As everyone knows, Joe Biden has had his cravenness and corruption publicly exposed via a series of emails residing on at least one laptop belonging to Hunter Biden. The emails show that Joe Biden was not merely a doting father who corruptly peddled his influence to create business opportunities for a ne’er-do-well son; he was a direct beneficiary of those business opportunities. READ: Person on Hunter Biden/China Email Thread Allegedly Verifies the Email and It Gets Even Worse for Joe Biden.

The emails are being attacked on two fronts. Both attacks are ridiculous. Both are pathetic in their transparency. On the one hand, we have the same people who fluffed the Steele Dossier for four years as gospel now claiming, with zero evidence, that the whole thing is a Kremlin plot. The other attack is “leave Hunter out of it because he’s an addict.” In essence, this attack says that if you use the emails, you are hurting Hunter’s recovery, and that makes you a very, very bad man.

Here are some examples. From the Washington Post, we have Trump’s attack on Hunter Biden will only increase the stigma of addiction:

So, when President Trump brought up Hunter Biden’s addiction to attack former vice president Joe Biden on Tuesday night, I immediately thought back to that summer. As saccharine as it sounds, the president of the United States is also the president of screw-ups, addicts and hopefuls like me and Hunter Biden. But Trump’s comments made clear that he believes that an addict’s actions can be used against our families to attack their character.

That will make us less willing to talk about our problems and get the help we need. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says explicitly that stigma can make people with substance abuse disorders less willing to seek treatment. And that makes sense. If your addiction is going to be used against you, why try to get better?

Factually, Trump did not mention Hunter being addicted to anything. He pointed out that Hunter was punted from the Navy, despite Daddy’s influence, over using cocaine. He did point out that all of Hunter’s money can be traced back to Daddy finding sweet, sweet deals for him.

NPR offers up Experts Say Attack On Hunter Biden’s Addiction Deepens Stigma For Millions as its contribution to the narrative.

These attacks have raised alarm and sparked criticism from those who say the president and his allies are using a disease experienced by 20 million Americans as a political weapon.

“To hear the president of the United States say this is a legitimate political smear shows that he thinks this is a way to attack,” said Eric Michael Garcia, a journalist who entered recovery last year for alcohol and sex addiction.

…

In an interview with NPR, Garcia said it was hard for him to admit needing help because he feared the kind of shame and public attacks now hitting the Bidens.

“I worried my personal shortcomings would be used against other people, people who I love,” he said. “I think that’s something that a lot of people with addiction fear.”

Journalist≠expert. “Sex addiction.”

Where that falls short is that Hunter Biden shows no signs of being concerned about much of anything.

Here are my thoughts on the attempt to use Hunter Biden as a meat shield for his father.

Hunter Biden is not an innocent bystander in this drama. This is not like when the media were wetting themselves as they attacked George Bush’s daughters over allegations of underage drinking. Those charges had no political or policy implications whatsoever beyond indicating that George Bush had two very normal, attractive, and popular kids. They were deeply personal attacks aimed at painting Bush as a bad parent. Hunter Biden is 50. He’s nearly eligible for AARP membership. He’s a grown-ass pseudo-man who has a history of behavior that is unsavory (boinking your brother’s widow, impregnating a stripper, being a deadbeat dad to your offspring) and clear criminality (his deals with China and Ukraine even before the latest revelations) that would have seen him indicted had he not been Joe Biden’s son. I take that back. Had he not been Joe Biden’s son, he would be living in a refrigerator cartop in a homeless encampment. Hunter Biden’s problems have much, much, much less to do with any drug abuse problem than they do to his massive sense of entitlement and a father who has enabled his sociopathy to become a viable lifestyle.

Hunter Biden is not mere collateral damage here. He is a central figure in a major influence-peddling scandal involving his father and uncle and it gives every appearance that he may very well have been a willing agent of the Chinese government.

In short, you can’t give Hunter Biden a pass on his own actions just because he has a thing for hookers and blow. Being a drug addict is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The larger issue is that the only reason anyone cares about Hunter Biden is because Joe Biden chose to run for president. He did so knowing his son was a sleazebag who was as crooked at Joe Biden himself. He had to know, or should have known, that once he became a candidate for president that Hunter Biden’s personal life and financial dealings would become an issue especially since they had already received attention during the impeachment drama that overtook President Trump earlier in the year.

Hunter Biden is fair game here. And if anyone should be concerned about the effect upon his sobriety it is not you or me or The New York Post. It is Joe Biden. And if he doesn’t care, there is no reason that anyone else should.