service was involved is a legitimate question, since Biden’s protection by them reportedly ended in 2014.
Initially, I had intended to file the FOIA request with the Delaware Department of Justice, but the rules there could have required being physically present to inspect and copy whatever documents it chose to share. That could have made such efforts prohibitive and expensive. Instead, having some experience (and some successes) dealing with federal agencies, attorney Stamboulieh requested the following from ATF and the Secret Service:
“[C]opies 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 any relevant federal agencies including ATF and the United States Secret Service. This includes any case handling instructions from overseeing administrative authorities and/or agencies that would explain why over two years later, there has still been no public report or explanation as to the way the case has been resolved and why.”
Copies of both requests are presented below. The agencies have been requested to produce relevant documentation within 20 business days, and I will provide an update when more is known.