The Secret Service reportedly got involved in a bizarre incident in 2018 in which a gun belonging to Hunter Biden was found dumped in a trash can behind a grocery store then found to be missing. The incident involved Hunter and his former sister-in-law, Hallie, Beau Biden's widow, in which she took his gun and tossed it into the trash, thinking he was going to kill himself with it, according to a report in the Politico on Thursday.
However, when Hallie returned to retrieve the gun, it was gone, according to reports. Interestingly, Hallie was in a relationship with Hunter at the time. A firearm transaction report reviewed by Fox News indicates that Hunter had purchased the gun earlier that month.
The Case of Missing Gun
Police in Delaware immediately launched an investigation on concerns that the gun, a .38 revolver, left in the trash can across from a high school, if found could be used in a crime, the report said. Later, Secret Service agents got involved. The Secret Service reportedly approached the store where the gun was purchased, seeking to obtain all records of the transaction.
The owner, Ron Palmieri, at first declined to cooperate, suspecting they were attempting to hide Hunter's ownership of the gun. However he ultimately cooperated and turned over the documents to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the government agency that oversees federal gun laws.
However, the gun was found by a man searching the trash for recycling. "Days later, the gun was returned by an older man who regularly rummages through the grocery's store's trash to collect recyclable items, according to people familiar with the situation," the Politico report mentions.
Interestingly Hallie Biden was in a relationship with Hunter at that time. She also reportedly returned to the grocery store to find the gun, but could not. Citing a Delaware police report, the outlet said Hunter told officers he used the gun for target practice. Asked if the gun had been used in a crime, he reportedly "became very agitated" and asked if an officer "was intentionally trying to make him mad".
Secret Service in Denial
Although Secret Service made a full-fledged investigation, it kept the entire affair a secret. The Secret Service maintains that it has no record of agents investigating the incident and also stressed that President Biden at that time was not under protection. There were no charges filed or arrests in the incident.
The role of the Secret Service remains unclear. However, Politico got a copy of the transaction and a receipt from the October 12, 2018 purchase. Hunter answered "no" to the question on the transaction asking, "Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?"
A White House spokesperson told the media outlet that Biden was unaware of the incident: "President Biden did not have any knowledge of, or involvement in, the Secret Service's alleged role in this incident, and neither he nor any family member was a protectee at that time," the White House spokesperson said.
Hunter has been courting controversies for quite some time now, which intensified after the hard drive of his laptop got leaked last October which contained stunning revelations of the President son admitting to working with "the f***ing spy chief of China," and more.
Hunter then became the target of efforts by supporters of former President Donald Trump to dig up political dirt on the family, efforts which in part led to Trump's first impeachment.
Politico also reported that Hunter "had been discharged from the US navy reserve after testing positive for cocaine, and he and family members have spoken about his history of drug use. Lying on the form is a felony, though prosecutions for it are exceedingly rare."
