Hunter Biden, left. Jared Kushner, right.
Some Americans have been decrying the increased resurgence of smash-and-grab crimes across the country. Certain media outlets are even reporting these thefts as national news. Others, however, say smash-and-grab crimes and other petty thefts are nothing compared to how some government officials have used their elite status to enrich themselves.
Both Hunter Biden and Jared Kushner – the son and son-in-law of the current and former U.S. Presidents – are under respective investigations for allegedly using their positions to secure lucrative deals for themselves.
The U.S. Justice Department is weighing whether to bring charges against Hunter Biden for “financial and business activities in foreign countries dating to when [his father] Joe Biden was vice president,” CNN reported.
According to Rolling Stone, Kushner is being investigated by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform for a $2 billion investment from a Saudi Arabian wealth fund into his private equity firm.
A letter from committee chairwoman Carolyn Maloney said they had “concerns that you improperly traded on your government position carrying out the Trump Administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East to benefit your personal financial interests after leaving government office.”
Yet the smash-and-grab crimes and other thefts have been getting whopping media coverage.
Professor and scholar Nikole Hannah-Jones recently called out the disparity in coverage of some petty thefts as a strategy to continue mass incarceration that disproportionately impacts poor, BIPOC communities.
“This drumbeat for continued mass incarceration is really horrific to watch,” Hannah-Jones wrote in response to an interview in which Rev. Al Sharpton weighed in on someone stealing 10 steaks from a Trader Joe’s store in New York.
“A person stealing steak is not national news, and there have always been thefts from stores. This is how you legitimize the carceral state,” Hannah-Jones continued.
Moguldom Nation founder Jamarlin Martin also weighed in on the difference in perception among the American public regarding the crimes of the wealthy.
“You have the son and son in law of the last two American Presidents under federal investigation. You get into that club, they start selling access and pimpin’ their position,” Martin tweeted. “They would never teach where the real SMASH & GRAB is taking place, it’s not CVS and Walgreens.”
