JONATHAN TURLEY: What Jimmy Carter would never do and Biden did. Small wonder he didn't mention it
Editor’s note: This essay first appeared on the author’s blog: Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks
America is mourning the loss on Sunday of one of the most genuinely decent men ever to sit in the Oval Office. Even to his critics, Jimmy Carter was a model of empathy and integrity as an American president. After his presidency, he proved an even greater role model, working tirelessly to help those without homes or hope. He gave us 100 years of a life committed to helping others and a lasting lesson in what it means to be truly a public servant.
Both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump offered moving tributes to Carter.
President Biden spoke to the nation from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Sunday evening. In his remarks he noted that Carter showed "what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, a life of principle, faith and humility."
He added, "Some look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era with honesty and character. Faith and humility mattered, but I don’t believe it’s a bygone era," Biden said. "We’d all do well to try to be more like Jimmy Carter."
JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100
President-elect Trump declared "The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude."
After Biden made his remarks about Carter, he took questions from reporters. The media immediately saw the testimonial comments as an opportunity to get a dig on Trump and Biden seemed eager to oblige them.
When a reporter asked Biden what President-elect Trump should take from Carter’s legacy, Biden replied:
"Decency, decency, decency. … Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking by someone who needed something and just keep walking? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk?"
It was a jarring disconnect from the moment of unity by both presidents.
It was also a curious choice of presidents for Biden to make the comparison. There is another thing that Carter would not do: pardon a family member in an influence-peddling scandal.
Throughout his presidency, Carter was faced with allegations that his brother Billy Carter took $200,000 from a Libyan dictator as a "loan" and only paid back $1,000. There were also allegations of even more money derived from open influence peddling from foreign sources.
Sound familiar?
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Indeed, Biden defenders immediately tried to use Carter to deflect criticism from the president after he pardoned his son Hunter by falsely claiming that he pardoned Billy.
Grant Stern, an editor for the advocacy group Occupy Democrats, wrote: "Jimmy Carter pardoned his brother Billy Carter, who took over $200,000 from Libya as its foreign agent. George H.W. Bush pardoned his son Neil Bush for his role in the S&L scandals of the 1980s. Nobody thinks those pardons defined either presidency. Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden won’t either."
Neither of those pardons "defined either presidency" because neither of those pardons existed.
(On ABC, "The View" co-host Ana Navarro even claimed various family pardons, including mentioning another president to defend the Hunter Biden pardon: "Woodrow Wilson pardoned his brother-in-law, Hunter deButts… But tell me again how Joe Biden ‘is setting precedent’?" Many immediately told her instead how Wilson did not have a brother-in-law named "Hunter deButts," let alone pardon him).
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In reality, despite lingering questions and investigations, Carter refused to pardon his brother. Instead, he told the American people the truth:
"I am deeply concerned that Billy has received funds from Libya and that he may be under obligation to Libya. These facts will govern my relationship with Billy as long as I am president. Billy has had no influence on U.S. policy or actions concerning Libya in the past, and he will have no influence in the future."
Unlike Carter, President Biden lied repeatedly to the voters in denying that (1) Hunter had any dealings with the Chinese, (2) he ever met his son’s clients, (3) he knew of any of these dealings, and (4) he would ever pardon his son. He then pardoned Hunter for any and all crimes committed over the last decade, including potential crimes that many believe implicate the president himself in a multimillion dollar influence peddling scheme.
Notably, in seeking a comparative dig at Trump, the reporters did not seek to ask about this point of comparison with Biden.
We all knew that, no matter how one felt about Carter’s performance as president, there were some things that he would not do in office.
Perhaps that is why "Some look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era with honesty and character." They look at Biden himself and say, "We’d all do well to try to be more like Jimmy Carter."